1. Overall, what did your DC(s) think of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids Porridge? Did they make any comments about the texture, smell, taste or appearance?
My children never get chocolatey cereals so they were very, very, very ecstatic and excited to get the chance to try the chocolate porridge.
I have one porridge lover and one who is not so keen. As soon as they saw the product they were unsure. My son said "it just looks like oats with a tiny bit of cocoa powder on". I had to agree. Neither of them liked the taste much. I had promised them a sachet a week over half term, but neither of them has wanted to have a second sachet. I tried a packet this morning and found it difficult to get through.
I think the thing is that in the desire to be low in sugar, etc, it just doesn't really taste of anything. Kind of like making a hot chocolate with 1/4 the suggested amount of powder. We have porridge daily in term-time with banana, apple, pear, syrup. I have to say that mine is nicer! (even my reluctant porridge eater will manage it, and he did not manage the Quaker's product). I have wondered about trying to make my own with some decent chocolate powder in a larger quantity to see how it compares. Or maybe some chocolate chips which could melt and go all gooey. But really none of enjoyed this product.
My son said "you have to give this a really bad review".
2. What would you say are the main benefits of Quaker Oat So Simple Kids porridge, for you and/or for your DCs? What would be the key reason for you to buy the product?
I thought this would be fun and easy to prepare. Also we often stay in self-catering youth hostels, and thought this would be something quick and simple for the communal kitchens. (My home recipe takes 15 minutes).
3. What did you and your DC(s) like/dislike about the packaging (including the box and the individual sachets)? Why?
The box was very, very, very cute. However, it only had guidelines for making one sachet at a time. I would have preferred to make the whole family's supply at once.
I also found it very fiddly using the sachets. I am a bit of a butter fingers and spilt milk all over my daughter's coat!
The portion sizes were far to small for my family. Usually for the four of us I use 1.5 cups of oats, and three pieces of fresh fruit (chopped), 1 cup milk, 2 cups water. So what this made was nowhere close. I had screams of "I'm hungry" very soon after this was finished.
4. Do you have any ideas about how Quaker could make the Oat So Simple Kids Porridge more interesting for your DC(s)?
The flavour needs to be better and the portions bigger. I wonder about having some actual chocolate chips in it as some melting dark streaks might like it look less like a bowl of beige.
The kids were so disappointed with this that I bought the Quaker's Golden Syrup flavour yesterday as compensation. They really enjoyed that. The portions were still too tiny though!