var json_comments = new Array("

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hills

October 28, 2009 4:43 PM

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I was surprised that my husband's Coco Rice Krispies have less sugar than my Quaker Granola, so I gave up on trying to eat \"healthy\" cereal and just have my favorite sugar loaded cereal every morning - Rice Krispie Treats Cereal (that stuff is hard to find, BTW!)....

9 replies

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morlo

October 28, 2009 7:03 PM

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@hillsrovey: Actually grams of sugar/grams of cereal is actually less for the Quaker. Still too much for most people, but that is why the Lord gave us oatmeal.

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pecan 3.14159265

October 28, 2009 7:24 PM

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@morlo: It's sad that I can really only eat oatmeal that has some kind of sugar in it. I want to experiment with blending regular oats with chopped up apple or something. I've tried eating regular oats with raisins, but by the time I add enough that it's palatable, it's more raisins than oats.

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November 13, 2009 4:34 PM

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@pecan 3.14159265: Try oatmeal with preserves or jam.

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October 28, 2009 9:05 PM

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@pecan 3.14159265: I'm not a big fan of oatmeal but that's because I used to always make it with water. I recently started to make it with 1% milk and now find myself loving it.

(disclaimer that I know you like gourmet food but I am referring to microwaved instant oatmeal, not steel cut oats)

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RonDiaz

October 28, 2009 5:49 PM

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@hillsrovey: Oh Man I love Rice Crispy Treats cereal and you're right it is hard to find.

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leastcmplicated

October 28, 2009 5:28 PM

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@hillsrovey: rice krispies treats cereal, never run out again :) [www.amazon.com]

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hills

October 28, 2009 5:30 PM

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@leastcmplicated: Isn't that crazy!? That's how I get it! Everyone thinks I'm nuts for getting cereal from Amazon, but it's not easily found in stores & it's so good.....

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leastcmplicated

October 28, 2009 6:38 PM

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@hillsrovey: ya know i havent had that cereal in years, but i may just have to buy some now lol

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October 28, 2009 4:50 PM

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@hillsrovey: Yea, but you are getting way more fiber and protein and less salt in the granola.

Granted, sugar content is important, but you should look at other things too.

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Xerloq

October 28, 2009 5:22 PM

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@Trance1861: With the granola (especially Quaker) you get a TON of fat: [eatthis.menshealth.com]

Here's the Quaker Natural Granola Oats & Honey & Raisins nutritional info for the hyperlink-disinclined.

420 calories
12 g fat (7 g saturated)
30 g sugars
6 g fiber

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October 28, 2009 10:27 PM

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@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.: Some granolas, yes, but because they have nuts in them, so the fat isn't saturated fat, it's the \"good fat.\" I wouldn't be so put off by the carb content in general - complex carbohydrates are good for you. Some granolas are full of sugar, though, in which case, those are the ones you want to avoid if you are concerned about caloric content, because they are full of simple carbs.

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pecan 3.14159265

October 28, 2009 4:45 PM

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@hillsrovey: I used to love the rice krispie cereal. It was actually pretty bland, but I liked it.

I don't eat cereal nearly enough to justify eating woodchips and cardboard (I'm looking at you, Kashi). Just give me my Captain Crunch once a week and I'll work longer at the gym.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 4:52 PM

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@pecan 3.14159265: I recently got a free sample of a Kashi cereal that I thought was pretty darn good.. It looked like lil yellow pillows and the flavor reminded me of Kix with a touch of honey flavor.

I just had to look it up but it's called Honey Sunshine.

I was pleasantly suprised by this.

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SubzeroScientist

October 28, 2009 5:05 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: Some of their cereals are yummy, but they also tend to be the less healthy ones. It's the less exciting ones (the Kashi Go-Lean stuff) that has all the fibre, protein, and so on.

The Almond Flax Kashi Go-Lean Crunch stuff is pretty good, but the regular Kashi is kind of like eating a bird's nest full of wood chips. Not even drowning it in Greek yoghurt (fat free, super high protein, lower carb than other yoghurts) can make it bearable for me.

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cabjf

October 28, 2009 4:58 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: That sounds a lot like Puffins Honey Rice cereal. All the Puffins cereals are tasty, especially the peanut butter.

