Chocolate Cheerios {review, recipe, giveaway}

There is a new member of the Cheerios family!  And like it's siblings, Chocolate Cheerios is low in fat and calories making it a heart healthy breakfast treat.  Additionally, it contains at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving (at least 48 grams recommended daily), and is a good source of calcium and vitamin D.

Made with real cocoa, you might just feel like you are having dessert for breakfast with this new cereal.  In fact, it is the decadent chocolate flavor that makes this an equally fun after school snack.

MyBlogSpark, on behalf of General Mills, sent us a Chocolate Cheerios Gift Pack for our family to try and is providing us with a second gift pack to give to one lucky reader!

We ate some Chocolate Cheerios for breakfast, ate some more as an afternoon treat, and put some to good use creating yummy dessert bars that even my son with food allergies could try.  I modified one of the suggested recipes on the Cheerios Website to the following:

(making this a dairy, egg, and nut free treat)

Chocolate Cheerio & Soynut Butter Bars

5 cups Chocolate Cheerios® cereal
1 1/2 cups salted pretzel sticks
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup creamy soynut butter
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

1.  Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, combine cereal, chocolate chips, and pretzel sticks; set aside.

2.  In 2-quart saucepan, combine corn syrup and sugars. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in soynut butter.

3.  Pour soynut butter mixture over cereal mixture; mix until thoroughly coated. Spread evenly in pan.  Allow to set and cool.  Eat.

Ready to try some yourself?  Enter now:  As I mentioned, we are giving away 1 gift pack to a lucky reader.  The Chocolate Cheerios gift pack includes a box of Chocolate Cheerios, as well as a chocolate scented spa kit, and a ceramic cereal bowl.  Simply leave a comment below telling us what time of day you are most likely to nibble on your Chocolate Cheerios if you win.

Optional Additional Entries for:
1 extra entry if you become a fan of Cheerios on Facebook. 
1 extra entry if you follow this blog or subscribe to this blog's feed. 
1 extra entry if you tweet about this giveaway and include @andtwinsmake5.
1 extra entry if you blog about this contest and link back to it.

Rules:
An email address is required to enter. Please leave it in your comment, or make sure one is visible for me to find in your blogger profile. If you qualify for additional entries please comment separately telling us which options you have used. A winner will be chosen via random.org. The winner will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen.  This contest is open to 18 + USA only.  Ends on 3/1/10 @ 11:59PM CST.