Jumped Through Hoops For These Froot Loops ⭕

(The title is in reference my two and a half hour commute (!!!) home from SanRemo Bakery.)

Froot Loops Donut +
Apple Fritters

You’ll notice there are only two different donuts in the box. That’s because at 3:38 pm on a Friday, that’s all that’s left. To wit, this was the second last Froot Loops donut.

(I decided not to review the Fritters because mine contained considerably fewer apple pieces than usual.)

The Froot Loops donut was one of the new items that I was dying to try. (The other was Zeppole but all the good flavours were sold out.) Along with Corn Pops, Honeycomb and Honey Nut Cheerios, Froot Loops formed the foundation of my childhood cereal consumption.

This colourful creation takes the same signature stellar SanRemo donut and garnishes it with a generous helping of Froot Loops. I went in expecting the donut to have a generic glazed icing. So it was a shock to my system to discover that it was Froot Loops flavoured!

It is also possible the shock was actually a result of the icing’s intensity because it was super sweet! Its potency was equivalent to the endmilk of a bowl of cereal comprised of 80% Froot Loops and 20% milk. In fact, it was so sweet that half a donut was more than sufficient for a single sitting.

I did enjoy how the crunchiness of the cereal pieces brought an added dimension to the donut. On a related note, I think that’s probably the source of sugar overload. Having both the cereal and the icing likely led to its loopy levels of sweetness.

So as the title of this post ponders: was it worth it?

For the Froot Loops donut alone, no.

However, when you factor in the fritters (still superb), cannoli and cookies which are not pictured (excellent and good), and the opportunity to catch up with an old friend (invaluable), then yes it was well worth the two and a half hour commute home.

Froot Loops Donut:

3.5 Added Dimensions out of 5

What's Wrong With Just Right 🤔

To commemorate National Cereal Day, I figured I would spotlight one of the most underrated cereals I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating — Just Right.

I still remember the first time I tried it. My first-year university floormate had kindly offered me some. After growing up on a steady diet of super sugary cereals, I have to admit that I was rather unimpressed by its appearance. One had to squint to see the sugared sheen on the glazed flakes. Plus, the presence of oat nuggets almost scared me off outright, as I conflated those to mean that it was “healthy.” (At that point in my life, a healthy cereal was about as appealing as an 8:30 am lecture!)

I voiced my concerns to him but he urged me to just give Just Right a shot. And am I glad I did! To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be an enormous understatement. Propelled by my below-the-floor expectations (inside joke — our floor was halfway underground), it immediately shot up my list of favourite cereals.

Although Just Right did not offer the overload of sugar I was accustomed to, this was a good thing. It occupies the sweet spot on the cereal sugar spectrum: it is neither bland nor super(fluously) sugary. Here is the sugar content per 100 grams to help put it into perspective:

Cereal                Sugar/100g
Plain Cheerios                4g
Corn Flakes                  10g
JUST RIGHT                  17g
Life                              20g
Honey Nut Cheerios      31g 

In terms of texture, there is an assortment of different shapes and sizes. The crispy corn flakes are by far the largest, while there are also much smaller flakes made of rice. Then, there are little crunchy oat nuggets too. This helps ensure that every bite is different.

Mixing with milk has both benefits and drawbacks. As with many cereals, it can quickly become soggy and compromise its terrific texture. On the bright side, Just Right's aforementioned optimal sweetness helps ensure an equally enjoyable endmilk.

So since Kellogg’s got all the key aspects of this cereal Just Right 🙃, what’s wrong with it then, as the title of this blog post questions? Well, no one has ever heard of it, let alone tried it! And after doing some quick research (including consulting the preeminent voice in cereal reviews), Just Right does seem to be universally under-consumed. To wit, to this very day, my floormate and roommate are the only ones I know who have eaten it!

So now it’s my turn to do some urging. You can help right this wrong by getting Just Right!

4.5 Pleasant Surprises out of 5

(images from Kellogg's Canada)