Just a note on granola, it's really a high carb type of food. It should be used sparingly (like sprinkled on yogurt or mixed in with cereal or GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts).

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AnthonyC

October 28, 2009 6:23 PM

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Some of the Puffins flavors are good. Don't eat them without milk, though. The cinnamon kind is like a giant explosion of dryness.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 5:09 PM

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@cabjf: Thanks for adding to my \"cereal to try\" list, I love peanut butter.

","

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October 28, 2009 4:44 PM

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I know that deceptive marketing is evil and all (and it is!), but any parent that cannot see that giving their children cereal loaded with sugar is unhealthy is IMO an idiot.

7 replies

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lmarconi

October 28, 2009 7:47 PM

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@saya: I don't know - I never would have guessed that Rice Krispies or Frosted Flakes were higher or equal to Cocoa Krispies or Honey Smacks. And I do read the labels and I wouldn't give a kid Lucky Charms except as a \"dessert\" (that's how my mom ran things : ), but some of these things don't look overtly sugary

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October 28, 2009 5:33 PM

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@saya: I think the issue is that a lot of parents have a lot of behaviors that they'd like to work on minimizing with their kids. The issue is that you can't yell at the kid for every little thing -- you have to prioritize and work on the highest priority issue. If you're a well-intentioned low-income urban parent, and your choices are to get your kid to study, stay out of gangs, keep away from drugs, practice safe sex, etc., etc., etc., as well as eat healthfully, which would you choose first? The fact of the matter is that a LOT of parents find that eating healthfully ends up taking a lower priority compared to other things in life.

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mianne

October 28, 2009 6:05 PM

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@An_Album_Cover: I wouldn't restrict the issue only to low-income urban parents. I'm certain plenty of solidly middle class suburban soccer moms are facing the same dilemma.

Ever try to win the argument against a six-year old who *MUST* have [insert favorite tv character] cereal?

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October 28, 2009 5:35 PM

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@An_Album_Cover: Bah, redundancy fail. I can haz an edit buton nao, plz? kthxbai

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

October 28, 2009 4:50 PM

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@saya: I dunno, the amount of money spent advertising healthy food (tiny amount) vs. the amount spent advertising processed food ... and this is the SECOND generation of parents to have grown up in a world of processed food, many of whom can't cook and who have been subjected to far more \"nutritional information\" presented by corporations than by scientists or the government ... there comes a point at which people have been educated into idiocy beyond the point which they're able to even evaluate the claims adequately.

And even if they could, and they only thing they know about breakfast is \"store-bought cereal,\" what are they going to do about it?

I consider myself pretty nutritionally-savvy, but even just looking at these baby books (as my baby is starting solids), the information in them is contradictory, confusing, and sometimes outdated or just wrong. And these are your well-respected, mainstream baby books, not \"raise your child a hippie-loving vegan!\" or \"Sugar: It's What's For Dinner.\"

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kaceetheconsumer

October 28, 2009 7:10 PM

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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): \"there comes a point at which people have been educated into idiocy beyond the point which they're able to even evaluate the claims adequately.\"

Exactly. WTF does \"whole grains\" mean in context of an actual food? You'll see it on processed foods everywhere and people have heard from industry, government, doctors, etc for several years now that \"whole grains\" = healthy. And to an extent, it's true.

But I've seen HFCS-laden white bread with some oats sprinkled on top bearing a \"whole grains\" label. Hell, you could take a single whole oat, wrap it in dog turds and unrefined uranium and call it \"all natural with whole grains\" because dog turds and uranium do occur naturally, after all.

The sugar cereal industry has worked really, really hard over the years to trick moms into buying their crap. They extol the virtues of the added vitamins inside. They put up pictures with a small bowl surrounded by fruit and milk and call it a \"serving suggestion\". They use three or four kinds of sugars instead of one, so when mama reads the ingredient list, the first ingredient will be wheat or oats, or maybe cram in both to get the top two spots, and the mama maybe doesn't realize that some of the chemical names listed further down really are sugar.

