Review of Millville Fruity Rice

It's been a long winter. And as I scoped the kitchen for a cheerful little breakfast, I happened to see the box of Millville "Fruity Rice" by daughter left behind when she moved to North Carolina. I usually forego the kids' cereals, thinking they are stuffed with calories and sugar, but this little rainbow in a box appealed to me in this time of perpetual white. So I measured out a serving and dug in.

We bought our box of Millville "Fruity Rice" at Aldi, which is known for it's off-brand and reduced price groceries. It's a great place to bulk shop. It's no wonder that Millville "Fruity Rice" caught our daughter's eye. The central figure on the box is a large pink jellyfish with green egg-shaped eyes. The jellyfish swims across a red and white background, splashing through a milky sea, grasping at (or flinging?) large bits of fruity rice in it's wake. A jellyfish does seem a strange spokescreature for cereal, though perhaps the consumer is meant to connect the idea of "jelly" with fruit. But then again, what do most cereal mascots have to do with cereal? ("Frosted grain flakes" = "tiger"?) And as an eye-catching critter with kid appeal the jellyfish seems to work.

Also on the front of the box was the handy "nutrition focus" panel which gives the basics at a glance. I was pleasantly surprised that a serving of Millville "Fruity Rice" had only 110 calories and 2 percent of the daily recommended amount of fat". The 12 grams of sugar are a bit high, but not as bad as some. It's actually on par with some of the "healthy" cereals marketed for adults.

A purple bubble in the lower left-hand corner adds that Millville "Fruity Rice" is cholesterol free, has no trans fat, and provides 10 essential Vitamins and minerals. I checked the side panel and saw that these included 25 percent of your daily recommendation of vitamin A, 10 percent of your daily recommendation of iron, 10 percent of your daily recommendation of vitamin D, 25 percent of your daily recommendation of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin B12, 10 percent of your daily recommendation of zinc and 2 percent of your daily recommendation copper. Not to bad for what I considered "junk" food!

And the best part of Millville "Fruity Rice", beyond it's cheery visual impact, is that it's every bit as good as Fruity Pebbles. (And it cost a lot less.) The rice bits are light and crispy, and the sweet fruity flavor is just right: not too heavy, not too light, and just a bit cirtusy. Millville "Fruity Rice" provided a nice little trips down memory lane, and was a great way to brighten a dreary winter morning. (I even wrote a little haiku about it here.) All in all, for breakfast or a treat, I highly recommend Millville "Fruity Rice" for kids or your own inner child.

Enjoy!