This diet I’m on has me eating more boxed cereal than I have in years—right now, a carefully calibrated combination of Kellogg’s All-Bran and Post Shredded Wheat—so I’m prowling the cereal aisle with a keener eye.
I have loved cereal since I was knee-high and hold countless memories of corn flakes, malt-flavored Muffets (“the round shredded wheat”), Rice Krispies, Cheerios, and the rare golden fruit of the sacred cereal chalice, Cap’n Crunch. With a big splash of coffee cream and spoonfuls of brown sugar (except on the Cap’n, whose crunch is sweeter than candy corn), it was good fuel for boys. My eldest brother sat across the table, making more noise than a wild boar rooting for grubs in the Tuscan woods. It drove me insane.
I wonder if my mother cursed the bushels of cereal her sons would munch—easily a big box at a sitting between the three of us. Mind you, we lived in wheat country, so there was a locavore thing going on.
Prowling the aisles now, I see that cereal boxes continue to shrink and prices do not. (General Mills announced a “Right Size, Right Price” box strategy last summer: meaning smaller boxes, similar prices.) Just yesterday I spotted a cute little seven-ounce box of Special K for $3.89, which, as the shelf label pointed out, is $8.89 per pound—a nice price for toasted rice. I am, admittedly, the sort of guy who complains about cereal prices while drinking a $12 thimbleful of obscure Polish vodka made from potatoes (to be clear: not for breakfast), but that is beside the point.
It is unlikely that we’ll see a return to the great cereal price wars of the 1990s. The prices of wheat, corn, and other grains are going up as processes change, such as corn farmers unloading to ethanol refineries.
On me, the cereal companies have a permanent hold, in part because for generations processed grain has been a part of the healthy-eating manifesto—which was written in good measure by the cereal people—and because cereal-makers tap that deep vein of childhood nostalgia. There are blogs devoted to collecting cereal ephemera. On CerealBits.com I found a post titled “My latest Sugar Crisp box—this one’s from the ’50s!”
I have only half grown up, in other words: I eat my All-Bran but dream of Cap’n Crunch.
Competition Numbers:
Start date: 1/1/08
Height: 5′9½”
Start weight: 199 lbs
Latest weigh in: 1/22/08
Latest weight: 194.5 lbs
Weight lost: 4.5 lbs
Comments (5)
I highly recommend Go Lean. It has 10 grams of protein per serving and some insane amount of Fiber (more than All Bran). It don’t taste so good, but if you combine it with a slightly sweeter cereal, it makes a nice low-fat, high fiber breakfast.
I second the Kashi Go Lean comment. My breakfast is 1 small apple diced, Go Lean, cinnamon, flax seeds and 1/2 cup of skim milk. I follow that 3 hrs later with 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 1 tsp Brummel & Brown. The apple adds the sweet although you can always add Stevia or Splenda
Scott, we got to get you off the cereals. They’ll ruin your health! Even the so-called “healthy” breakfast cereals are junk; they are refined foods, stripped of their nutrients and fiber, and contain build ups of dangerous cancer-causing compounds called acrylamides. Here, check this out. I blogged about your post on my blog:
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/hurtful-food-cereals-poked-prodded-wait.html
Hey Scott, That packaged junk is wonderful for the profit of the companys that sell it. That is about it. It bears no resemblance to the original grain. If you want health and weight loss eats whole foods. Packaged cereals are brainwashed into the American psyche. Too bad most people are robots and dont think for themselves. Regards, Pete
Hey Scott, If you want to get lean and healthy, you have to get rid of the cereal. Try this instead. Thaw a cup of frozen berries in a bowl. Cut up a banana in bite size pieces, dump on 1 or 2 ounces of chopped pecans or walnuts.
Stir and eat. This “cereal” taste like berry pie!! YUM! So much better then cardboard!