Apparently, today is National Cereal Day, and even though said appellation make my nuts start to ache and my trigger finger twitch, it’s a better reason for commemoration than, say, Cesar Chavez Day or Secretaries Day.
Here’s the Britishland hit parade:
If you want my opinion, those choices are far too healthy. I mean: Weetabix? [sic] Ready brek? (although I have to say that with our kids, Ready Brek was a firm favorite for First Breakfast) And of Alpen and All Bran, we will not speak.
Here in Murka, the choices are far more (shall we say) kid-friendly:
…although the appearance of Special K (a triumph of marketing over fact) is concerning, even at #9.
I have to confess that I hardly ever eat breakfast cereal anymore, except the (very) occasional bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, which I discovered on my first trip Over Here with Longtime Friend Trevor, and have never lost the taste for it since.
And my special weakness — i.e. as a snack consumed straight from the box — is this one, discovered as a child in Seffrica, and which still captivates me, over half a century later:
Just looking at the pic makes me want to get some — but fortunately (?) there isn’t any of the lovely stuff in the pantry at the moment. (I try to contain myself to a box every other month, but it’s very difficult…)
I know, I know: cereal isn’t for grownups. Mea maxima culpa, but thank goodness I’m not tempted by the really sweet stuff like Froot Loops or Lucky Charms.
But at least when I look at both the above lists, the “nuts-‘n-twigs” type doesn’t feature.
(I noticed that in Germanland, granola is almost the exclusive offering at hotels’ breakfast buffets, which is probably why they lost the war.)
Ugh. Makes me lose my appetite just looking at them.
Which is probably the whole point. Damn Birkenstockers.
I don’t do breakfast and I haven’t eaten cereal in at least 40 years.
But if I did, it would be one of those BIG shredded wheats, smeared with butter, then hot milk poured over it, then sprinkled with sugar. Used to have that sometimes when I was a kid.
My dad was a “bacon and eggs” kinda dood and when we were kids in rural Penn we’d have that frequently, and sometimes oatmeal or cream of wheat. After I joined the army in 1974 I mostly got out of the breakfast thing cause I didn’t like the “loaded down” feeling afterward. I pretty much still feel the same way. I do however frequently daydream about a full fledged “farmer breakfast” and one day I will have it – a western omelet, 4 bacon strips, home fries, sausage gravy over the whole mess, wheat toast with strawberry jelly, and a big glass of vitamin D. Then a 4 hour nap. LOL
I haven’t bought “breakfast cereal” for myself in over 20 years. It’s just a big bowl of sugar, even the nuts-n-twigs crap, and no one who is of legal drinking age needs that. (A lesson I learned at least 10 years late.) That said, my Mount Rushmore of cereals is Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Frosted Mini Wheats, Golden Grahams, and at a distant but respectable fourth, Lucky Charms. Although I have discovered that Blueberry Cheerios and a dash of cinnamon powder makes a fantastic ice cream topping.
Incidentally, at YOUR recommendation, I bought two boxes of ProNutro from Amazon. It was…interesting. The package said “Chocolate” but the flavor was far fruitier than one would reasonably expect. (Adding a heaping spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder helped.) I wondered what it would taste like hot but I don’t have a double boiler and I didn’t know if a regular saucepan (or the microwave) would cure it like fresh cement, so cold it remained. Anyway, it was different and interesting, and I wouldn’t discourage anyone else from trying it, but I’m in no hurry to click “Buy it again!” at BezosWorld.
You say “a big bowl of sugar” like that’s a Bad Thing…
Mmmmm, Weetabix …
The one: Frankenberry
Unfortunately, here in communist amerika they only sell it around Halloween and have tried to make it more “healthy” (it doesn’t make the milk pink anymore). >:-[
Close second: I did see a box of “Quisp” (sort of a Cap’n Crunch ripoff only better tasting) in a store a while back. It tasted pretty similar to what I remember as a kid although the individual pieces were much smaller than I remember. Not sure if it was a limited run or not as I haven’t seen it widely available.
1/3 cup oat flakes, 2/3 cup water, 75 seconds in microwave, wait a few minutes, add 1/3 cup skim milk, 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar.
If you’re actually hungry, you’ll eat any damn thing.
It’s been decades since I had any form of breakfast cereal, but back when it was a part of my morning routine I liked Life and Frosted Mini Wheats. Never much cared for any of the “sugar delivery vehicle” cereals with the exception of Frosted Flakes. Raisin Bran was ok, despite the raisins (not a fan). Anything with “marshmallow bits” was right out, even as a foolish child.
A friend once described raisins (in anything) as “dead flies”, and I’m not going to argue the point on that. Ordinary Bran Flakes, however… yum.
Mrs. ‘Bix calls them “ticks.” Especially when they’re plumped up in oatmeal.
As a kid Winter was Oatmeal (not Instant) & Cream of Wheat (with milk, butter and a sprinkle of sugar…but cereal fav’s were:
– Frosted Flakes
– Cap’n Crunch (all variations)
– Honeycomb
– Lucky Charms
– Apple Jacks
– Cheerios (with a sprinkle of sugar of course)
…not in any particular order, whatever was first in the cabinet as my “hollow leg” younger self ate whatever was in front of me. We also didn’t drink a lot of soda, but as for the cereal sugar intake, we were outside all the time (chores and play) so burned it off inside of an hour.
Now? Cereal once in while and usually something like Costco’s Morning Summit, but a box lasts a 6 months instead of a week.
Pffft. Any American kid can tell you that the Two True cereals of Antioch are Cocoa Pebbles and Cap’n Crunch Crunchberries.
There can be only one: CAP’N CRUNCH. The original, of course. None of that heretical mixing with berry-shaped impurities.
HERETIC! SPLITTER!
HERETIC! SPLITTER! The original was only the prototype rushed to market for a minumally viable product!
My breakfast is half a cup of oatmeal with a squirt of honey and either blueberries or sliced strawberries.
My favorite box cereal is Raisin Bran (regardless of brand) followed by Cheerios.
A word or warning, however. Look what eating Wheaties for 30+ years did to Bruce Jenner!
Growing up I typically ate soup, or leftovers for breakfast. Sometimes I had corn flakes in the summer, sometimes frosted flakes. Now if I eat anything in the morning its oatmeal with some dried fruit on top or maybe cheerios. Weekends when the Chief Cook is home, she makes eggs, bacon, sausage, egg pancakes, blue berry pancakes, waffles and such.
When I was a kid, it was either oatmeal, grits or cream of wheat. The only cereal I remember my parents buying was the generic Save-a-Lot “Toasted Oat Circles” that didn’t even come in a box, just the bag. Yeah, Dad was out of work frequently there for a few years.