Is Nara Smith's Homemade Cereal Worth the Time? I Tried It So You Don't Have To

There's nothing quite like a mother's love. And sometimes, that devotion extends to making your kids a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch . . . from scratch.

If your weekly screen time clocks in at a reasonable amount, I'll explain: Nara Smith, model and mother of two toddlers, is a pro at crafting labor-intensive meals. You'd likely recognize her from a series of elaborate cooking videos on TikTok. Some say that her content exemplifies the trad wife lifestyle, but for the purpose of this article, let's simply consider her a very skilled home cook with a killer wardrobe.

My freezer is fully stocked with microwave meals, and I am way too accident-prone to wear a maxi dress while baking. Suffice to say, Smith's aesthetic choices aren't for everyone. But, in the name of research, I still donned my chicest outfit and prepped a bowl of homemade cereal for my nonexistent toddlers. Here's how it went.

If there's one thing to know about Smith, it's that she's skilled at making any task look effortless. Her March 1 cereal tutorial, which has since amassed over 26 million views, is no different. "Today my toddlers wanted cereal for breakfast again, so I decided to make Cinnamon Toast Crunch," Smith narrates in her buttery-smooth voice, noting that the sugary cereal is a favorite of her husband, fellow model Lucky Blue Smith.

Smith starts by combining dry ingredients in a wooden bowl, then adding oil and water. After combining the dough with her hands, she rolls it out between two sheets of parchment paper. She recommends using a pizza cutter to cut the thin dough into squares, then sends it into the oven to turn crispy.

While Smith doesn't claim that she created the recipe, eagle-eyed commenters were quick to point a resemblance to recipe developer Erin Simpson Lozier's tutorial. Her TikTok video, posted weeks prior to Smith's, outlines a similar process and ingredients. The major difference appears to be the cinnamon swirls: while Lozier recommends lightly combining the cinnamon to create a marble design, Smith prefers to mix the dough more thoroughly.

Despite the endless comments poking fun at Smith's effort, this labor of love really isn't too technical or time-intensive. (At least, compared to her seriously impressive lasagna video.) The dough comes together fairly quickly, especially when using your hands to fully incorporate all ingredients.

Dear reader, it's possible that she didn't deserve all those snarky comments.

One thing the content creator didn't admit in her video? It's actually tricky to nail down the exact thinness of the classic cereal. My version emerged from the oven a bit puffier than the OG, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'd even consider skipping that $6 box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch for this version.

There's plenty of room for experimentation here. I elected to use finely-milled pastry flour (instead of the suggested whole wheat flour) for a smoother texture. Monk fruit sweetener, a zero-calorie alternative that's supposedly 200 times sweeter than cane sugar, is recommended by Smith but sometimes difficult to track down. It's also easy to half the recipe, on the off-chance you're not also feeding a Tumblr-famous husband and two sweet kids.

In case you didn't feel like waking in the early-morning hours to prepare this for breakfast — trust that it's delicious as a midnight snack, too. Especially when you don't have to share.

Nicolette Baker is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, NY. Her expertise lies primarily in food, drink, and fashion media, but she enjoys covering all aspects of lifestyle with an accessible approach. She's written for Food & Wine, Byrdie, Business Insider, VinePair, and Flourish.