It's a hot cereal marketed for kids: Quaker's new Kids' Choice - billed as "#1 Flavor Chosen by Kids. The "Strawberries 'n Stuff" retails for $2.75 for ten packets in a 14.1-ounce box.
Don Russell (married, five children at home, ages 14-4): "This new instant oatmeal cereal didn't go over real well with the kids at our house. Generally, I think they're easy to please with this kind of cereal, but Quaker's new version seems overly sticky and contains a random sampling of sweetened goodies that don't necessarily go together. I'm mildly comfortable recommending other similar cereals, but I'm hesitant on this one."Edyth Jensen (married, three children at home): "We liked this for a fast breakfast. The kids (older ones) thought it was too hot to try, we figured they would wait until cold weather comes along. We will probably use this again."
Nihla Lake (married, two children at home): "We had two of our grandkids, ages 2 and 7 test this kids' oatmeal. They both gave it a thumbs down. They must be too mature for this cereal because they said they don't like `junk' in their oatmeal - maybe just a smidgen of brown sugar. They said that when the marshmallows melted, the cereal became too sweet."
Linda C. Tingey (single mother, four teenage boys at home): "I liked this cereal. I like regular oatmeal, but the variation was nice for a change. It's quick and convenient. I only have two oatmeal eaters at my home, but we'll be buying this again."
Rich Firmage (married, three children, oldest 8 years old): "Boy, was this stuff easy to make and the price is pretty good, too. Now if I could only get my kids to eat it.
"We tried the strawberry flavor, which really didn't have anything to do with my kids eating it. They just don't like hot cereal. My oldest said it was `mushy.' No kidding! If you like hot cereal, I have nine more packets you can have."
Conclusion: The adults in your house might enjoy Quaker's new flavor, but our small fry testers gave a raspberry ("Thhbbt!") to this strawberry mush.
- The Deseret News testing panel loved the non-aerosol air freshener Citrus Magic - but readers have been wondering where they can find it.
A call to the manufacturer turned up a number of area drugstores and markets where you can buy Citrus Magic. A few of these are: Brighton Pharmacy, 7138 Highland Drive; Chelsea Drug, 6225 Highland Drive; Dan's Food, 3900 Wasatch Drive; Food 4 Less, 5585 Van Winkle Expressway; Harmon's West Market, 3955 W. 3600 South; the Apothecary Shoppe, 1002 E. South Temple and Macey's, 7858 S. 1300 East.
The Deseret News testing panel independently tests products purchased by the Deseret News. Readers with suggestions for products to be tested should contact Karen Boren, The Today Section, Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.