I tried Magic Spoon, the high-protein cereal that looks like the sugary kind I ate as a kid — and yes, it was delicious (2024)

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• Magic Spoon is a delicious cereal for adults that's high in protein and low in carbs and calories.
• The cereal is keto-friendly, non-GMO, and free from gluten, grain, wheat, soy, and artificial sweeteners.
• It gets its taste from allulose, a natural sweetener found in figs and maple syrup that has zero glycemic impact.
• You can graba variety 4-pack for $39, or a monthly subscription for around $30 per month.

As I write this, it's 2 p.m. on a Saturday and I'm wearing sweatpants while eating frosted cereal straight from the box, and I feel no shame.

Well, I probably should have showered and put on some real pants by now, but at the very least, I can feel good about making solid nutritional choices. The cereal I'm chowing down on is actually high in protein and low in carbohydrates, thanks to the geniuses over at Magic Spoon.

What is Magic Spoon?

The brand, which launched in April 2018, specializes in "high-protein, keto-friendly, non-GMO, gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, wheat-free, nothing artificial, childlike cereal for grown-ups" — a direct quote from the side of the pastel-colored cereal box I'm staring at. That's quite a mouthful, but then again, so is every bite of Magic Spoon.

There are seven flavors — Peanut Butter, Fruity, Frosted, Cocoa, Cinnamon, Blueberry, and limited edition Gingerbread — and they are all delicious, especially for a product with no artificial sweeteners, 12 grams of protein, and only three grams of net carbs. But while the company has clearly cracked some sort of nutritious-meets-delicious code here, it's not magic. Just a mixture of innovation, vision, and a relatively new-to-market natural sweetener.

What ingredients are in Magic Spoon?

"Modern consumers, including us, have been eschewing classic breakfast cereal in favor of healthier options," Gabi Lewis and Greg Sewitz, the brand's founders, told Insider Reviews. "The category is in decline only because everything in it today is high sugar, high carb, and full of junk. But most people still love cereal, so we set out to fix the problems with it."

Granted, there are some low sugar cereals on supermarket shelves already. You know, anything that ends in "-bran" or boasts a name like "Fiber-Os" and leaves something to be desired.

And that's where Magic Spoon comes in. Made with a type of "sugar" known as allulose, it's managed to recreate your favorite flavors from childhood, minus the sugar.

"We only use natural sweeteners: monk fruit, stevia, and allulose," Lewis and Sewitz say. "We spent months working on the perfect blend of natural sweeteners to create the same great taste you remember, without the sugar. We use them in a specific combination that doesn't result in the aftertaste people sometimes experience with sweeteners."

You're probably familiar with monk fruit and stevia, as they're widely used in the natural health food space, but allulose is a relative newcomer. "It's found in things like figs and maple syrup," the founders explain. "It tastes just like regular sugar" — a point I can personally and enthusiastically confirm — "but has zero glycemic impact and almost zero calories."

Even though allulose doesn't affect the body like other sugars, the FDA still requires it to be listed under the "Total Carbohydrate" category of the Nutrition Facts.

Strip away the two grams of fiber and three grams of allulose in a single serving of Magic Spoon, and that leaves just three net carbs per bowl, "which is seven to eight times less than most popular breakfast cereals," the founders estimate. "It's perfect for people who are on the keto diet or just trying not to overindulge on carb-heavy foods."

Each serving also boasts 12 grams of protein — or twice the amount of a single egg — to purportedly keep you fuller longer, help you sustain energy throughout the day, and even reduce cravings. "Nutritionists tend to disagree on many things — whether fats are good or bad for you, for example — but almost everyone agrees that protein is good for you, regardless of who you are," Lewis and Sewitz say.

Review of Magic Spoon

I've tried four flavors while my editor has tried them all except for Gingerbread, and we both agree that everything is delicious. "They're almost as sweet as traditional cereal and there's a different type of crunch, but it's still satisfying," said senior editor Jada Wong. "And unlike traditional cereal, they seem to get soggy less quickly — great for anyone who dislikes mushy cereal."

Besides the tasty factor, Magic Spoon's cereal boxes are seriously cute.

"We looked at the current market and noticed that most 'healthy' breakfast options were really sleepy and dull," the founders share. "We wanted to transport people back to Saturday morning cartoons, so we created these really playful, colorful, character-based cereal boxes." My personal favorite features an illustration of a cowboy riding a dinosaur — so much more fun to pull out of the kitchen cabinet than that box of Fiber-Os, right?

The bottom line

According to Lewis and Sewitz, "The Magic Spooncustomer is really anyone who loves cereal but wants a healthier option."

"That could be a millennial who grew up on cereal but stopped eating it as they started paying more attention to their diet, or it could be a mom who's looking for a healthy breakfast to feed her kids that will actually excite them — and that she can enjoy, too," they say.

However traditional cereal can still be nutitious and delicious. Magic Spoon will appeal most to those who have different lifestyles, like keto, and want to limit their carb intake. I'm not on a particularly restrictive lifestyle, nor do I have kids, but Magic Spoon has become my new go-to for one simple reason: it's delicious.

You can grab Magic Spoon in a 4-pack variety box or a 4-pack of an individual flavor for $39, or subscribe monthly and get 10% off ($35 per month).

Lewis suggests stocking up on his favorite flavor, Cocoa, while Sewitz is partial to Cinnamon. I'm a fan of Frosted and Fruity, but really, you can't go wrong. To borrow a phrase, they're all magically delicious.