Many people grew up on breakfast cereal, slipping into the kitchen on a Saturday morning to grab a box of Count Chocula, Cap'n Crunch or whatever sugar bombs Mom had loaded into the pantry. The next two hours would be spent with Bugs, the Roadrunner and Thundarr the Barbarian while consuming enough sugar to fell a rhino.

Even today, cereal is a go-to breakfast. Of course, for many, Cocoa Krispies have given way to more adult cereals, but I'll readily confess that my inner child occasionally cries out for a bowl of something that comes from a box with a cartoon character on it.

Quick Breakfasts | Cereal Scams

The cereal companies have heard me, and the rest of you out there like me, and have begun to play with the formulas of some of the stodgy standbys. They're adding fruit flavors, chocolate and other goodies as fast as they can stuff them in the boxes. I'm expecting any day to see Shredded Wheat with Fun Marshmallow Shapes.

All the cereals in this story were tested by a panel of three adults and two kids, and rated on flavor, texture and ability to stand up to milk. In the spirit of health-consciousness, we used skim milk for the testing. The cereals were not tasted dry, as dry cereal is a snack, not a breakfast.

Each tester awarded up to 20 points to each cereal, for a possible perfect score of 100.

Rice Krispies With Real Strawberries: 110 calories, 0 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 220 mg sodium, 26 grams carbs
This one is probably the biggest no-brainer of the group, as people have been adding fruit to Rice Krispies forever. The taste is OK, but the somewhat Styrofoam-like texture of the dried strawberries is off-putting. The testers gave this one 77 out of 100 points.

Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats Cinnamon Streusel: 180 calories, 1 gram fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 44 grams carbs
The streusel flavor is here, but the cinnamon seems to have been left out of the equation. Occasionally you'll find a faint hint of it, but it's just not as prominent as it should be. Otherwise pleasing, but the final score was 76 out of 100.

Nature Valley Organic Vanilla Nut: 190 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 41 grams carbs
Nature Valley is the brand that brought granola out of the hippie's larder and into middle-class American kitchens. This cereal, something like a fusion of traditional granola and Kashi, is another nice innovation. The flavors are excellent, with the only real off note being the rice puffs, which are a bit like packing peanuts in consistency. Overall score: 91.

Oat Cluster Cheerios Crunch: 100 calories, 1 gram fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium, 22 grams carbs

This one struck all the testers as a misfire. What appears to be multi-grain Cheerios is mixed with little granola asteroids. While both components taste fine on their own, the mixture just doesn’t harmonize well. Overall score: 79.

Honey Bunches of Oats with Cinnamon Clusters: 120 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 25 grams carbs

The flavor here is excellent, but one caveat: Eat it quickly. This cereal goes from crispy to soggy faster than any I've ever seen. The cinnamon flavor could be a bit more pronounced, but the overall score is a respectable 88.

Special K Cinnamon Pecan: 120 calories, 2 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 25 grams carbs

Here's a cereal that gets the cinnamon flavor right! The flakes are crispy, the promised flavors are prominent and well-balanced, and the sweetness is not overwhelming. This one wins the test with a total score of 97.

Grape Nuts Trail Mix Crunch Maple Nut & Brown Sugar: 180 calories, 3 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 220 mg sodium, 37 grams carbs

You either love Grape Nuts or you hate it. There's no cereal like it. Personally, I like it a lot, but this version didn't offer much of the maple flavor promised, although the nuts were definitely present. It wasn't a home run, but a solid double, scoring a total of 82.

Total Cranberry Crunch: 190 calories, 0 mg cholesterol, 280 mg sodium, 44 grams carbs

The box promises "crunchy oat clusters," which were in somewhat short supply but not really missed. The flakes and dried cranberries were wonderfully balanced, with the cranberries providing little bursts of tartness. All the testers, even the kids, enjoyed this one, landing it a final score of 95.

All-Bran Strawberry Medley: 170 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 230 mg sodium, 44 grams carbs

Adults know you don't eat All-Bran for the taste, so it was surprising to find so much flavor in this cereal. There's a light sweetness, and the strawberries are quite plentiful. There's still that trademark heaviness of fiber-rich cereals, but it's not unpleasant at all. Overall score: 92.

Strawberry Chex: 130 calories, 2 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 26 grams carbs

The kids will jump on this one like cats on a can of tuna. The strawberry flavor is very good, but the sweetness is a bit heavy. If you're an adult who is looking who still has cravings for kid cereals, this is just the thing. And it stays crunchy in milk! Total score: 89.

Chocolate Oat Crunch Life: 190 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 210 mg sodium, 40 grams carbs

This is classic Life cereal with oat clusters that are supposed to be chocolatey. They actually taste like they were rolled in unsweetened cocoa powder before being thrown in the box. If you've ever tasted brownie batter and gotten a taste of undissolved cocoa, you'll know the flavor here. It was jarring, and landed the Life with a score of 75. Other Links:

Eat Early, Stay Thin

Breakfast And Your Health

Whole Grains? Think Inside The Box

Food Comparisons:

Alternative Candy Bars Fight For Taste Buds

Which Cookie Chips Away At Competition?

Will 'Stunt Pizzas' Crash Your Diet?

Which Fast-Food Breakfast Survives Drive?

Which 'Big Burger' Worth Fat Bomb?