Part of a Good Breakfast??
I just saw an article on Asylum about the craziest breakfast cereals ever. Of all of the cereals listed, I only recognized two -- Fruit Brute and Freakies, thanks to my mother. When I was a kid, I remember watching commercials during Saturday morning cartoons and wishing my mother bought sugary cereals. Unfortunately, she was of the school of thought that a teaspoon of sugar sprinkled on top of corn flakes was the same as frosted flakes.
Fortunately, my Aunt Rose went to another school. Her cereal cupboard was full of every kids' cereal you could imagine. (Yes, she had an entire cupboard devoted to cereal). Not once, however, did any of the cereals listed in that article ever grace the sacred cereal cupboard. We did get to indulge in the aforementioned Frosted Flakes as well as Froot Loops, Sugar Corn Pops (now known as just Corn Pops,) Sugar Smacks (now known as Honey Smacks,) Count Chocula, BooBerry, Cap'n Crunch, the list goes on. Right now my brother, the cereal aficionado is thinking, "Man, where was this cupboard, and why didn't I get to explore it?)
The funny thing about cereal commercials was the tag line you would always hear, "...as part of a nutritious breakfast," and they always showed the kid eating not only the cereal but also, a GLASS of milk, a glass of juice, and piece of toast with a big hunk of butter. You would definitely not be suffering from low blood sugar after that breakfast. Tell me what kid had time to eat all of that stuff anyway before the bus rolled away from the bus stop without him, and his mom had to quickly get dressed and throw him in the car to get him to school on time. Well, I certainly wasn't that kid. By the time I was in Junior High, I was doing good to gulp down a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast. This is not to say that my mother didn't try. She would have made me any healthy thing I wanted for breakfast if I got up on time. But that was the key, and I could rarely do it.
Now, I find myself as a working mother of two in the time of drive-thrus and school breakfast, and find myself thinking, "Maybe a bowl of Freakies isn't that bad after all."
Fortunately, my Aunt Rose went to another school. Her cereal cupboard was full of every kids' cereal you could imagine. (Yes, she had an entire cupboard devoted to cereal). Not once, however, did any of the cereals listed in that article ever grace the sacred cereal cupboard. We did get to indulge in the aforementioned Frosted Flakes as well as Froot Loops, Sugar Corn Pops (now known as just Corn Pops,) Sugar Smacks (now known as Honey Smacks,) Count Chocula, BooBerry, Cap'n Crunch, the list goes on. Right now my brother, the cereal aficionado is thinking, "Man, where was this cupboard, and why didn't I get to explore it?)
The funny thing about cereal commercials was the tag line you would always hear, "...as part of a nutritious breakfast," and they always showed the kid eating not only the cereal but also, a GLASS of milk, a glass of juice, and piece of toast with a big hunk of butter. You would definitely not be suffering from low blood sugar after that breakfast. Tell me what kid had time to eat all of that stuff anyway before the bus rolled away from the bus stop without him, and his mom had to quickly get dressed and throw him in the car to get him to school on time. Well, I certainly wasn't that kid. By the time I was in Junior High, I was doing good to gulp down a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast. This is not to say that my mother didn't try. She would have made me any healthy thing I wanted for breakfast if I got up on time. But that was the key, and I could rarely do it.
Now, I find myself as a working mother of two in the time of drive-thrus and school breakfast, and find myself thinking, "Maybe a bowl of Freakies isn't that bad after all."
Comments
I never ate any of those "kiddie" cereals, even as a child. I suppose my mother would have bought them if I had asked for them, but it never occurred to me that I'd even like them.
Then again, I actually like oatmeal (but it must have brown sugar on it).
I knew of the cupboard. First one on the right by the wall as you were facing the kitchen from the table.
Rosie's is where I first encountered Franken Berry. I wish they still made it just for nostalgia sake. And Boo Berry. Count Chocula would do if there was none of the others.
These days I'm a Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds guy. Occasionally I'll pick up a box of bite size Frosted Mini Wheats, and rarely I'll pick up a box of something cinnamony and sugary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franken_Berry.
And it is still listed on General Mills' Web site:
http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/brands/product_image.aspx?catID=50&itemID=732.