Cereal Killer

The evidence was mounting: most American cereals have GMOs, the majority of cereals rank poorly on Glycemic index charts, consuming cereal (amongst other foods) has been linked to lung cancer (!!) and, of course, all that sugar. :-( I wanted to yell, "Say it ain't so!" but the writing was on the wall...the days were numbered for the breakfast cereals in our pantry.

Let me back up a bit.  For years, Sammy and Brie would eat Greek yogurt with a little bit of cereal sprinkled on top for breakfast.  Seemed harmless enough, right?  They also loved toast and fruit.

But as they've gotten older, a bowl of cereal is an easy way for them to eat and for me to serve breakfast. And they like it and it tastes good and it's fortified and yada yada yada.

With all the strikes against cereal, however, we stopped buying it in the spring.  We kept only bran flakes, granola, the occasional corn flakes...oh, and oatmeal in the house.  Other than that, we ate yogurt, toast and fruit for breakfast.  (If you're wondering about eggs, my kids think eggs are a dinner food, so I wasn't going to try convincing them otherwise.)  But the kids got bored with those choices rather quickly and after a visit or two to the grandparents's houses during summer break, good old cereals were back and being enjoyed by all.  Num num num.

So what's the right answer? I wonder this often. Should we eat cereals in moderation like most other things in our house? Should I cut them out again? We've been trying organic cereals; cereals made from beans; cereals with no gluten/nuts/you name it...the kids like all of them (of course!). Maybe I should just give up and stop thinking about it?

But then I ask myself, "Is a childhood a childhood when there's no cereal in it?" (Especially an American childhood!) We all survived, right?

So we're at a crossroads...cereal in moderation, no cereal, substituting cereal with one or more of the many popular breakfast options du jour like chia seed pudding and kombucha. I'd love to hear what other parents are doing. Any fun suggestions? In the same dilemma? Thanks for your feedback!

P.S. From time to time, my good friend Rachel and her kids set up an assembly line (with scrambled eggs, cheese, tortilla shells, etc.), and then make a few dozen breakfast burritos to freeze, so they can easily defrost a healthy breakfast whenever they like. So smart!!