Retro: Classic Cereal Killer No More
Silly Marty, Trix are for kids – but leave me my Lucky Charms
Ever since I can first remember, I’ve always loved and been fascinated by breakfast cereals. I mean, what kid wasn’t that grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. Sugar cereals especially were ones that I was always drawn to, with their cool cartoon mascots, wonderful shapes and tasty goodness while watching Saturday Morning cartoons.
But I had a roadblock. My mother was very much against sugar for kids in any form. She spent a good deal of my youth on many health kicks and I was relegated to having to eat Shredded Wheat, Wheat Germ and other forms of healthy crap that I really hated. I mean, what kid loved non-sugar-sweetened cereal? I think Cheerios were allowed, but I always found a way to dump a few spoonfuls of sugar into it, which settled on the bottom of the bowl.
The original Cap’n – much better than today’s 3D image of him
Thankfully, I had several options for obtaining what I wanted. A couple of friends of mine had no issue sharing their sugary contraband. But I needed an at-home option, too. So I would use my meager allowance to purchase cereal and store it in my room, and then break it out whilst my mom was off to various Shaklee meetings. Pretty crazy, huh?
When I finally got out on my own, my wife had no issues with me buying the cereal I liked, able to enjoy them out in the open without fear of being busted between spoonfuls.
The Crunchberry Beast makes his classic return
Today, while I have added healthy cereals to my mix, I almost always have a box of one of my favorites around. So when I found these classic cereal boxes revisited at the store a few weeks ago, I relived my days of when I had to enjoy them undercover, now liberated as a adult to eat them whenever I want.
Smedley The Elephant was always a favorite
Favorite Cereals
Lucky Charms take the number 1 spot. Followed by Trix and all three of the Cap’n Crunch varieties.
So tell me… are you a fan of breakfast cereals? What is your favorite? Are there any brands or flavors you hate?
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About The Author
Love Lucky Charms and Capt’n Crunch Peanut Butter. Also used to love Frankenberry, but I bought a box last year at Halloween and it wasn’t as good as I remember.
I love Cocoa Krispies and Frosted Flakes too. Don’t eat much cereal anymore though, usually only when I’m sick.
Mmmm… Apple Jacks, Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes- with banana. Cereal for dinner sometimes is awesome, too!
OMG! I LOVE these cereals! Crunch Berries, Froot Loops, Apple Jacks….(shit….what’s the other one??)Cookie Crisp! Sugar Smacks!!
You brought back so many memories….so many!
Love those boxes.
Love Crunchberries, Sugar Smacks, and Fruity Pebbles. Yum. I was just noting the other day how sad it is that there are no longer prizes in the sugar cereals these days. I used to love digging for my prize.
I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch. And Captain Crunch Peanut Butter.
Lucky Charms was my favorite, even though it made that weird sound when you ate the petrified marshmallows. Then came Captain Crunch with Crunchberries, Honeycomb, and Sugar Smacks. If I felt like I needed to eat healthier I’d have Cheerieos with about a half cup of sugar in the bottom! Nowadays I eat Kashi or granola and yogurt, but I still crave some Lucky Charms!
I am cracking up because when I was little I HATED all the sugary cereal we had in the house and wished my mom bought the healthy stuff my friends parents bought. Even now I don’t like the sugary kind, just the healthy kind mixed with yogurt, never milk.
I do buy it for my kids though, and they love both the healthy stuff and the “good” stuff.
My house was just like yours growing up – no sugary cereals … except when we took road trips and then my mom indulged us. I do still like cereal, but ironically, I don’t tend towards the super sweet stuff. I fall somewhere in the middle … tending towards Honey Nut Cheerios, Life and Frosted Mini Wheats. Though, I will admit a soft spot for Coco Pebbles … any cereal that makes chocolate milk by the end is a winner for me!
Aww, I can just imagine you sneaking off to eat your cereal with your mom gone!
I ate is a kid but don’t eat it that often for breakfast now, just as a snack sometimes. My fave as a kid was cinnamon toast crunch.
After I added three or four tablespoons of sugar to the non-sugary cereal we were allowed, I expect it was worse than the sugary cereal. Well, definitely worse once you factor in the “carbs are carbs” rule.
We had different cereal in England growing up so I didn’t eat any of those. Nowadays I love eating Wheat Chex and Grape Nuts. But deep down in my heart I’ll always love Weetabix first and foremost – ahh, my childhood breakfast addiction 😉
finn – I agree that the Frankenberry of today is different than what I ate years ago. I’ve liked Frosted Flakes, too.
sybil law – I’ve had cereal for dinner before. It’s a nice and easy meal.
robin – Apple Jacks is one I will eat every so often. I prefer it to Froot Loops.
poppy – The boxes are cool. I love the retro look.
karl – The digging for the prize was something I always liked to do. Pour all of the cereal out into a large bowl, find the prize, put it back into the box.
avitable – Peanut Butter crunch is way good.
lisa – Another Lucky Charms fan! And another fan of putting sugar in Cheerios.
tori – I don’t think I’ve added yogurt to my cereal. I may have to try that someday, of course in non-sugary cereal.
nilsa – I do like Frosted Mini Wheats. They are both healthy and sweet in the same bite (not to quote the recent commercials on TV).
kilax – I’ve not been able to get into Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I gets too soggy, too quick for me.
ren – The sugar added to non-sugary cereals was always an option for me when my mom was around. She never knew different.
kevin – I know you’ve mentioned Weetabix on your blog before. I’m curious, but have yet to consider trying it. As for Grape Nuts, I do like those for a healthy choice. Crunchy and they never get soggy.
When my aon was 2, we was in the store, he was saying “TRIX is for kids, not for rabbits” the salesman for TRIX was in the store, he thought it was “cute”, so he gave him a free box. That was 51 years ago, and he is still a cereal lover.
Welcome to the blog. That is a great story.