My cyber friend D asked me how my Mom made Cream of Wheat - and I thought, even though it is not Cereal Sunday, it was worthy of a post as we may get some good feedback!

When I was young and still living in NJ, we always had Cream of Wheat for breakfast in the winter…never oatmeal - must be a family thing, maybe it was cheap, or maybe a northeast thing? I don’t know, I just know I was raised on it, and I love it, as do all of my siblings!

Mom made us Cream of Wheat “old school” - on top of the stove! There were no microwaves at the time! LOL! She always got it right, and we added sugar, milk and butter after she spooned it into our bowls. My Brother and I fought over the lumps - that’s always been my favorite part of Cream of Wheat - I have to have lumps in it!!
Now I buy the “2 1/2 minute” cook time formula (not individual packets), comes in a red box on the ceral aisle by the oatmeals, I find this to be the best tasting, and I add a little milk and butter as well. Of course, they have microwave directions on the box now as well, but if you cook it in the microwave, you won’t get any LUMPS !!!

You can add anything you want, just like any other hot cereal - but I prefer to eat it just like when I was a kid, without the sugar of course, I outgrew putting sugar on my cereal a long time ago!

How do you like yours?

Wheaties, the breakfast of champions. We should all be eating them while we watch history unfold in Beijing. It’s an Olympic tradition.

Not long after the closing ceremonies of these Olympic games, we will see some new Cereal boxes on our store shelves. With Olympic champions on them. In no particular order, here are my votes for the cover of Wheaties:

Micheal Phelps - Swimming - EIGHT Gold Medals! Have you been watching this kid? AMAZING is the only word I can think of to describe what he has done in these Olympics. There is 1 athlete in each Olympics that stands out among all of the thousands of others, and he is the one this year! This kid can do anything, I would not be surprised if I saw on the news that he was going to buy the moon. Expect to see him in numerous commercials, print ads, magazine covers, in addition to his cover on the Wheaties box!

Dara Torres - Swimming - 3 Silver Medals at FORTY ONE YEARS OF AGE.
She has TWELVE Olympic medals in her Jewelry box! This woman is ancient by Olympic athlete standards, she is the first US Swimmer to compete in FIVE Olympics! She became a Mother at 39 and STILL came back to win the Gold at the US Nationals in 2007! She is competing with women 20 years younger than she and STILL winning! She has the Silver in the 50 Freestyle, the 400 Freestyle, and the 400 Medley Relay. And, she only missed Gold by ONE ONE HUNDREDTH OF A SECOND in the 50 Freestyle! Can you imagine? You go Dara, you are MY hero! (Did I mention she is also a FLORIDA GATOR?!)

Nastia Liukin (1 Gold, Silver & Bronze) & Shawn Johnson (3 Silver) - Gymnastics - and they are not done competing! Who can resist these petite little girls, always a huge smile on thier face? I always wonder at the balance and grace of a gymnast, and the things they can do with their little bodies. Nastia, and Olympic feel good story on her own as the daughter of 2 Soviet gymnasts, her Father an Olympic Gold medalist. And, Johnson, the gracious competitor with the large smile, at 16 will no doubt be back in 4 years to get her Gold!

These games aren’t over yet - the Women’s Softball team is on track for another Gold Medal, as are the Men’s Basketball - soon we will see who General Mills picks for the cover of the new boxes.
Who do you pick?

I love Cheerios.
Original Cheerios are my favorite cereal. They are heart healthy and darn tasty, I can eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or my nightime snack! That familiar yellow box is always in my pantry!
Snoopy loves Cheerios, he sits by me patiently waiting for one to “accidentally” fall on the floor so he can scarf it up!
Kids love Cheerios, too. I always see little toddlers with a container of Cheerios when I am out at the mall or grocery - those little O’s are perfect for their little hands, an because they are low in sugar, Mom’s don’t mind giving them out as a snack!
Older people love Cheerios because they are heart healthy and will help lower your cholestoral!

We all want YOU to love Cheerios, too! Sign up here to take the Cheerios Challenge and they will send you a FREE BOX, and $6 in coupons!! YAY!!
(Cheerios will not give you acne!)

No, I don’t have any Batman cereal, but I am going to see The Dark Knight today!

