I love this cereal mascot reunion image from SketchBlog!

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More importantly, what characters do you think should have been invited? I'm a fan of Snap, Crackle, and Pop. I think they would surely be more fun at the party than these guys. Also, where are the ladies?

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Millions know Kellogg's Corn Flakes as a relatively healthy breakfast cereal. However, did you know that when it was first invented (on March 7, 1897), it contained no sugar (rendering it tasteless and bland) and wasn't designed to constitute a whole meal, but simply complement a variety of foods?

Created by Dr. John Kellogg, he had intended to serve it solely at his sanitarium, but his brother Will saw the potential in the flake of corn and began marketing it heavily. This caused a rift in the family, that culminated in a legal battle between the two brothers. John won and Corn Flakes went on to become one of the best-selling breakfast cereals of all time.

thanks Rich!
[via Wired]

It's well known by this time that whole grains are good for you. One of the most important benefits that they offer is that they have been shown to help lower the blood pressure of those with slightly elevated cholesterol levels. A new study takes this one step further and has found that eating whole grain breakfast cereals (those with at least 25% oat or bran) can reduce the risk of heart failure. Presented at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, the study showed that eating 2-6 servings of whole grain breakfast cereals each week decreased their risk by 22%, while those eating 1 serving per week lowered theirs by 14%.

Critics of this particular study say that the fact that whole grains came from cereal, as opposed to from some other source, has nothing to do with the results. The whole grains could have come from any source and as long as the same serving sizes was reached, the results should be the same. The benefit in associating the results with cereals is that it is relative easy to find healthy cereals that meet the minimum standards set by the study. Additionally,because people often skip breakfast (or don't have whole grains with it), eating cereals adds extra servings of whole grains above and beyond what they would normally eat throughout the day.

Chocolate cereals that are designed to appeal to adults - to women, specifically - rather than to children are one of the hottest new trends in the breakfast industry. Chocolate Oat Crunch Life is the first one out of the starting gate and is already available in stores. The cereal is regular, whole grain Life cereal that has had chocolate granola pieces added to it. It is touted as being low fat, high in fiber and as a generally healthy (2.5 grams fat, 190 calories per 1-cup serving), yet indulgent, breakfast option.

After trying a box, I think I would pass on this as breakfast food.

Yesterday, I was reading this article on the importance of breakfast, considering the meal suggestions that the article suggested, when I noticed something odd. In addition to the recommendations for grains (bread or cereal), fruit (bananas) and protein ("eat a spoonful of peanut butter"), the article suggested that parents "make sure [kids] drink the milk out of the bottom when they're done" if cereal is served. They also suggested trying to serve kids only unsweetened, whole grain cereals and I don't even know a lot of adults who will go for that all the time. But that's a whole 'nother post. The thing that caught my attention was the milk at the bottom of the bowl.

I know that there are some people who love nothing more than slurping up milk from the bottom of a bowl of cereal. Especially sugary or chocolaty cereal. I simply am not one of them. Am I alone in this? I try to match the amount of milk to the amount of cereal so that I don't have a lot leftover in the bowl and, if I want to drink some more milk, I'll have it in a glass on the side.

Granola fans should introduce themselves to Bear Naked granola, if they aren't familiar with it already. The award winning, good-for-you cereal is on of the best selling and best tasting granolas in the country. Made with wholesome, all-natural ingredients, the company's goal is to make sure that their customers enjoy living a healthy lifestyle and eating healthy - starting with granola, of course. Their granolas are hand-crafted in small batches with real whole grains and other "bearly processed and utterly naked ingredients." They have been available in three flavors for a couple of years now: fruit and nut, apple cinnamon and banana nut. This month, the company is rolling out two new flavors, Peanut Butter and Jelly granola and Peak Protein Blueberry Walnut. The peanut butter flavor is designed to taste like one of the most popular sandwiches in the country and to appeal to kids as well as adults. The blueberry flavor is intended to remind eaters of freshly baked blueberry muffins.

Only the blueberry flavor is available at their online store right now, but both should be on store shelves alongside the original flavors within a couple of weeks.

A cold morning and a ripe pear were the inspiration for this breakfast. In summer, I'm likely just to opt for the fruit on its own, since hot cereal doesn't hold that much appeal when it is muggy outside, but when the weather turns colder, I like to start my day off with hot food. Pear and Maple Oatmeal takes advantage of seasonal flavors, since maple syrup is often included in fall recipes, and is so delicious that it almost tastes like dessert. On top of that, it's incredibly easy to make in the microwave, which makes it an easy breakfast to whip up on a busy weekday morning.

The trick to this recipe, which is after the jump, is to add in half of the pear before cooking and half after. The pear that is cooked will become very tender and almost melt into the oatmeal. The rest of the pear will soften only slightly from the heat when it is added just before serving, adding a lovely texture to the cereal.

It looks like Ohio State isn't the only college football team that's going to get their own brand of cereal this season. The University of Florida Gators are getting a line of Frosted Flakes Corn Cereal, which are a limited edition item to commemorate 100 years of Gator football. The cereals will be available at 250 Publix markets throughout the state.

Some fans are buying it for the box, which could be something of a collectors' item to a die-hard fan, but others are simply buying the cereal because they like frosted flakes for breakfast. No matter what the reason behind the purchases, Publix says that the cereals are selling quickly and that they expect to see sales climb throughout the season or until the stocks, since it was produced in a limited run, run out.

Breakfast might not be that important after all, as some scientists and nutritionists are beginning to question principles that have been the mainstays of diet and health for years and years. The doubts are arising from the fact that there is little to no scientific proof - just anecdotal evidence - that eating breakfast is definitely better for you. As Marion Nestle put it in What to Eat, " What you eat - and how much - matters more to your health than when you eat." Some even notes that there are more than a handful of people who would do well to skip a meal or two once in a while.

