Do you know what I did this morning? I'll tell you what I did. I went grocery shopping. Exciting, right? Not really. I don't shop for "fun food" these days. Sadly though, that's all that seemed available this morning. I mean, RIGHT when I walked in the door of the store, there was a gigantic display of Pop Tarts and makings for s'mores. I could go without the pop tarts any day of the week, but I LOVE me some s'mores. HOWEVER, s'more items were not on my grocery list. Here's my non scale victory sticker...***BOP*** on my forehead.
I kept on walkin'!
As I was walking through the aisles to gather the items on my list (and o.k...I picked up a few other items that weren't on the list but who doesn't- Aaaaaaand in my defense it was laundry soap, popcorn seasoning and blueberries) I started finding myself get VERY, VERY angry.
We may be entering a war, people. A CEREALOUSLY sugary war!!!! Which of course means GREAT things for cereal lovers with the added prize inside that they too, get to reap the delicious damage.
I found myself saying, "ARE YA KIDDING ME?" At every turn, another end cap had ANOTHER cereal. These "Breakfast cereals" are PISSING ME OFF! It's bad enough that Oreo thinks they need to make a flavor for everything and I'm so over that right now too, I could puke. Uuuuugh! But more so than all that ticking me off, it's the fact that while all these new and limited time only items are readily available, I cannot seem to find fat free greek yogurt, healthy pop popcorn, light mayo, or lite cool whip. I can find 19 versions of the same cookie, and 10 new breakfast cereals cankies. (A "Cankie" is a mash-up between a candy and a cookie. And suddenly I have the idea that I should make a breakfast cereal called the cankie. It will be sugary and chocolaty and double stuffed with sprinkles and shit! UUUUUUGH!)
I'm mad.
When Dixon was little, maybe 7 or 8, there was a lawsuit against a cereal company. It was agreed that the nutritional value of snack foods and cereals targeted at children would increase (which I assume would be BETTER nutrition) or they would stop marketing those products all together.
That lasted.
It also makes me a tad angry that while I have been trying REALLY hard for the last few years to eat better, it's the better for me foods that never goes on sale. It's the lean proteins, fresh vegs, fresh fruits, low carb, low sugar, high fiber items I try to fill my pantry and refrigerator with, that cost me 180 bucks. All of that OTHER stuff is on sale. ALL THE TIME. And when things are 3/$5, you buy three. The lean protein my family eats is freaking 5 dollars/lb. How is that fair?
We hear often that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It fuels you and gets you ready for the day. It's said that kids and teens who choose to eat breakfast have more energy and do better in school than those who don't. Without breakfast, (states google) people can get "irritable, restless and tired." Kellogg's cereal claimed that Cocoa Krispies "helps support your child's immunity" based on the presence of a few added vitamins. Well if those "vitamins" were added to soda and candy, wouldn't that encourage kids to consume them more often???
Seems to me that these days, you'd get irritable, restless, and tired by actually consuming these cereals. Have you ever came down from a sugar high? It's not fun. But...it's probably made with whole grains. No reason to cry over spilled milk.
Rant over.
Rant over.