This morning, after eating a bowl of Wheaties, I came up with a few random thoughts about cereal. If you have been reading my thoughts on cereal, you know I am not a big fan of the “flake” - but Wheaties are a classic that never goes out of style, a simple wheat flake with no bells and whistles - low in calories and 3 grams of fiber, every once in a while I get a craving…oh, and it deosn’t hurt that I got the box for $1.75. You all know I refuse to pay more than $2.50 for any box of cereal or I would feel robbed. Because of my staunch cereal pricing policy, I have this fine selection in my pantry…

And, I can afford to have backup in my closet. I like a nice backup stash of cereal. And, yes, I live in a condo with limited storage, so any stockpile non perishables that do not fit in my pantry go in the closet.

Last night after dinner at a local mexican place, Sister and I went to Target so she could get in on their cereal deal. As a family of 5, they go through the cereal, I recall being impressed with the cereal selection in her pantry when I first saw it. She stood in front of the cereals - asking the kids what they wanted, and filling up the cart with cheap Cheerios, Pops, and Raisin Brand (for my Nephew - who promptly defended his choice and declared it better than Life!) . Her oldest stood next to me and stated, with a gleam in her eye, “you should do a cereal sunday on the fact that I don’t like cereal”.
It’s true.
I, a self proclaimed cereologist, have a niece who does not eat cereal.
My Godchild no less!
She is a sweet, kind, and generous girl, who sometimes struggles with her role as the oldest child, and the responsiblity that comes with it. She is smart, obedient, and turning into a beautiful young woman before our eyes.
And she does not like cereal. I think she secretly takes pride in it! LOL! It’s what seperates her from the rest of her family and makes her different. I have tried to change her mind, and have touted the wonders of a Froot Loop or a Cheerio - but she will have none of it.
Someday, maybe her tastes will change, and she will find a love for cereal again. For now, she’ll stick with pancakes, eggs, or possibly a Pop Tart.
She knows that I love her much more than cereal. : )

Happy Cereal Sunday!

Today we have a story about digestive health, and a big winner in my contest!!

First, let’s talk about cereal. (I have no doubt this one is going to make Sister crinkle her nose in distaste LOL ! )

If you read about my recent visit to the doctor on my other blog, then you know about probiotics. Lot’s of cereal have fiber in them, I only know of 2 that also have probiotics. Since I got a good deal on it on my recent shopping trip, I decided to try Kashi Vive. They plug it as “probiotic digestive wellness cereal”, and it has 12 grams of fiber…..yes, that’s nice, but does it TASTE good?

Kashi and I have never been friends, I have tried many of their cereals, and most of them are like putting some twigs, bark, and mulch in a bowl and pouring milk on them. Sure, it will keep things moving so to speak, but I like cereal and it MUST taste good or I’m not buying.

Kashi Vive comes in 1 flavor, Toasted graham and Vanilla, and when I opened the box and instantly noticed a nice sweet odor…like graham crackers! Good start. I poured it into my bowl and saw that it comes in flakes, twigs, and little white puffs. However, on first bite this does not taste like I am eating a tree with sugar on it! I was pleasantly surprised by the nice sweet flavor! The flakes are a little heavy (they must hold all the fiber LOL), the twigs and the little white balls hold all the sweetness - it was a nice balance. I will warn you it does get soggy quick, so don’t take notes while you eat it like I do! (I’m such a cereal geek!)

Serving size on the box says 1 1/2 cups, which is larger than most cereals at 3/4 - 1 cup ; but who follows that anyway? We just our it in the bowl and eat it , right? And then…when the cereal is gone and we still have milk left, we pour in MORE cereal! At 1 1/2 cups it has 170 calories (again, high for cereal) - but it balances out with 12 grams of fiber, and is also a good source of potassium (45%), Calcium and Vitamin D (20% each).

Now, if I didn’t have to eat this kind of cereal, would I buy it? Probably not, I’ve always been a Cheerios and Sugar Smacks kind of girl - and they will stay in my pantry. But as we get older (as I’ve been reminded numerous times this week) our nutritional needs change, so I’ll be keeping this one in the mix for a while and see how it works out for me.

And, without further ado, the winner of the Fabulous Blogoversary Prize Pack is :

Commenter #6 - Dedicated! Congrats, D - email me your address and I will get your prize in the mail to you!

Thanks to everyone who entered, I hope you’ll all keep reading, and commenting, even if there aren’t prizes all the time!

