Lifestyle: sugary breakfast cereals

Self-tutoring about a common North American indulgence: the tutor mentions sugary cereals.

When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed sugary breakfast cereals. We had corn flakes sometimes, but that was the limit. My father really frowned on sugary breakfast cereals, and sugar in general.

In a spirit of protest, after I left home I ate a lot of baked goods – apple turnovers, Nanaimo bars, pies, cheesecake, etc., shielded by the runaway metabolism of youth. I loved the idea of eating treats without some killjoy telling me I couldn’t.

Yet, I didn’t buy sugary breakfast cereals. As an adult, I didn’t like the idea of food colouring. Moreover, if I wanted something sweet for breakfast, why not pie or cheesecake? The refinement of breakfast cereals didn’t appeal to me. To this day I like less-refined foods.

One of my sons has followed my lead, but my other one will eat sugary breakfast cereal if it’s available. I’ve banned such cereal from the house, but visiting elsewhere, he sometimes gets to indulge in it.

The other day, that son returned from a visit. He happily reported to me, mainly to get my goat, the sugary breakfast cereal he’d had during the visit.

The cereal he mentioned is one I’ve never imagined tasting good; nonetheless, lots of people seem to love it. I asked him, “What does that even taste like?”

He thought for a minute. “Well, it’s like marshmallow pieces coated in sugar. So good,” he said, matter-of-factly. I burst out laughing.

Why it would occur to anyone to coat a marshmallow in sugar, or how that could taste good, seems beyond me.