Hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers and blue moons, hourglasses, rainbows, and tasty red balloons. We all know those “magical marshmallows” are “magically delicious,” and it’s no secret that as a child you picked them out of the frosted oat pieces because let’s face it, that’s the real draw of General Mills’s Lucky Charms.  

Lucky Charms is a unique cereal to say the least. Since it’s release in 1964 it has never failed to put smiles on kids’ faces at the sight of, and anticipation for the marshmallow pieces. As the first cereal ever to include marshmallows, this unique concept has been many times replicated to bring the same joy and excitement as this General Mills classic. 

Lucky the Leprechaun, the famous mascot, has been around since the cereal’s debut. He can be found on every box, and in every Lucky Charms commercial thwarting kids’ effort to get a bowl of his cereal and enticing us with his slogan “They’re magically delicious!” 

Each Lucky Charms box is super bright and vibrant, much like the treat of a breakfast inside. There’s a consistent bright red color scheme throughout, with the cereal logo, Lucky himself, and all his magical marshmallow pieces surrounding a bowl of the product. 

Nutritionally speaking, you probably don’t want to grab this one from your cupboard, but I know you will anyway. Don’t worry, I’m doing the same. At 140 calories, 12 grams of sugar, and only 2 grams of fiber per cup, there’s not much nutrition here. However, Lucky Charms is gluten free and is made from whole grain oats. 

With a cereal as popular and famous as this, of course there have been many other variants of it over time. Currently on the shelves are Chocolate Lucky Charms, Fruity Lucky Charms, Lucky Charms Honey Clovers, and of course the original. General Mills also released a limited edition of just the magical marshmallows a few months back, and they are more sought after than an actual pot of leprechaun gold.  

To further expound upon the wonder that is Lucky Charms, the creative geniuses at General Mills have created an entire little world for this product. In fact, each marshmallow has a special “charm” or “ability” that it gives to Lucky the Leprechaun. Hearts have the power to bring things to life, Horseshoes have the power to speed things up, Shooting Stars grant flight, Green Clovers grant luck, Rainbows give the ability of instantaneous travel, Blue Moons allow for invisibility, Red Balloons have the power to make things float, and finally, Hourglasses allow for time control. Who knew? 

You will be damned to find another cereal that’s anywhere near as aesthetically pleasing as Charms. The oat pieces can be found in four different shapes and there’s currently seven different magical marshmallows. It’s a colorful and fun bowl to behold.  

In terms of flavor and texture, the “frosted toasted oat pieces” are somewhat like another General Mills cereal, Cheerios, but with a much stronger oat taste and a bit more of a crunch. The marshmallow pieces are very large in comparison to other General Mills marshmallows found in cereals like Elf Cereal and Monster Cereals. Being dehydrated, they have a crisp texture while dry, and after swimming in the milk, they soften and take on the exact consistency of a normal marshmallow. They taste like eating a spoonful of marshmallow fluff if you get just the right spoonful. 

The oats on their own are bland and the marshmallows on their own are too much, but together, they complement each other and make a nice bowl of cereal. Like Cheerios, the oat pieces do go soggy, but Lucky Charms pieces retain their crunch for a little longer. The milk at the end of the bowl turns blue from all the artificial coloring, but sadly doesn’t retain any marshmallow flavor, and only gains oat flavor. 

Lucky Charms rocks. Plain and simple. It’s unique, delicious, and so much fun all in one bowl. While it’s kind of terrible for you, I recommend you start your day off with this cereal because the joy it brings is hard to replicate, to the dismay of many other cereal companies.