Junk Food Nation, first things first – if you haven’t entered my MunchPak contest, you need to. Go here for the details.  And enter via Twitter!  Literally ONE PERSON has tweeted me a picture, and he’s going to win that MunchPak with NO COMPETITION.  Get off your booty and start tweeting me!

NEXT: hopefully you survived the polar vortex that swallowed up a major portion of the United States over the past couple days.  During the coldest day, Tuesday, when even DC was reading in the negatives, a co-worker asked me if I scoffed at this cold since I was from Upstate New York.  And I could say, honestly – NOPE.  STILL COLD.

Usually in the DC area, when schools are shut down for 3 inches of snow, the rest of the country chuckles and says things like, “WE HAVE EIGHTEEN INCHES UP HERE IN WISCOMINSOTA, YOU PANSIES AND WE’RE STILL GOING TO SCHOOL!”  And yes, I get it – when there’s literally NOTHING on the ground, it does look a little silly when the entire government shuts down.  Granted, the area where I’m from had snow plows running like buses 24 hours a day, whereas here in the DC Metro area, there’s like eight snow plows for a 40 mile radius, but whatever.

But when it comes to cold, COLD IS STILL COLD.  Just because I grew up in a place where sometimes we had snow flurries still at EASTER doesn’t mean that I’m some tough guy, able to brave the elements better than any other!  When I wake up and put my feet on my cold wood floor, I immediately leapt back into bed and whimper, “Chilly toesies!”  I wasn’t running around on Tuesday in the subzero weather with no jacket on, scoffing at people wearing hats saying, “What, a little cold make you scared? PUT YOUR SHOULDERS UP, WIMP.” No, I was wearing three layers of pants and four layers up top.  BOOM.

My friend Anne, who is from Minnesota, explained it best to me years ago – it’s not that Minnesotans don’t think it’s cold.  They just know how to DEAL with it appropriately.  They KNOW you need to keep your core warmed with layers, cover all skin at the extremities, wear a hat, etc.  They do this BECAUSE they RESPECT the fact that it’s cold, not because they DON’T think it’s cold at all.  OH IT’S COLD.  IT’S DAMN COLD AND YOU RESPECT IT, SISTER.  (Sometimes I feel like I’m becoming more and more of an old man.  “It’s cold out!” “PUT A SCARF ON!  KIDS THESE DAYS!”)

So yes, I’m glad that the temps are warming up.  DC supposed to hit 60 degrees this weekend!  Someone grab me a margarita…

Today’s junk food: New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal!

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: The Money Shot

Krave cereal has been around for a while, so for those who are uninformed, it’s basically pillows of cereal filled with chocolate.  That’s literally it.  And for those who love chocolate, it is the BOMB.  There’s currently two flavors – regular chocolate Krave, and DOUBLE chocolate Krave.

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: But where’s the campfire?

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal is the newest addition to the Krave line.  Basically, it’s chocolate Krave, with graham cereal on the outside, and marshmallow added to the chocolate on the inside. I have mixed feelings when companies make S’mores-based snacks (YAY on S’mores ice cream sandwiches, MEH on S’mores waffles) so I’m curious how this will work.

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: 170 cal per serving with milk

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: GRAHAM FLOUR!

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: Oh that’s cute

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: CHOMAR!

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal loves getting cute with these cereal box backs, don’t they?  Following the portmanteau nicknames of Bennifer and Brangelina comes ChoMar.  Not to be confused with Nomar.

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: Pillows!

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal smelled nice and sweet, and the look of the cereal itself was very similar to normal Krave cereal.  Did it smell completely like graham crackers? Not really…but how would this taste?

New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: The innards!

I’ll say this about New Kellogg’s S’mores Krave Cereal: it’s pretty good.  Now, I don’t want my tepid reaction to hinder how good this cereal really is; I’m just not a huge cereal person generally.  I enjoy eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, bagels, etc. before I’ll reach for a bowl of cereal.

That said, I think this S’mores Krave cereal did a great job representing S’mores flavor in my bowl of milk.  The outer cereal coating wasn’t too sweet, which was nice, since graham crackers aren’t too sweet.  Might’ve been cooler if the cereal itself WAS graham cracker, but no.

Inside, the chocolate flavor of Krave cereal came out like usual, and I DEFINITELY tasted marshmallow, even if in the photo above it doesn’t look like there’s a ton of marshmallow in there.  The chocolate and marshmallow flavor definitely came through in small bursts even while chewed the not-super-sweet cereal and not-sweet milk.

Did I feel like I was eating a S’more? No.  But did I get the S’mores flavor I was hoping for in a cereal?  I think so – I’m not sure how much more marshmallow or chocolate flavor I wanted.  This was a nice balance.  Good work, Krave.

PURCHASED AT: Walmart

COST: $3.00 on sale

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy