Cereal Nazis Rejoice
My mother was a sugary cereal Nazi. A bowl of Rice Krispies was considered a treat. Raisin Bran, Life, and Corn Flakes were the usual ho hum offerings. I would begin rebelling in kindergarten by wrapping my carrot sticks in a napkin, tossing them, and going straight for the Twinkie or Hostess chocolate cupcake in the shiny cellophane that she had lovingly packed in my metal lunchbox. Yes, even at an early age, I believed that dessert should be eaten first.
Last week I was sent a box of the new fruit juice sweetened Cheerios to review. The girls would have probably eaten the entire box in one day if I had let them. A 3/4 cup serving (27 grams) has only 9 grams of sugar. The new fruity Cheerios, which is made with whole grains, also makes a great portable snack, which any mother of a toddler will advise you to keep plenty stashed away for those impromptu moments when your child must be pacified until you can make a getaway. Your kids think they’re getting to eat the “cool” sugary cereal and you can feel good about cutting back on their sugar intake. Because, really, do children need to be any more energetic than they already are?
Now things will be fine as long as Caitlin forgets about the Sponge Bob and Barbie theme cereals we saw the other day at Wal-Hell.
So, where do you draw the line at packaged breakfast foods? The girls are currently on a cereal bar kick, which is OK with me. I try not to buy PopTarts, but let’s just say that I have and we’ll leave it at that. That Hello Kitty is an evil temptress!
