not all cereals are created equal

My mom and I recently made the greatest discovery in cereal history: Kashi® GOLEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax.

Health food skeptics, hang in there. Yes, this all-natural cereal boasting 500mg's Omega-3's, 9g protein, 8g fiber and a whopping 7 whole grains may perhaps be the most nutritious option on the cereal market today. But as I keep promising, healthy does not have to mean gross! And that is the shared mantra of all the wonderful people who work for Kashi®. Not only can healthy food taste good, it should taste good. After all, especially with organic, this food is comprised of all-natural ingredients that come from the earth and have not been altered with chemicals, hormones or GMO's for mass-production. It's food that grows naturally without force or any encouragement other than that which comes from our good ol' natural resources - soil, water and sun.

Kashi® GOLEAN Crunch! Honey Almond Flax is described as "a delicious combination of crunchy honey-sweetened 7-grain clusters, sliced almonds and whole flax seeds." (Flax, for those of you still struggling to keep up with green food lingo, is a plant grown for its fiber and its glossy brown seeds that are used to produce a type of vegetable oil called "linseed oil" or "flaxseed oil.")

Delicious is an understatement! As is the term "crunchy" - the experience it insinuates is far too vague. Most people would skim right over that word, and for good reason, since most cereals claim to be crunchy when what they actually are is slightly firm or perhaps teetering on the edge of crispy - and that's without milk. But let me tell you, I have yet to find another food product in existence, let alone another cereal, that packs as much crunch as this miracle. In fact, as a consumer used to being let down by exaggerated claims in the adjective department, it came as a complete shock when I took that first bite and actually cried, "Ow!...AWESOME!" And I have since considered writing to Kashi® to suggest they put some kind of warning on their cereal boxes about the impact of this incredible crunch, you know...a disclaimer of sorts, not unlike those found on Vitamin Water bottles:

Legally, we are prohibited from making exaggerated claims about the impact of the crunch in our cereal. Therefore, legally we couldn't tell you that a bite of this cereal caused little Billy from Kansas to lose his first tooth or that 10,000 bowls of this cereal later, Frannie from Utah acquired a permanent crunching noise in her ears. Heck, we can't even tell you this cereal gives you the power to chew seventeen cubes of Bubblicious at one time... just ask Jimmy in Boston.

Legally, we can't say stuff like that -- 'cause that would be wrong, you know?

Anyway, I think you're getting the point! And if you're still not enticed, remember those little honey oat clusters in Honey Bunches of Oats that you absolutely loved but the fact that they were so few and so small really ticked you off? Well. This cereal from Kashi® is nothing else BUT those things, just made with different ingredients. AND some of them are about the size of golf balls. Don't believe me? Go out to the store and buy a box and just try to make a liar out of me. Just try.

In conclusion, there is nothing but sweet, nutty, crunchy goodness in this cereal. It's so amazing that my mom and I go through a whole box in just two days, and that's if we're not particularly hungry. It's so amazing that I panic when it's out of stock - yes, out of stock - we keep about 7 boxes in our cabinet at all times. It's so amazing that if I could, I would tour the country as an enthusiastic advocate of this cereal and heck, while I'm at it, the geniuses who work at Kashi®.

By the way, have you tried the Kashi® GOLEAN bars? ...Alright, alright, I'll save that one for another day.