Plus, with the marketing at kids, the kids start to beg and whine and plead, and while there are lots of ways to say no or avoid the request, there will always be exhausted, busy parents who cave because if it gets two of the four kids to shut the hell up during the Wednesday evening grocery trip after three 10-hour work days with two more to go, then it's bloody well worth it. I'm not going to sit in judgment of that parent!

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pecan 3.14159265

October 28, 2009 7:25 PM

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@kaceetheconsumer: HFCS-laden \"wheat\" bread is the reason why I'm looking into breadmakers, and seeing whether it would be feasible for me to make my own loaves of sandwich bread. I mean, I can get a loaf for $1.80, so I doubt making my own would be that much cheaper - but I'd rather have a loaf of bread with ingredients I can pronounce and have measured out myself.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

October 28, 2009 7:44 PM

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@pecan 3.14159265: Making bread by hand isn't hard (especially if you have a stand mixer, skip the breadmachine) ... and breadmachine or handmade, it's the slicing of the homemade bread that's tricky. I make a lot of bread but we still buy bread for sandwiches because of the slicing issue.

That said, you could consider pitas for your sandwiches, either store-bought (typically have fewer ingredients and are more natural than bread) or homemade (easier to \"split\" than bread is to slice, IMHO). I don't know what the cost differential would be, though.

Then again, you may be one of them coordinated folks who can manage to slice textured breads without catastrophe. :)

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pecan 3.14159265

October 28, 2009 8:06 PM

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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): But isn't the point of the breadmachine to actually produce loaves of bread in the loaf shape? What would a stand mixer have to do with bread, other than mixing the dough.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

October 28, 2009 8:45 PM

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@pecan 3.14159265: Mixing and kneading the dough can be hard physical labor -- bread machines do that part as well.

With a bread machine, you basically dump everything in and it bakes, but you're limited in what kinds of bread you can do and the quality is consistent but only fair-to-middlin' with most.

If you make it \"by hand\" you can use a stand mixer to avoid the hard physical labor (although some people prefer to do it by hand, and some people like the exercise!) and you have a lot more control over the recipe and quality. To get a loaf shape, you just need a loaf pan (couple bucks). The downside is you'll have to be there to punch down the dough after the first rise and to put it in and take it out of the oven.

But a bread machine is a single-task appliance and an expensive one that takes up a lot of room. A stand mixer does all kinds of things. I own both, and I put the bread machine away basically the instant I learned that making my own was just as easy, as long as I had the dough hook for my stand mixer.

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October 28, 2009 10:33 PM

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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Oh my god you're making me more and more anxious to feel better so I can go use the new KitchenAid mixer and make my own bread.

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October 29, 2009 2:55 PM

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@subtlefrog: I've been making a modified version of a vegweb \"French\" bread recipe for a while now with our kitchenaid. Ohhh, bless that dough hook and the person who posted specific kitchenaid instructions.

Baked on a pizza stone, it comes out so good. Bad thing is we go through it so fast I have to make two loaves about every week and a half.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

October 29, 2009 2:35 AM

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@subtlefrog: LOL. My KitchenAid came with a recipe book with some bread recipes that worked really well -- the herb-garlic baguettes don't rise a lot but are VERY tasty.

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October 29, 2009 4:23 AM

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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): There are few things I love more than homemade bread, it's just all kinds of awesome.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

October 28, 2009 4:54 PM

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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Also, advertisers spend millions upon millions on making advertising more effective ... and then turn around and say, \"This doesn't interfere with people making free choices or exercising critical thinking.\" Well of COURSE it does, or they wouldn't spend millions of dollars on ensuring the psychology of advertising \"works\" to push people into bad decisions.

You can't have it both ways.

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Xerloq

October 28, 2009 5:32 PM

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@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Mrs. McGee, I'm normally with you 100%, but I disagree that advertising interferes with free choices.

Advertising is effective because it allows people to make an emotional decision in place of a logical one. Since \"people have been educated into idiocy\" and the claims made by advertisers are difficult to evaluate, people choose not to make a logical decision in favor of making the easy emotional decision.

In other words, you're free to choose, but make sure you know what the choice is.

On another note, my 3-year-old has turned himself into a \"hippie-loving vegan.\" Try as I might, I can't get him to eat meat or sugary cereal.

