The Good: A decent amount of the RDA of several vitamins and minerals
The Bad: Generic sugar flavor, Not terribly cinnamony
The Basics: Kellogg’s Cinnamon Jacks cereal is a dull, sweet cereal that is already being clearanced because it is so unremarkable.
It baffles me the direction some major food manufacturers (producers?) try to capitalize on their popular brands to make new products. One of the enduring signature cereals from Kellogg’s is Apple Jacks and in the quest to expand the line, Kellogg’s introduced Cinnamon Jacks. The Jacks line is unlikely to continue expanding, at least until they get a better hook, because Cinnamon Jacks have been one of their more floppy attempts to expand their brand. I wanted to write “for no clear reason,” this cereal never found its consumer base, but once I bought a box and tried it, the reason was pretty clear. Cinnamon Jacks have a very generic flavor that is hardly even the embodiment of the faux-flavor that people call cinnamon.
Basics
Kellogg’s Cinnamon Jacks cereal is a corn-based cereal that is made up of little orange and red plus-signs. The pieces are 5/8” long and wide by 1/4” thick. The little x-shaped cereal pieces do not have different flavors. The standard box of Cinnamon Jacks cereal is 10.7 oz. That represents approximately ten servings and that seems to be about right.
Ease Of Preparation
Cinnamon Jacks cereal is a breakfast cereal, so this is one of the low-impact breakfast options as far as preparation goes! Simply open the box of Cinnamon Jacks cereal, pour out a one cup serving (I recommend actually using a measuring cup, especially if you are monitoring your intake) and add 1/2 cup of milk to it. I have discovered, as part of getting healthy, that one of the biggest challenges one might have with breakfast cereal is actually eating the serving size recommended by the manufacturer.
For the purposes of my reviews, and my regular consumption, I only use skim milk (fat free) milk with cereal.
Taste
Cinnamon Jacks smell like brown sugar. The scent is strong enough that it is surprising Kellogg’s did not call the cereal “Brown Sugar Jacks.”
As for taste, dry Cinnamon Jacks cereal is mildly sweet. Nothing in the flavor of the corn cereal tastes like cinnamon, even the generic spicy flavor that people call cinnamon (but is nothing like the actual flavor of dry cinnamon). The surprising aspect of the flavor of the Cinnamon Jacks, beyond not tasting at all like cinnamon, is that even the flavor of brown sugar is not especially strong compared to the corn flavor of the actual cereal pieces.
Covered in milk, the Cinnamon Jacks washes off even the hint of flavor from the brown sugar in these Cinnamon Jacks. With milk, this cereal tastes only like puffed corn; this becomes a troublingly flavorless cereal.
The Cinnamon Jacks have no real aftertaste to them, which is unsurprising given how bland the cereal is and becomes in milk.
Nutrition
Kellogg’s Cinnamon Jacks cereal has some decent nutritional benefits on its own and with skim milk! Made primarily of whole grain yellow corn flour, sugar, and wheat flour. The Cinnamon Jacks have a separate list of vitamins and minerals, which means that this is a cereal that has nutrients sprayed onto it. That makes it very important to drink the milk after one has consumed the actual cereal.
A single serving of Kellogg’s Cinnamon Jacks cereal is 28 grams, 1 cup. In that serving, there are 110 calories, with 20 calories coming from fat. There are no saturated or trans fats in this cereal, nor is there any cholesterol. With 125 mg of sodium and three grams of dietary fiber, this is actually a really good dietary choice for those striving to improve heart health. With two grams of protein and 45mg potassium, Cinnamon Jacks has more going for it on the dietary front than one might suspect. On its own, this cereal has significant percentages of eight vitamins and minerals.
Storage/Cleanup
Cinnamon Jacks is a cereal, so as long as it is kept sealed in its box, it ought to remain fresh for quite some time. Our box, bought last week on the clearance rack at our local grocery store, had a June 19, 2015 expiration date, so this is clearly not being clearance for freshness! Obviously, when you are done pouring the cereal from the box, fold down the plastic inner wrap to help maintain the cereal’s freshness.
Cleaning up after Cinnamon Jacks cereal is simple as well. Simply brush away crumbs left by it and you are done! It is that simple! This is a cereal that barely discolors the milk added to it, but because you should drink that up to get all the vitamins and minerals Kellogg’s added to the cereal, there shouldn’t be any issue with staining.
Overall
Cinnamon Jacks cereal is a flat-out disappointing cereal that only earns any points for its (surprising) health benefits.
For other cereals, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Kellogg’s Froot Loop Treasures
Apple Cinnamon Chex
Fiber One Honey Clusters
1/10
For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the food reviews I have written!
© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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