Customer Reviews

Special K Cereal, Red Berries, 16.7-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 4)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This review is less about the cereal and more about the option of buying from Amazon for one of two reasons:

1) If you've never had it, you're probably not going to buy a 4-pack. More likely, you'll go to your local market and buy one box.

2) If you have had it and you're looking at this item, you're trying to decide if you want to buy a 4-pack.

I have a 4-pack delivered every month via "Subscribe & Save" and here's why:

My local groceries carry the smaller 12oz boxes for about $3-$3.50, the 16.7 oz box is usually about $5-$5.50. Bear in mind, this item is a 4-pack of 16.7 oz boxes.

The subscribe & save option from Amazon takes 15% off (did I also mention no shipping, no commitment) which lowers the $20 price tag to more like $17 for four boxes, or $4.25 per box- that's almost a dollar off what my grocery charges!

So, I get the cereal I love, delivered to my door regularly and automatically, for almost a dollar less than what I'd have to pay if I drove to the store. It doesn't take a college education to know that's a deal!

My mother lives in Colorado and is on a very fixed low income. If I send her money she won't use it so I have found I can help her by buying her groceries off Amazon and having them sent directly to her house and this enables me to be able to help her. THANK YOU Amazon for having products like this on your site. I hope you continue to work with companies and make this affordable to have groceries shipped this way and also to save us the hassels of going to the grocery store when we can have it delivered to our house for about the same cost as going to the grocery store.

Kellogg's Special K Cereal, Red Berries, 16.7-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 4), is a delicious cereal. Since Kellogg is number one -- the number one producer of convenience food in the world --we know Kellogg will give us what we want while ignoring the things that do not matter to us.

What do we want?
(1) Flavor. Those real freeze dried strawberries are so delicious that we are tempted to eat them dry out of the box and leave the cereal. The cereal tastes good too. It is sweet, and there is malt flavoring that we love.
(2) Nutrition. With 110 calories per cup, we can measure out a cup and use it for diet food. It has vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, B vitamins, and minerals.
(3) Grain. There are crispy rice and wheat flakes.


What does not matter to us? (Or does it?)
(1) Sugar. The cereal is loaded with it, but if we did not have it in the cereal, many of us would spoon in a generous application. The second ingredient is sugar. Is that cane or corn? Also listed in the ingredients is high fructose corn syrup.
(2) Nutrition. It is hard to stop with one cup full because we are used to feeling full. A cup of light cereal takes us through the motion of eating slowly . . . that's a plus . . . but does not satisfy the way whole grain cereal does. About the added nutrition: some of us don't need all of what it gives us, or maybe we really do prefer to take them in pill form so we know we exactly what we are getting. Many of us take in more iron than is considered healthy for our specific needs. What your physician will tell you about this issue may be surprising.
(3) Grain. If we are allergic to wheat, we need to pay attention to the label. Also there is corn in the form of fructose. What we are getting is highly refined grain products when whole grain would be better for our health by providing fiber.

With the price out of the range of what we usually spend on breakfast foods, I don't find it a good value.

I love this cereal and I eat it regularly, but at $20 for 4 boxes, you're paying $5 a box, which is outrageous. You can find it in stores for $2 a box, which means that you're paying a 150% markup.

In short: great cereal, terrible price.

I was just two pounds shy of my Weight Watchers goal when I fell off the weight loss wagon and gained four additional pounds. Life was busy, and I wanted a fuss-free way to lose those last pounds before swimsuit season. Since I enjoy Special K products, I thought I'd put the Special K 2-Week Weight Loss Challenge to the test. I ate Special K cereal for two meals, snacked on fruits and veggies (instead of the recommend Special K snack products) and made healthy dinner choices. I didn't expect to lose 6 pounds as advertised, since my weight loss had slowed from months of dieting and I was near my goal weight. To my surprise, I lost 6 pounds and have finally reached my goal weight!