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Gorphlog

October 28, 2009 10:30 PM

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@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.:

You can most definitely make him eat meat and sugar. Make him sit at the table till his plate is clean like my parents did. He will eventually eat it

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June 5, 2010 5:36 PM

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This worked for my parents with anything except turnip soup. All three children sat at the table until past their bedtimes, refusing to eat more than the first spoon (which confirmed to us that this was NOT FOOD).

We woke up to microwaved turnip soup for breakfast, which we also refused to eat.

While in general I don't think kids should get away with only eating their favourite foods, that soup was not food, and it did not appear on the table again until we were teenagers (at which point we all made peanut butter sandwiches and our parents enjoyed the extra leftovers).

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

October 28, 2009 6:08 PM

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@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.: \"I disagree that advertising interferes with free choices. Advertising is effective because it allows people to make an emotional decision in place of a logical one. \"

I think I'm missing the nuance of your point, because this is pretty much what I was saying -- except that it doesn't \"allow\" it, it attempts to manipulate you into doing it. (And if it didn't work, they wouldn't pay nearly so much for it.)

","

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 4:45 PM

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I'm being honest here: Are Frosted Mini Wheats really that bad of a cereal? I mean.. it is MOSTLY wheat.. isn't it?

I'm sure the frosted ones aren't as good for you as the non-frosted variety.. but is the little bit of frosting on those things enough to be lableld as a bad-for-your-kid sort of thing?

I'm sure it's better than what I used to eat for breakfast.. lol.

7 replies

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tcolberg

October 28, 2009 7:47 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: If only there were a lightly-sweetened Frosted Mini-Wheats. Maybe I'll try the Post Shredded Wheat that darkforcesjedi (go Katarn!) mentioned and toss in some honey instead.

@rocketbear79: That's why I switched to fat-free milk. Now every other milk type tastes like cream rather than being refreshing.

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October 28, 2009 8:31 PM

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@tcolberg: It's the carbs in the milk that is an issue, not the fat though.

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October 28, 2009 7:29 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: As with any sugary cereal your body is going to insulin spike afterwards. (Not to mention any fat type of regular milk is going to add to that spike) If you are a person who puts on fat weight easily, this is not a good thing.

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morlo

October 28, 2009 7:09 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: It's one of the best cereals since it's whole wheat and only 20% sugar...but I hope you're hitting the gym afterwards

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zarex42

October 28, 2009 5:40 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars:

No, they really aren't that bad.

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darkforcesjedi

October 28, 2009 5:29 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: I don't know the answer to your question, but next time you're grocery shopping pick up a box of Post Shredded Wheat (the only ingredient is wheat). I find that the plain stuff from Post has a much better flavor than the frosted Kellogg's variety and it costs half as much ($2.50/lb vs. $4.29/lb).

I used to eat a lot of toasted rice cereals (generic Rice Krispies), but now all the manufacturers add sugar to it, which is just a waste in my opinion.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 7:53 PM

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@darkforcesjedi: @morlo: @rocketbear79: Oh, I don't eat this stuff. I just figured it was one of the better cereals for kids since it was mostly wheat.

And I do not gain weight easily. Lol. If you knew me, you would understand just how funny that thought is.

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October 28, 2009 9:09 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: They are not that bad for you in the grand scheme of things. Not to mention they have a decent amount of fiber and will keep you fuller for hours compared to something like fruity pebbles. If you have to have a little sugar in your cereal I would recommend frosted mini wheats

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Working for the man, he pays well.

October 28, 2009 4:46 PM

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Chex for the win! Course... I add sugar. Doh.

4 replies

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ohenry

October 28, 2009 10:17 PM

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@drewconrad: Chex and Crispix are some of my favorite cereals, primarily because they taste great when you mix a bowl of them with a cup of yogurt.

I bowl of crispix + 1 cup light yogurt = yummy, filling breakfast with only ~250 calories! :D

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darkforcesjedi

October 28, 2009 5:34 PM

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@drewconrad: When I was a kid, my favorite cereal was Graham Chex. Sadly, it was dicontinued in 1997 when Ralston Purina sold the brand to General Mills after manufacturing the Chex line of cereals for 60 years.

