A lifetime ambition achieved - I met the Honey Monster! #funmonsterfied #magicmoments #whatsthestory

Food can transport people back to their past. For instance the smell of pancakes frying takes me right back to my Granny's kitchen where she would endlessly make them for me and my cousins.  None of your wafer-thin crepe nonsense for my Granny - she would make belly-busting thick pancakes complete with handfuls of sultanas thrown in. We loved them!

Young madmumof7

I am a child of the (late) 60's so along with the pancakes which Granny would make whilst boiling pigs trotters and tripe for my Grandad's tea, my childhood was filled with exciting new foods accompanied by exciting new adverts on the television. 

Reconstituted mashed potato was advertised by the aluminium aliens, I adored mince filled crispy pancakes followed by bright pink delight-ful puddings and we were all urged to "get busy with the fizzy" with our new drinks makers.

But my favourite of all was the Honey Monster and the cereal previously known as Sugar Puffs. I say previously known as because after a thorough makeover to ensure it lives up to the healthy expectations of the modern consumer the breakfast cereal has been #funmonsterfied and rebranded as Honey Monster Puffs.

We went along to thecentre:MK to meet the famous Honey Monster fulfilling a life-long ambition of mine. I had a major crush on him as a child (yes I am fully aware that this is weird) and even had a cuddly Honey Monster which my mum made for me one long-ago Christmas.

I once entered a competition from the back of the cereal box. I forget what the prize was (my mum reckons it was a year's supply or a holiday knowing me!) but I do remember I had to come up with a slogan explaining why I loved the cereal.

My entry? I wrote: "I love Sugar Puffs because they look like dead bees floating in the milk."

Strangely I did not win but it did not deter me from eating the cereal to this very day.  

I have always been very aware that it is not the healthiest of breakfast choices so it has been an occasional treat, along with Honey Waffles (from the same manufacturer as Honey Monster Puffs) which is the only cereal one of my children will eat apart from Weetabix.

So now it has been updated I am sure you will want to know what's in your children's bowls (or yours!)

Firstly I can reveal the answer to the question I asked as a child -how do they make the puffs? 

Well, they use whole grains of wheat, "Monsterfy" them by steaming them until they puff (a bit like making popcorn) then drizzle the puffs with honey and sugar. 

To make the new Honey Monster Puffs they have upped the honey content (by 20% compared to the last recipe) whilst reducing the overall sugar content from 31g-29g compared to the last recipe and by over a third over the last decade.  So it's definitely a lot less sugary than when I was a child although I haven't noticed a significant change to the flavour.

The cereal contains no artificial  colours flavours or preservatives and is fortified with vitamins and iron and the Honey Monster Puffs website declares that the Puffs are low in salt and fat and are a source of fibre.

After having our photograph taken with the Honey Monster - who is looking very fit for his age might I say- we could not wait to get home and try the new recipe cereal from our goody bags. 

They look the same and in my opinion still give you a tasty bowlful of honeyed yumminess. And they still look like dead bees floating in the milk.

Are you ready for the grand finale? Great news! If you too have harboured a secret crush on The Honey Monster you can go and meet him, get your picture taken with him and pick up some free samples of the new Honey Monster Puffs. The children might enjoy it too!

You can find him here:

14th Feb	High Cross	Leicester
15th Feb	Queensgate	Peterborough
21st Feb	Gloucester Quays	Gloucester
22nd Feb	CrownGate Shopping Centre	Worcester
28th Feb	Merry Hill Shopping Centre	Dudley, W.Midlands
1st March	Star City	Birmingham

And if you can't make those dates or venues console yourself by watching this brand new advert featuring the yellow furry hero himself.

This post is linked to #whatsthestory at Podcast and #magicmoments at The Oliver's Madhouse. Click the badges to read more great blogs.

Disclaimer: After meeting the Honey Monster we were given goody bags to say thank you for coming along. I have not been paid to write this post. Views and opinions are honest and my own.