Cereal rotation keeps it interesting
Crop rotation has served farmers well for ages. Growing a series
of dissimilar crops in the same area helps avoid depletion of soil
nutrients.
Because my dad was raised on a farm in Hollister and then raised
me in the suburbs, I have adopted this rotation philosophy with my
main source of sustenance
– cereal.
Cereal rotation keeps it interesting
Crop rotation has served farmers well for ages. Growing a series of dissimilar crops in the same area helps avoid depletion of soil nutrients.
Because my dad was raised on a farm in Hollister and then raised me in the suburbs, I have adopted this rotation philosophy with my main source of sustenance – cereal.
For anyone who, like me, relies on cereal for more than breakfast, cereal rotation is essential to avoid flavor burnout, which ruins the cereal eating experience. The key is to keep a good variety of cereal on hand in the cupboard.
You can’t have just sweet, sugary cereals available because then it’s too much of a good thing.
My recommendation, as your cereal advisor, is to keep a couple of “healthy” cereals on hand – Raisin Bran or Grape Nuts, for example – and balance them out with something sweet, like Fruity Dino Bites, a Fruity Pebbles knock-off. That way, you can go healthy in the morning with Grape Nuts, perhaps with some fruit sliced on top, then go for the Dino Bites after dinner as you’re watching some dumb reality show.
Opening that new box of cereal is a joyful experience, particularly if it’s the kind of cereal that is more than just a means to filling an empty belly. You know, the kind that when you pour a bowl of it you know you’re going to refill that bowl when you’re done.
Golden Grahams has long been one of my favorites and one of those cereals that is definitely worth two bowls at a sitting. It is sweet, it is crunchy and it meets one of the most important criteria for quality cereal: it makes the milk taste great.
The mark of a great cereal is the way it flavors the milk that is left behind when that last bit of cereal has been scooped up.
Apple Jacks is one of the classics in this category. After the last green O has been lapped up, the flavored milk left in the bowl is a bonus treat. At this point, you can either add some more cereal to stretch out the remaining supply of milk, or just down the sweetened liquid as a capper to the meal.
A check of my cereal cupboard this week revealed the following items: Cheerios (a traditional standby that works as a healthy option when sliced bananas are added, but also tastes great with a spoonful or two of sugar); Raisin Bran (another standby that has healthy bran with sweetened raisins); Quaker Natural Granola (a heavy cereal that will never call for a refilled bowl); the aforementioned Fruity Dino Bites (pure sweetness, no health value whatsoever); and something called Kashi Go Lean Crunch, which my wife, who is not a big cereal fan, bought.
That one, which I won’t eat even if I’m in a mood to eat healthy cereal, includes something called “Honey Almond Flax” along with protein and fiber. It sounds like something the doctor would give you to detoxify your body or prepare you for surgery or an X-ray.
If I want fiber, I’ll eat the Raisin Bran, because “two scoops of raisins are the reason Kellogg’s Raisin Bran’s so pleasin’.” That’s what the TV told me when I was growing up.
My children, who as growing boys are eating constantly when they’re at home, have been known to blow through a box or bag of cereal in under 24 hours. That’s yet another reason for cereal rotation. They’re going to get hungry and they’re going to want cereal, so if their only option is some sort of bran or oat or grain cereal, they’ll eat a bowl of it. If there’s something sweet available, they’ll eat three.
In these tough economic times, cereal rotation has become more challenging. But don’t fret: generic brands are of nearly the same quality as their name brand counterparts, just without the cool prizes in the box, cartoon characters on the box, or even a box.
Rotate your cereal to minimize burnout and don’t believe it when your wife tells you cereal doesn’t count for dinner – it’s got grains and dairy and whatever flax is. That sounds like a meal to me.