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pecan 3.14159265

October 28, 2009 4:53 PM

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@drewconrad: Now I want a bowl of Chex. I loved Chex when I was a kid.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 4:58 PM

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@pecan 3.14159265: That cinnamon flavored Chex is like crack.

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October 28, 2009 4:51 PM

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Kix used to be my favorites back in the days (it qualified for food stamps) but now its all about those flavored cheerios and those honey bunches of oats.

6 replies

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October 28, 2009 9:45 PM

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@laughingisfree: If I am going to cheat on my diet, sometimes its with a whole large box of Raisin Bran Crunch. I think I could eat that until I died like the first victim in Se7en.

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October 28, 2009 9:11 PM

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@laughingisfree: Your food stamps have changed. Now all cereals are fair game, as is nearly any foodstuff, including soft drinks.

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pecan 3.14159265

October 28, 2009 8:23 PM

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@laughingisfree: I love honey bunches of oats, but for some reason, I find it just too sweet. Is this the case for you? I've even tried the vanilla box, just to see if it was any less sweet, and it isn't.

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October 28, 2009 8:50 PM

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@pecan 3.14159265: I can handle the sweetness of the cereal, I can basically eat anything as long as it isn't too salty or bitter.

Anyways, you should definitely try the Pecan Bunches and Almonds variety of Honey Bunches of Oats. Right now the pecan bunches is where its at.

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SubzeroScientist

October 28, 2009 5:07 PM

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@laughingisfree: Berry Berry Kix will always remain my most beloved of cereals (regular was good, too). But I have a devil of a time finding it these days, if they even still make it.

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lmarconi

October 28, 2009 7:49 PM

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@SubzeroScientist: They don't. I've checked. PS Holla at everyone who ate the red berries first. Man those were good.

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thisheregirafFe

October 28, 2009 4:52 PM

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i'm failing to see what's so bad... so long as their claims are true that seems fair to me. if you're a parent you should know that just because it has 11 essential vitamins, it isn't necessarily healthy.

and besides, i grew up on quisp and count chocula, and look at me, i'm on the internet!!

","

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vondie

October 28, 2009 4:53 PM

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Does anyone remember the French Toast Crunch cereal, the one with the little bread shaped pieces covered in syrup flavored sugary goodness?

4 replies

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lvixen

October 28, 2009 6:35 PM

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@vondie:
French Toast Crunch was discontinued in May of 2008. I did however find this place that seems to be still selling it. [www.foodservicedirect.com]

I wonder what the expiration date is?

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Xerloq

October 28, 2009 5:34 PM

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@vondie: I tried those again the other day (got a box free after coupons). Nostalgia = destroyed. Disgusting.

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October 28, 2009 7:27 PM

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@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.: I had a bowl of it like 2 years ago before it was discontinued, I don't think it's the same as when I was young. My tastes haven't changed that much.

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SubzeroScientist

October 28, 2009 5:08 PM

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@vondie: YES. I loved that stuff and wish I could find it again, even though the pieces were so sharp they cut up my mouth and left a funky aftertaste behind. <3

Do they still make that? I occasionally see cereals I thought were long gone, that seem to just be holding on in very select markets.

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diasdiem

October 28, 2009 4:55 PM

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Well, duh.

One of the biggest BS lines in commercial history was the old \"Part of a balanced breakfast\" line. And they always showed a bowl of the cereal, surrounded by some toast, a grapefruit, an egg, and a big glass of orange juice.

It's also no coincidence that grocery stores put these cereals at kid-height rather than the top shelf.

4 replies

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Gorphlog

October 28, 2009 10:39 PM

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@diasdiem: You do realize that they could put Kashi at kid level and they would probably want it until they tasted it. Kids seem to want everything at the store. Just today I saw a kid begging his mom to buy the bottle of clam juice he picked up. I doubt he wouldve liked it.

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October 28, 2009 8:36 PM

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@diasdiem: Who drives to the store? Who pays for the groceries?

That's right. The parents.

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diasdiem

October 28, 2009 9:36 PM

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@MooseOfReason: Who gets a migraine because their kids are walking behind them with the cereal in their hot little hands whining for them to buy it? That's right. The parents.

As firm as you can be as a parent, sometimes it's a hard choice between parenting and your own sanity.