My 8 year old Nephew slept over last night, we ate ice cream in bed while watching a James Bond movie, and this morning had breakfast at the diner and went to an “Old Fashioned” (his term) classic car show.
I thought it would be fun to ask his opinion on cereal. He is a picky eater, so I was surpised at the wide variety of favorites he chose.
(His responses are in italics)

What is your favorite cereal?

Raisin Brand (his term)
Grape Nuts
Rice Krispies
Cheerios
Life
(Knowing his Mother’s aversion to sugared cereals, these choices do not surprise me - her children do not get exposed to the wonder that is CHOCOLATE FROSTED SUGAR BOMBS!)

Grape Nuts? Really? You LIKE Grape Nuts?

YEAH!

Why?

Cause my favorite fruit is Grapes, and I like it mixed together with nuts.

But, there are no actual “grapes” in Grape Nuts….?

I know, but it’s got great flavor!

Raisin Brand? You like Raisins?

Yeah

Not usually a kid friendly food. Who introduced you to Raisin Brand?

My Dad

Do you know that Raisin Brand is full of fiber?

Yeah

And do you know what that cereal will do for you?

Make you fat?

No. Do you know what fiber does to your body?

No

Helps you poop!

(breaks out in hysterical 8 yr old boy laughter, as anything related to the bathroom is hilarious at that age!)

Anything else you would like to tell us about cereal?

How about Life.

What about it?

My Mom only buys it when it’s on sale.

Why is that?

Because it’s like four bucks a pack. Or maybe five. I think it’s $4.95.

There you have it, from the mouth of a budding cereologist!

In my feeble attempt to try and regain some normalcy and routine in my life, I bring back Cereal Sunday!

I have various cereal related thoughts in my head lately, so forgive me for wandering around a bit before we get down tot he serious business of what’s in my bowl.

Cereal has been my dinner of choice for the past 2 weeks….after coming home from work and being on the computer or sorting through Mom’s paperwork for a few hours, before I know it the clock is striking 9pm - too late for a heavy meal, but needing to force myself to eat something, I turn to my beloved bowl - a source of comfort.

While at Mom’s last week, I found myself with a cereal quandry. She has about 10 boxes in the pantry (maybe I come by this naturally?…is there a cereal loving gene..?)….upon sorting through them I find most of them to be stale and yucky - hence we were forced to throw out some cereal - a sin in my world! Note: by “throw out” I do not mean into the garbage, that would be wasteful, we tossed it around the backyard for the birds and bunnies. Mom liked storing her cereal in Tupperware containers (I foresee a flurry of hate mail from Tupperware sales coming…!)… I find that these storage methods for cereal do not work well, and actually make the cereal taste like the container. YUCK. I keep my cereal in the original box, in my house cereal is not around long enough to get stale!

My staple cereal this past week has been Frosted Mini Wheats, or rather, Wal Mart GREAT VALUE Frosted Shredded Wheat - to be exact. At $1.97 a box, it IS a great value…but I find it lacking in taste. The Wal Mart brand is a tighly woven biscuit (as opposed to the loosely woven Kellogg’s brand biscuit) , heavy on the frosting side, which I like….but, not too much flavor in the wheat side. So, after I finish the box I won’t be purchasing that brand anymore. As far as frosted mini wheats go, the Kelloggs brand has always been my favorite - in the red box. The red box are the “Big Bite” size, and you crunch them down into bite sized pieces with your spoon. These are the mini wheats from my childhood - before they came out with “spoon sized” shredded wheat. Just enough frosting on the frosted side, and deliscious wheaty goodness on the wheat side….I actually search out the biscuits with the dark brown burned parts on the wheat side! I like to leave them to soak up the milk for a few minutes, not long enough to get completely soggy - just long enough to get them moist. Low in calories, and high in fiber - it’s the sugar coated cereal that’s almost good for you!

Oatmeal. A winter staple. A fiber packed meal on a cold morning. Heart healthy, low in calories!

Quick Oats versus Instant?
Who wins the battle of Oatmeal?

You instant Oatmeals are very convenient, they come in many flavors the kids love, and other marketable terms like “Weight Control”, “Women’s Health”..and let’s face it, we are all very busy, so there is no time to hover over the stove stirring up a pot of oatmeal every morning like Florida Evans from Good Times! However, instant is also pretty expensive if you break it down - as much as .50 cents per serving for store brands, very high in sugar and for something that is supposed to be good for you, it has a lot of unpronounceable words in the ingredients.

