Cereal

I love cereal with milk. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I can do it for any of those meals.

I prefer unsweetened cereals- favorites include Bran Flakes (no raisins); Grape Nuts; Grape Nuts Flakes; Wheaties; Crispix. It is pretty incredible how few choices for unsweetened cereals there are. Yesterday the grocery store was out of Bran Flakes, and I browsed for a new choice. I finally settled on Wheaties- located on the bottom shelf with numerous other boring, reject cereals. Another bothersome reality in cereal shopping is how difficult it is to find cereals without high fructose corn syrup (boo, corn syrup is BAD). Even Wheaties has corn syrup. It's a real shame. I'm sure all the organic versions of cereals are corn-syrup free but I can't really justify $7 for a box of cereal.

The most recent and exciting thing that has developed in my relationship with cereal is a switch to plain soy milk. I am not going dairy-free. Good lord. I'm not crazy. But, between cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, and the occasional ice cream, I think I'm getting enough dairy.

So, I tried soy milk. Here's why it's perfect. Soy milk is creamier than low fat milk. I'd venture to say that it's as creamy as whole milk or even half-and-half (which, everyone knows is totally delicious on cereal. Don't judge. You know it is). But the soy gives the creamy texture and rich flavor without the milk fat and the cholesterol. Plus, it makes the whole meal seem so much healthier- 1/2 way to the 25g of soy protein recommended with just a bowl of delicious cereal.

As an added bonus, in Minnesota, a half-gallon of soy milk is quite a bit cheaper than of milk. We grow soy beans here. I'm cheap. I'm a convert.

And ready for an evening snack. Cereal, anyone?

Note: Suggestions for other unsweetened cereals are welcome. High fructose corn syrup need not apply.