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October 29, 2009 4:34 AM

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@diasdiem: Well, there shouldn't be a law.

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Xerloq

October 28, 2009 5:35 PM

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@diasdiem: You would be excited/appalled to learn about the secrets of grocery-store marketing. I mean, do you KNOW what they DO?

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October 28, 2009 5:01 PM

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Suddenly I have a craving for Fruity Pebbles. It's probably been at least a decade since I've had some.

2 replies

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 5:09 PM

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@lawnmowerdeth: Stays with you, doesn't it? I'm craving Cookie Crisp; that one was forbidden from my house because of the price. I had it at my friend's house EVERY once in a while, and I still remember it being awesome.

How sad is that?

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October 28, 2009 5:14 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: We just bought two boxes of 'Dunkaroos', which are the generic version of Cookie Crisp (2/$5 Dunkaroos -vs- 1/$5 Cookie Crisp).

They're every bit as awesome as you remember them, trust me.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 5:39 PM

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@howie_in_az: That's not what I remember \"Dunkaroos\" to be.. They were lil roo shaped grahm crackers and a small serving of icing to dip them in.

Did this generic cereal company steal the name?

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Hooray4Zoidberg

October 28, 2009 5:48 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: Holy crap I forgot about those things, thanks for the nostalgia.

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calquist

October 28, 2009 6:11 PM

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@Hooray4Zoidberg: Remember Koala Yummies? I saw them at a gas station last year for the first time in like 10 years and bought like 5 boxes. Unfortunately they didn't taste as yummies as I remembered.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 5:58 PM

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@Hooray4Zoidberg: I \"make my own at home\" by purchasing teddy grahms and a tub of whipped cake icing. It tastes the same, and you get more without having to open those stupid containers.

PS. I am not encouraging you to do this, I'm sure it's terribly unhealthy, your milage may vary. I probably do this only once a year when I feel the craving.

PSS. I'm feeling the craving now. Crap.

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October 28, 2009 10:43 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: I'm suddenly glad BF is on crunch this week. This gives me license to eat cereal for dinner. And I think I will.

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October 28, 2009 6:22 PM

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@Kimaroo - No Stars Upon Thars: Try it with potato chips.

OM NOM NOM.

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Blueskylaw

October 28, 2009 5:10 PM

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Does the cereal come in fun sizes????

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Bluth_Cornballer

October 28, 2009 5:12 PM

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I admit to falling victim to the marketing schemes as a child. I don't care how unhealthy it is, I still enjoy an occasional bowl of Lucky Charms.

But hey... it's got riboflavin!

2 replies

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calquist

October 28, 2009 6:11 PM

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@Bluth_Cornballer: I love Lucky Charms. I buy cereal instead of ice cream. It is the perfect dessert. And sometimes lunch. Or breakfast. Or on the weekends, both.

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October 28, 2009 5:19 PM

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@Bluth_Cornballer: Lucky Charms is still my favorite of the sugary cereals, along with PB Captain Crunch. I like the healthier stuff now too, but still do the lucky charms when it is on sale sometimes.

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October 28, 2009 5:16 PM

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Yeah, so I heard. Right here. Yesterday.
[consumerist.com]

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IndyJaws

October 28, 2009 5:19 PM

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Interesting that they don't note heavy advertising for Mini Wheats. Nick and Disney are often on at our house and I see more commercials for them than any other cereal. Perhaps it's just a relatively new campaign, but I seem to remember them being pimped for quite a while.
Now, there should be no reason to advertise Cocoa Pebbles. There is no greater cereal on the face of the earth and everyone should already know that. Semi-soggy, chewy Cocoa Pebbles FTW!!

1 replies

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November 13, 2009 4:34 PM

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@IndyJaws: I remember a lot of miniwheats marketing ot kids when I was little, 20 years ago. They looked horrifying then, and they still look like processed garden waste now.

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lehrdude

October 28, 2009 5:20 PM

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Advertisers can hit the kids dead-on 99% of the time.

They could sell Poopy-O's to my kids if the commercials have enough superheros and loud noises...

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leastcmplicated

October 28, 2009 5:29 PM

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I'm not a big fan of sugary cereals in the morning, and right now my daughter would rather eat yogurt for every meal. I hope to have a few years before the marketing kicks in :( although, fruity pebbles is the shiz!

