Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
Picnic Recipes Galore
Corner-Store Party Food on the Fly
9 Chili Recipes, Bison to Vegan
How to Choose the Best Strawberries
Sausage Recipes of the Month
Me & Goji Custom Artisanal Cereal
I Paid: From $8.65 to $14.40 for a 10.5-cup tube of cereal (shipping extra)
It's difficult not to fall in love with the concept of Me & Goji. Using the website's interactive cereal-builder system, you create the breakfast cereal of your dreams. You can name it and even decorate it with a custom photo. Voilà! Vanity cereal!
Goji's possible bases include things like choco granola, raw five-grain muesli, and goji oats; the mix-ins include such items as multigrain o's, rye flakes, cocoa almonds, and ground nutmeg; the dried fruits include strawberry, banana, goji, and açaí powder; and the nuts and seeds include cashews, pine nuts, and sesame seeds.
After selecting the components, you get to name your cereal (it shows up on the tube that your stuff is packaged in) and, for an optional $2.99, have a photo of your choice printed on the tube.
The finished tube contains about 21 1/2-cup servings and costs between $4.90 (if you ordered the cheapest base) and more than $16 (if you went nuts on the expensive stuff), plus shipping. Typical cost is probably $8 to $12 per tube.
I tried making three cereals (my names): Krakatoa Hot Start (an oats-based hot cereal with cranberries), The Pecan Bomb (a choco granola/cocoa almond/cherry/strawberry/pecan confection), and Sunrise Over Mt. Fuji (with "samurai wheat," a.k.a. mini wheats, plus coconut, apple, and almond).
They arrived in their tubes, I ate them, and the verdict is: All of them were tasty. It turns out that when you start with healthy, natural ingredients, it's hard to screw things up. The Pecan Bomb had a sweet, nutty, substantial granolalike flavor; Krakatoa Hot Start had a lot of toothsome oaty chew and a bit of dried cranberry sweetness; Sunrise Over Mt. Fuji was a bit monkish in its stripped-down flavor but felt healthy as all get out ... not a terrible way to start the day.
The costs were, as follows: Krakatoa $8.65 (plus $2.99 photo fee); Sunrise Over Mt. Fuji $9.05 (plus $2.99 photo fee); Pecan Bomb $14.40 (plus $2.99 photo fee). They all shipped together for $6.96. I think it was actually worth the cost, in that it's premium-grade customizable granola-style cereal and it's delicious. And it could certainly make a ridiculous gift, depending on the name and photo you selected.
Personally I think Mr. Taster is really mroe promoting the novelty of it all especially if you are going to go the route of photo on your container. I think he hit the nail on the head with the gift idea. While I don't really want to spend this price on mundane breakfast cereal I will certainly shell out this type of dough for a gift.
@planetjess, while RileyCat and you were offering your evaluation of my comments, I was actually "trying" to send a comment/feedback to the writer, Mr. Taster. I still see this as expensive cereal. I meant no hostility to the writer. Thank you.
Wow - so much anger over cereal... sheesh :)
@HillJ. To clarify, I was "talking about" your comments 1, 3 and 4 on this thread, providing data (specifically, price per portion) regarding the actual price of the item reviewed vs. a standard mass-consumed breakfast item (reviewed item vs. cheerios), and hoping that you might clarify how this particular review might suggest that SuperTaster is not "sourcing...affordable food funds in 2011",...+READ
@HillJ. To clarify, I was "talking about" your comments 1, 3 and 4 on this thread, providing data (specifically, price per portion) regarding the actual price of the item reviewed vs. a standard mass-consumed breakfast item (reviewed item vs. cheerios), and hoping that you might clarify how this particular review might suggest that SuperTaster is not "sourcing...affordable food funds in 2011", which is the clear implication of your first comment. Hope this helps.-COLLAPSE
I make my own granola, with similar ingredients, for a lot less. :) Maybe i will paste a funny picture on my cereal jar.
I assure you my question for Mr. Taster was not intended to be hostile. If you don't agree with my asking the question that's fine.
@planetjess, I have no idea what you are talking about.
Sorry--just to note--math was wrong in my first post, as I divided by number of cups, not 1/2 cups. With 1/2 cups, Honey Nut Cheerios = 26 cents per 1/2 cup (or 39 cents per recommended 3/4 cup serving), base Me&Goji price = 24 cents per 1/2 cup serving, and the variation by Supertaster weighed in at 41 cents, 43 cents and 69 cents per 1/2 cup serving, respectively.
HillJ, I'm not certain what you're suggesting. What is the ratio between "affordable" vs. non-"affordable" foodstuff reviews that would be ok with you? Furthermore, what do you consider "affordable"? Right now, the only scale I can figure out in recent reviews is about a 50/50 balance between mass-produced filler-laden junkfood and other products that...are either more natural or try to present...+READ
HillJ, I'm not certain what you're suggesting. What is the ratio between "affordable" vs. non-"affordable" foodstuff reviews that would be ok with you? Furthermore, what do you consider "affordable"? Right now, the only scale I can figure out in recent reviews is about a 50/50 balance between mass-produced filler-laden junkfood and other products that...are either more natural or try to present some new twist.
For illustrative purposes, I give you...this very review. Honey Nut Cheerios is listed on a local website for me at $4.69 for a 12.25 oz. box. This comes out to a price of 52 cents per 1/2 cup (although they list a larger serving size of 3/4 cup, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for pricing's sake and compare apples to apples, or the price per serving would go up--even if it would be fair to assume that the Me&Goji product may provide a denser eating experience and therefore truly require a smaller serving size). In contrast, the Me&Goji cereals start at 47 cents per 1/2 cup. Cheaper than Honey Nut Cheerios. The highly customized versions that Supertaster came up with came to 82 cents, 86 cents and $1.37 per 1/2 cup respectively. If you don't go crazy with the pecan bomb, I would argue that this is hardly a price difference that would take this cereal out of the realm of affordability for anyone who can afford cheerios, and in exchange, you get to actually customize the cereal to your particular tastes.
And if you want to talk shipping charge--what do gas prices and time value for grocery store trips add to our food costs?
To me, the interesting thing about this product is that it doesn't have to be a luxury product if you don't want it to be. It can be practical, affordable, fun and (according to the review) nutritious and delicious. Works for me.-COLLAPSE
Sorbet squeeze, luxury pies...yes those pricey foods have been reviewed here too, RC.
why thank you RileyCat for that heads up. I read the column, so yes I saw tuna, chips, mac & cheese...but 16.00 cereal? Just hoping expensive food hunts aren't a new trend. But thanks :)
@HillJ-- the last 3 out of 5 reviews have been tuna salad, chips ahoy, and trader joe's mac and cheese balls... hardly breaking the bank there.
Mr. Taster, how about sourcing some afforable food finds in 2011.