We lived abroad for two years, serving as a Peace Corps volunteer. The bodegas in the village where we lived didn’t carry cereal. In town, a grocery store had some plain corn flakes called “Forza de Rontzaiala,” which could be a treat but also kind of waxy.
After returning stateside, we visited a Wal-Mart at 2:00AM. Why? It was partly because we couldn’t sleep, a product of the time change, and partly because we were fascinated to see, touch and purchase consumer goods that had been unavailable to us. We remember standing in the vast cereal aisle and feeling overwhelmed with the variety. How does one even choose?
The funny thing is that we enjoy cereal but don’t love it. Absence, though, does make the heart grow fonder. In the subsequent years, a visitor to our home would unlikely discover cereal in our pantry. It’s too sugary and otherwise devoid of nutritional value.
We’ve been eating keto for about four months. A low-carb lifestyle suits us. We miss fresh-baked bread. We missed homemade pasta. We miss French fries and fried chicken. That’s about it. We’re just happy we can eat beef short ribs and chicken wings. We haven’t missed cereal because we weren’t eating it regularly before keto. Conversely, our wife now wants the foods she can’t have, so she’s purchasing all sorts of keto-friendly versions of carb-heavy foods. She loves these Highkey Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies and these Halo Top Keto Pops.
Out of nowhere, a craving for cereal hit her. She researched the keto-friendly options and declared that Magic Spoon Grain-Free Cereal had the best reviews. She assembled a custom order with four boxes: Fruity, Peanut Butter, Maple Waffle, and Cookies & Cream.
When she informed us, we were supportive, as always, because we are encouraging, optimistic humans, though we were somewhat curious about the $39 price tag. “Hope it tastes great!” we remarked. Admittedly, some keto-friendly alternatives crush it; others fall flat.
Having sampled each of these varieties of Magic Spoon, we are prepared to render our judgment. Two receive excellent marks. One ranks as fine. We kicked off the island.
Magic Spoon Fruity
Fruity compares to Fruit Loops and does an impressive job. It tastes similar, slightly muted. The texture differs, denser and a bit mealy, but that cannot be helped. The cereal is grain-free and protein-packed. We award it a 10/10.
Magic Spoon Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter packs authentic, pleasant peanut flavor. A similar cereal does not come to mind. We think it aims to compare with Reese’s Puffs, but to us, the tastes are distinct. So, compared to Fruity, Peanut Butter loses a point for not inspiring as much nostalgia. It still garners 9/10.
Magic Spoon Maple Waffle
Maple Waffle is fine. We ate it all. We enjoyed it. But the maple flavor struck us as both too strong and somewhat unnatural. Keto sweeteners can be fickle. Perhaps the sweetners had trouble mimicking the complexity of maple. 7/10.
Magic Spoon Cookies & Cream
We did not care for Cookies & Cream. We had high expectations because it’s our favorite ice cream flavor. Maybe that doesn’t translate to cereal. This one tasted more artificial than the others with a bit of an aftertaste. For us, it’s a 5/10. Our wife disagrees; she thinks Maple Waffle and Cookies & Cream should be flipped.
Magic Spoon offers eight varieties. We’ll need to try the other four: Cocoa, Cinnamon, Frosted and Blueberry. Hope it tastes great!
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