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October 28, 2009 5:33 PM

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See, once upon a time there was this thing called a \"Free Market System,\" where the consumers occasionally awakened from their ad-induced stupor when mercenary advertising (a redundant term) stepped over the line, forming consumer advocacy groups. These groups used to get lots of consumers actively involved to put pressure directly on the companie(s) making outlandish claims, and said companies would realize once again that the consumers had spoken and if they wanted to stay in business, they had no choice but to comply...once upon a time.
Nowadays, we just ask legislators to do our job for us, and we pay the \"small\" price of giving up that direct line of influence between consumer and producer. It's just easier.

1 replies

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mommiest

October 28, 2009 8:40 PM

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@jonsheline: We haven't given up our line of influence between consumer and producer. We can, in fact, have that along with legislation. Really. We can do both.

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Xerloq

October 28, 2009 5:38 PM

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Forget the sugary cereals! I want a good old fashioned breakfast of steak, three eggs, two sausage, two slices of bacon, one biscuit covered in gravy, toast, milk, OJ, and grapefruit with a side of hash-browns and a short stack.

That should hold me 'till second breakfast.

3 replies

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October 28, 2009 9:07 PM

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@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.: Now THAT is a complete breakfast.

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darkforcesjedi

October 28, 2009 8:03 PM

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@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.: Ha, that's almost exactly what I order when I go to Huddle House for breakfast -- no steak, no grapefruit, and the short stack is a waffle.

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pax

October 28, 2009 6:16 PM

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@Xerloq, we are all made of stars.: I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.

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zarex42

October 28, 2009 5:43 PM

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Look, folks, you have personal responsibility for making your own choices about what to eat, and what to feed your kids.

Spare us the victim mentality. It's not the advertiser's fault if you're fat or unhealthy. It's yours!

Whining to your politicians and decrying evil advertising will not solve your problems.

Take control of your own life, and your own choices.

2 replies

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morlo

October 28, 2009 7:11 PM

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@zarex42: From just overhearing the brainwashed kids nag their parents in the grocery store, I for one grant them victim status.

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darkforcesjedi

October 28, 2009 8:06 PM

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junip: Puffed wheat is better.

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October 28, 2009 6:03 PM

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My breakfast?

--1 cup of steel cut oatmeal (bulk bin from whole foods)
-- 1.5 cups of water from my brita filter
--Put both in my nice little muji bowl: [www.muji.eu]
--4 mins in the microwave
--1 to 2 tablespoons of condensed milk (2 tbls 130 calories, 30 calories from fat, 23g carbs, 3g protein)
--freshly grated nutmeg (I get the whole nuts bulk from whole foods and grate it on my micro-plane)
--.5 cups of raisons (bulk bin whole foods)

That's it. It could not be easier. The one benefit is that in the 4 mins it takes to nuke the oatmeal I get to wash my dishes. Sink clean before I leave the house!

If I had more money I would buy all sorts of dried fruit. As it stands I have had to use the Thompson (I think they are Thompson) raisons when what I realllllly want are the golden variety. But if I could I would put dried pineapple, cherries, cranberries. I would also put all sorts of nuts if I did not have diverticular disease! SIGH!

7 replies

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November 13, 2009 4:34 PM

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@TheFingerOfGod:

P.S. . . . I ran out of condensed milk and started using brown sugar instead. I can tell you with certainty that it is the condensed milk that makes this concoction tasty!

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Mobius

October 28, 2009 8:07 PM

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@TheFingerOfGod: 4 minutes to do your dishes? I'd think the grass clippings you eat would wash down quicker than that.

I kid, I kid!

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

October 28, 2009 7:59 PM

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@TheFingerOfGod: Really? Steel cut oats in the microwave?? Does it work with any bowl or is that one special somehow?

If this really works, you might have changed my lil world.

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November 13, 2009 4:34 PM

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@Kimaroo - Fortified with Kittydus Purrularis:

You know. . . I think they are steel cut! LOL they are the ones that cook the quickest but I can't imagine that the microwave would not work with all oatmeal (that is just conjecture by the way).