There is no proof that skipping breakfast is better for your health either, however, and studies show that many people who skip breakfast are likely to binge later on in the day, with snacks or overly generous lunches. People who eat breakfast are less likely to have certain nutritional shortfalls in their diets, since breakfast foods are often high in fiber, calcium, iron, protein and frequently include fruits, which provide many other nutrients. "There isn't any downside to eating a healthy breakfast," said Joan Salge Blake, a registered dietitian and assistant professor at Boston University specializing in weight management.

I'm not usually a big fan of cold breakfast cereals and usually will opt for something like oatmeal (steel-cut or regular), pancakes or maybe even fruit salad. I do like breakfast to be simple, though, so I keep a couple boxes of cold cereals around. This weekend, I stumbled upon a box of Post's new Honey Bunches of Oats with Cinnamon Clusters at the supermarket and must confess that the entire box is almost gone after only a few days.

Honey Bunches of Oats consists of three kinds of slightly sweetened whole grain flakes and , in this case, cinnamon coated oat clusters that don't skimp on the cinnamon. The cereal is not overly sweet and reminds me very much of french toast, since I add vanilla and cinnamon to my french toast batter.

This cereal is fantastic, even when eaten dry, as a snack in the afternoon. It's a lighter, more flavorful alternative to granola and worth a taste if you come across a box at the store.

When the school year starts back up, sports fans can look foward to a new season of college football. In addition to cheering on their team at games, fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes will get a new way to show their spirit: Buckeye HerOes cereal, the breakfast cereal with OSU current and former players on the box. The honey-nut-toasted-oat cereal sounds exactly like similar to a well-known national brand, so it probably won't take much for fans to hand over the $3.49 at Kroger stores for a box. OSU is not the first university to do a cereal promotion, but their 75,000 box run of product is the largest to-date and the manufacturer says that more will be produced if the initial fun sells out, with a production run once or twice a year.

OSU's next branded product is expected to be single-serving milk cartons.

Since Kellogg's cereals are about to go up in price, taking a look at some of the lower-priced alternatives to name brand cereals seems prudent. This month's Consumer Reports happily obliges us with their taste test of store brand frosted flakes (Kellogg's Frosted Flakes), toasted oats (GM Cheerios), and frosted mini wheats (Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats).

Frosted flake cereals are the least nutritious of the bunch, with about 120 calories, 12 grams of sugar and only 1 gram of fiber. Kellogg's well-known brand topped the taste test, tied with the lower-priced Malt-O-Meal version of the cereal. Other brands tasted slightly bitter. CR also noted that a few turned the milk bright yellow. Sounds like it's best to stick to the familiar in this case.

For years and years, the best thing about eating cold cereal in the morning was the fact that toys came in the boxes. They were tiny and cheap, but they were free and that is all that matters when kids are concerned. As sponsors moved their toys to happy meals and cereal companies began cutting costs, the free cereal toys became fewer and farther between. To delight of kids everywhere, and probably more than a few adults, Ford is reviving the tradition of toys in cereal boxes by putting 600,000 Ford Fusion Hot Wheels into boxes of Kellogg's cereal sold at Target stores. No cutting bar codes or collection box tops necessary.

Ford is, of course, trying to promote its mid-sized Fusion by appealing to families with kids. The cereals that have the cars will be Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes and Cocoa Krispies, all likely to be consumed by cartoon-watching children on Saturday morning, but the parents will be the ones reading the boxes and learning more about the car. At least, that's what Ford is hoping. The rest of us are just hoping that other companies follow suit.

I need some new x-ray specs.

General Mills has a brand new cereal out in stores now. It's got the now-familiar "whole grain" label on it, promising a healthy breakfast, but somehow Double Chocolate Cookie Crisp doesn't seem like it's going to stack up nutritionally to, say, a bowl of oatmeal. I had no idea that Cookie Crisp was still on the market (anyone remember the cop that used to be in the commercials?), let alone the fact that GM was working on new variations, including the double choc as well as peanut butter.

Surprisingly, Double Chocolate Cookie Crisp isn't too bad when you take a look at the label. Each serving as only 130 calories and 2.5 grams of fat, none of it saturated, and it's fortified with calcium, iron, folic acid, etc. And the taste? It's pretty much like chocolate chip cookies and milk. They might be a bit on the sweet side, but for a chocoholic needing a fix in the morning, you could do a lot worse.

If you're not interested in sugary treats in the morning, the cereal might be more satisfying as a snack in the afternoon. Each 3/4 cup serving is going to be slightly bigger than what you'd find in one of those 100 calorie packs of "cookies" and you'll get a lot more servings out of a $4 box.

Cereality is a popular breakfast food chain based on the premise that people like cereal because it's a good breakfast food. The Surreal Bowl is a cafe based on the concept that people like cereal because it's sugary. They sell cereal two scoops at a time - so you can mix your Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles - with one topping and milk. Along with the prospect of combining any two cereals, the range of toppings available amounts to the every 7-year-old's dream Saturday morning breakfast since they include Oreos, peanut butter cups and even gummy bears. Not to worry, there are healthier cereal and topping options, too, but in a room that's full of 50's, 60's and 70's kitsch, including plastic furniture and Felix the Cat cartoons playing on TV sets in the corners, why not indulge and relive your childhood. At least, relive the childhood you would have liked to have if your Mom never had a say in what you ate.

Surreal Bowl
611 Central Ave.
St. Petersburg, Florida
phone: 727-452-1761

[Image Weekly Planet]