Your basic tub of Quick Cook Oats looks very boring on the store shelf. However, upon further inspection, it’s a bit cheaper than the instant, and MUCH larger! Wait….I can get THIRTEEN servings out of this canister? Do the math, that’s about 22 cents per serving! (Your girl buys the store brand!) And, actually, 1/2 cup of dry oats cooks up to a pretty good size serving, so I usually only use 1/4 cup, which means I get 26 servings out of a canister! Ingredients? 100% Natural Oats. That’s it. No dextra-whatever, and flabo-whoosy-whatsis. There are microwave directions, so you can cook it in under 2 minutes, just like the instant. The directions are very simple, so a child can do it themselves, as long as they are old enough to use the microwave! (You can premeasure into ziploc bags and make your own “instant” packets!) AND, you can add your own flavorful ingredients to make them taste even better. I like to sprinkle cinnamon & sugar on mine and a splash of milk, you can also put honey on it, chopped nuts, maple syrup, or sliced bananas! You can do the same thing with Quick Oats int he canister as the overpriced instant envelopes - and it will taste so much better!

Quick Cook Oats win by a landslide in my house, for cost AND flavor! How abut your house? Give them a try and see if you feel the same way!

Today we are going to focus on a classic.
A favorite in my house….the one cereal that I REFUSE to purchase in a Generic branding, one that I always have in the pantry….because, when life gives you lemons, when you are down and out, when you are depressed and feeling blue, when you need a cereal pick me up to get you through your stressfull day……..what’s better than Cheerios in the Yellow box?
That’s why they call them CHEER-IOS..because they make you so freaking happy! (In fact, when they first came out in the 1940’s, they WERE called Cheery- Oats!) They are in a yellow box, yellow reminds you of sunshine…more happiness. Those folks at General Mills are not fooling around here, people…this stuff is xanax in a cereal box! I like to call it “The Cheerio Effect”.
The folks at General Mills have not screwed with the recipe of original Cheerios since it was invented in 1941, the very FIRST ready to eat oat cereal. I like that, it shows stability…they know they have a good product, and they are not going to remove it from the market or muck it up by removing a key ingredient (Are you listening, Post Alpha Bits?). When they wanted new or different formulas, they left the original and came up with new flavors….boy, did they come up with new flavors…a lot! Honey Nut Cheerios, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Multi Grain Cheerios…and more recently, Berry Burst, Yogurt Burst (YUCK), Fruity Cheerios..and Oat Cluster Cheerios. You can keep them all………I will stick with the original, a classic. A cereal for young and old. How many times have you been out and seen a small child in a stroller with a baggie of Cheerios? It’s the perfect finger food for their tiny little hands! And, how many old codgers are trying to either boost their fiber intake or reduce their cholestoral with these fine whole grain oats?
They should serve Cheerios at every White House dinner….we could solve a lot of the worlds problems with cereal.

I am off to the Buc’s game in a few hours! So, today we have a guest post, written by my friend Lee - who needs no more introduction than that since he plugged himself quite frequently in the actual post, I keep telling him to get his own blog!
For as along as I’ve known him, some 10 years, Lee has only eaten ONE kind of cereal, a regular cereal for a regular guy..trying to stay regular…. cereal blasphemy to a woman of my colorful cereal background…but, it is what it is. I think you will find him both amusing and disturbing.

Hi, I’m Leebo. Or Leeboski, The Big Leeboski, The Leebinator, Los Leebos Magnifico, Leebo Mysterio… if you’re not into the whole brevity thing. I’ve been asked by Cheryl to sub for Cereal Sunday, and I am very happy to do so. For now is my chance!I shall enlighten others on a cereal that, if not for me, would never grace the hallowed halls and walls of The Great Hall of Cereal Sunday. This is about a real cereal. A cereal for the ages. My favorite cereal.This is about a cereal that, if it could talk, would win a Nobel Peace Prize, an Academy Award AND the Super Bowl. I speak not of Al Gore’s Freedom Flakes, nor shall not keep my love for this particular cereal placed away carefully in a small lockbox. NO!

I proudly advocate, and speak freely of my own free will, to all of the masses who will heed my words! Friends, Romans, Countrymen, gather round, a middle aged man is talking!

I speak of the glory and the majestic splendor that is… Product 19.

Yes, I said Product 19.