I just LOVE the bowls! Since they were bought for me I eat everything in them. They provide a nice \"portion size\" for me!

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh

November 13, 2009 4:34 PM

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@TheFingerOfGod: I have steel cut oats and the only way I can make them is 30-45 minutes simmering on the stove top.

Rolled oats cook quicker but I don't like them as much. I know that you can microwave rolled oats, but I've never heard of trying it with steel cut.

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pax

October 28, 2009 6:17 PM

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@TheFingerOfGod: An oatmeal smoothie is also a super-fast, easy, portable breakfast. Into the blender goes your fat-free yogurt and milk, fruit, oatmeal, maybe some orange or cranberry juice. Puree, shake, drink on your way to work.

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November 13, 2009 4:34 PM

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@pax:
Brilliance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I must try this!

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October 28, 2009 10:42 PM

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@pax: I love love love oatmeal smoothies. Toss in a banana, and I'm good.

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junip

October 28, 2009 6:12 PM

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I like puffed rice. It comes in a bag, it costs like $2, and it has one ingredient: puffed rice.

1 replies

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morlo

October 28, 2009 7:15 PM

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@junip: the major ingredient is air

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H3ion

October 28, 2009 6:19 PM

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There was another study reported today (I think it was in the Washington Post)to the effect that drugs used for certain psychiatric illnesses caused obesity in children surprisingly rapidly, say over a period of weeks, not months. Now I haven't seen Prozac Pops on my grocer's shelves but I don't think we can blame everything on advertising.

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October 28, 2009 6:51 PM

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Saw a great parody commercial once:

\"Add fruit and milk and you'll have all the nutritional value of... fruit and milk.\"

Doesn't seem to be so much of a parody now, does it?

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Brazell

October 28, 2009 7:37 PM

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I'm a cheerios guy and regularly have 2 - 3 bowls a day.

Kashi is on the list, and I LOVE Kashi Heart2Heart... it's probably my favorite cereal, but the price is a killer. I love Kashi cereal, but it's $4.25 or so, and you get much less cereal than a large box of cheerios, which runs about the same. I can get about 5 bowls worth out of Kashi, and the last bowl is usually crums or whatevers on the bottom of the bag.

I eat a lot of cereal, and a lot each serving... But, really, why so expensive Kashi!?

1 replies

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October 28, 2009 8:51 PM

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@Brazell: I love Kashi cereal, but boy does it make me fart.

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October 28, 2009 9:11 PM

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It's like horrible American beer. You have to convince them it's cool to consume something that tastes disgusting in order to get them addicted.

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biggeek3

October 28, 2009 9:30 PM

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Do upscale, pilates ball-humping, organic-buying hover-moms even let their precious snowflakes touch this crap? Not in my experience.

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October 29, 2009 12:56 AM

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Okay, fine; but just how much does Saudi Arabia spend a year trying to push an Islamist agenda on US kids through the NEA and various school systems throughout our country? Has Yale conducted a study on that? Would they dare? Of course, there's always the possibility that these are both part of one grand plot, and the Saudi's simply need a bunch of hopped up, psychotic, ADD, Ritalin-addicted kindergarten jihadists cutting a swath for the next wave of the hijra ...

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HIcycles

October 29, 2009 1:22 AM

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I would have to heartly disagree with the author of this post. We don't need regulation. Parents need to step up and be parents. I check the nutrition label on EVERYTHING that I purchase. And I don't watch much TV.

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October 29, 2009 9:11 AM

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\"but regulators need to start taking on these bogus health claims.\"

Huh? I grew up in an age before all this Nanny State Regulation. My parents knew instinctively that \"sugar = bad\". Although I hated them for it at the time, we NEVER had any of the \"tasty, yummy\" sugar cereals at home. Now that I is all growed up, I know my parents did the right thing.

People need to take personal responsibility for their actions and not rely on the State to bring about Utopia. I don't need some government agency to tell me that Lucky Charms are bad and that an apple is good.

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November 13, 2009 4:34 PM

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Oh damn, I read that list and I am so f*cked... say, does anybody remember Wayne Gretsky's \"Pro Stars\"? They were sweetened with aspartame (or similar) and tasted pretty much like sweetened Cheerios, but without the added sugar. They were pretty good.

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