I Like Cereal

Just like that all-yellow guy named Cheese on Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends, I like cereal. It doesn't matter the manufacturer: Kelloggs, Post, Quaker, General Mills; I enjoy them all.

Every morning I have a bowl for breakfast (with skim milk). Once in awhile I'll have a bowl at night as an evening snack/desert. It has always been like that. As a kid, as a teenager, I've always done this. There is something very relaxing and comforting to me - crunching on some flakes or shapes while I look over the back of the box or read something else. And, when I was in elementary school and walked over to my grandparents' house every day for lunch, I would have cereal then too (my grandmother always made sure she had a box or two in the cupboard near the stove just in case I wanted any to munch on).

As a kid, the primary determining factor of which cereal I'd have my mother buy was totally based on what was inside the box. If there was something cool or a series of stuff you had to get, I'd focus on that cereal exclusively until my set was complete. I would often get ahead of her in the grocery store just so I could have time to check everything out and make my selection. When the prize inside review failed to yield anything I wanted to get, the fall fact factor was usually picking something that had "sugar", "fruity" or "frosted" in the title.

As a grown up, there are also two factors involved - but not the same two factors as my younger days. First, what's healthy for me is big. After my heart surgery, I have to focus on heart healthy, lower cholesterol offerings. But, every now and again, a bowl of something that is a pure treat can be fit in too. The other factor these days is price. If there is a sale on particular brands, I am more inclined to pick that up instead - especially a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

Sadly, sometimes cereal makers change the formulas over time and one-time favorites start to fall by the wayside. I found this happened with Quisp before it was pulled back from market. I found this recently with Honey Combs (they're not as sweet as they used to be) too.

The only time I really don't like cereal is if it has gotten too too soggy. Bleech. It has to have a little crunch for me to enjoy it. That's probably why I don't ever see myself becoming an oatmeal kind of person (at least as long as I have my teeth).