ABOUT THE DIET:
It's convenient and doesn't require much planning. However, it could get a little boring in the long run. It could also be difficult to meet daily nutritional requirements. Also, rapid weight loss could be difficult to maintain in the long run. If you've been dieting and just can't lose those last few pounds, or if you need to lose a few pounds fast for a big event, give Special K a try.

ABOUT THE CEREAL:
One can usually find a box of Special K in my kitchen cabinet. Most often, it is the Red Berries variety. I enjoy the Fruit and Yogurt flavor, as well, but the serving size is 1/4 cup less. The original flavor is also nice from time to time, but the Chocolatey Delight is just not a good idea, in my opinion. But back to the Red Berries. The cereal consists of the usual Special K flakes with dehydrated strawberries. Once I pour on my Silk Light soy milk, the berries plump up to add lots of real strawberry flavor. There are generous amounts of berries and the flakes stay crispy in milk. All in all, this is an excellent cereal that I highly recommend.

This stuff is wonderful if you're on Weight Watchers: a 1-cup serving is only 2 pts, Add 2/3 C skim milk, and we're talking a total of 3 pts for a very filling and delicious breakfast. I've tried most of the Special K flavors, and this one is by far the best. The freeze-dried strawberries have a wonderful almost-fresh strawberry flavor, too.

Most of my diet (I'd say 90%) is unprocessed, consisting of meals I make "from scratch," using fresh ingredients from the produce and meat/fish aisles. I also make my own breads, biscuits, etc. I'm very much aware of the controversy surrounding high fructose corn syrup, the negative impact it can have especially on dieters, and I try to avoid it. That said, and given my overall diet, I don't have a problem with consuming a small amount of HFCS occasionally for breakfast. It would be lovely if Kelloggs didn't use HFCS, but they do -- it's fairly low on the list of ingredients (just ahead of salt), but it's there.

The bottom line is that I'm losing weight, keeping it off, and I feel great. If you're concerned about HFCS, you may decide this isn't for you.

kelloggs Special K red berries is what i have for breakfast for at least 4 years now and i lost weight and stay fit. I have it with milk and so when i need midnight snack i go for it, too.

This is a delicious cereal. The flakes are crunchy and sweet (does not taste overly sugarly) and the freeze-dried strawberries are a perfect match to the flakes.

PROS -
1. Tasty

CONS -
1. As other reviewers have noted, there is a large percentage of sugar and high fructose corn syrup in this cereal. The fact that is has high fructose corn syrup makes this a 4-star review for me. I mean, c'mon Kellogg's!? A product that is considered for dieting containing high fructose corn syrup!? Oh, well....that's what makes it taste good...

TIP ON COST
Some reviewers have expressed concerns about the cost of buying it on Amazon. When buying groceries, one should really look at the unit cost or in this case, cost per ounce. Many supermarkets will list the cost per ounce somewhere on the price tag that you can use for reference when doing cost comparisons.

For this product, Amazon has TWO prices.
1. The first price is $20.81 (as of 1/8/10) which equates to $0.31/oz - typical retail price at most grocery stores. (My local Von's price currently is $0.30/oz.)
2. The second price is $17.69 (as of 1/8/10) which equates to $0.27/oz - a more competitive price but not the best price. You get this price if you do the Subscribe and Save which gives you a 15% discount if you sign up for delivery on regular intervals. I use Subscribe and Save for many groceries through Amazon because I cannot get a better deal elsewhere.

If you can find this cereal less than $0.27/oz elsewhere, definitely nab it! Especially if you're a coupon fanatic!

Overall, the price is not too bad on Amazon especially if you're someone who likes the convenience of having some of your groceries delivered. If not, find those coupons and wait for the sales at your local grocery store and you'll make out much better!

When I tried this cereal I was not anticipating how great the strawberries would taste! They are REAL berries and taste so good I could eat them alone for a snack. Freeze dried fruit makes a difference and they complement the cereal which is lightly sweetened and stays crunchy in milk.
When I am trying to maintain my weight or lose a few pounds this is a pleasurable healthy cereal that I prefer for calorie control and taste.

Every morning my husband, a snow plow driver in the U.P., starts his day iwith a big bowl of Special K Red Berries.