Now, dear reader, if you have not clicked off of this missive by now in search of porn, then rejoice! For I shall spin a tale of a cereal so exciting that when you read it, I guarantee your next trip to the grocery store will either be solely for this incredible product, or at the very least, something else. Like real food. Come with me on a journey, O’ Achiever, as I relay to you, in the parlance of our times, why Product 19 is the greatest cereal ever, and the wave of the future, Dude.
#1 – It represents America, before everyone hated us.

(Figure 1-A – The unassuming box of Product 19 hides tasty goodness)

The deception of this cereal is easy to fall prey to, its hidden treasures easy to miss. Look at the ordinary box this cereal comes in. Unassuming. Bland. Uninteresting. In other word, it’s you. The typical American shlub.
Don’t try to deny it, embrace it, its part of being American. And by either fate, design or some small co-inky-dink, it’s also part of being a shlub as well. Product 19 is YOUR CEREAL REPRESENTATIVE. Product 19 is the blue collar, hard working, 4 beers at Moe’s after work kinda cereal. You know what you’re getting with Product 19. Product 19 is the cereal for people who haven’t had an original thought in years. Product 19 is STRESS-FREE. Truly, Product 19 is the “regular guy” cereal, a cereal that gets along with everybody, a great equalizer, a cereal for longshoremen and lesbians alike. Product 19 is you, dear reader. Oh it’s you. It’s you. It’s America’s Cereal. It’s true. It’s true.

#2 – It’s safe.

Product 19 will not destroy you, nor will it enhance you. Before and after eating Product 19, you will pretty much be the same as you are right now. Sad, but true. And may I add, very, very safe. At the end of your Product 19 experience, you will be somewhat full and nothing bad will have happened. You will be in no danger, unless, of course, you’re a pervert eating it in prison. Who needs sugary, gooey choco-flakes when one can have bland, flaky goodness? Who needs the risk? Not you, dear reader. That’s what your taxes pay cops for.

#3 – It took 19 tries to get it right.

How many cereals are out there that they just make and stuff in a box? Who knows?
But with Product 19, you know exactly what you are getting: a cereal that had been scientifically tested at least 18 times before they got it right. You see, products 1 through 18 were necessary evils, for they spawned the glory that is Product 19.

• Products 1 through 7 were deemed failures after it was determined that they contained lead paint. It was then when we Americans banned Chinese-produced cereal and it was then that Product 19 started to take on its true identity as America’s Cereal.

• Product 8 disappeared through a cosmic time rift and never was seen again. It is suspected by many that Product 8 actually went back in time and built the pyramids.

• Product 9 was scrapped when it was discovered that metal shavings really should not be consumed by anybody. At the time, it was thought they could be a good source of iron.

• Products 10 through 15 were tested and thought to be the crappiest thing ever produced. They were scrapped, and their crappiness actually became a benefit to them, as they became the boy-band “N Sync”.

• Product 16 became an actor in New York, and had a few bit parts but wound up being a bartender. Product 16’s range was limited.

• Product 17 was made from reefer and hemp, and thought to be quite excellent, but after the one time they made it, everyone ate it and afterwards, no one could quite remember how to make it again.

• Product 18 was actually thought to be pretty good, but not quite there. They still produce Product 18 to this day. They grind them up and call them Grape Nuts.

And then, Product 19. America’s cereal. Your cereal. I have a tear running down my face as I type this. Dammed allergies.

#4 – It tastes great with SunnyRidge berries.

This is probably the most important part. Product 19 tastes great on its own, but it tastes even better with delicious SunnyRidge blueberries.Now keep in mind, they have to be SunnyRidge berries. Other berries make the cereal, any cereal, taste like yesterday’s garbage.
So what are you waiting for? Go out to your local store and get some SunnyRidge berries for your Product 19. If you don’t see the SunnyRidge brand, DO NOT buy another brand. Just wait patiently in the produce aisle until we get to you. We’ll get to you. Eventually. SunnyRidge berries: Quality berries, quality people. Like me.

So there you have it.

If you don’t eat Product 19 then not only are you missing the single greatest cereal experience in the universe but you probably aren’t a very good person. You should either convert to something or be extracted from the planet forever.

It is my considered opinion that those who do not eat or espouse the greatness of Product 19 deserve nothing less than a wedgie from Godzilla.

Remember, agree with me, or die trying. If you’ve had half as much fun reading this as I did writing it, then I’ve still had twice as much fun as you.

This is your friend and mine, The Leeman, wishing you all well, signing off for Cereal Sunday.