MCF's Top Ten Breakfast Cereals!

Breakfast, They say, is the most important meal of the day. I've never been one to argue with Them. As far back as I can remember, I've started every day of my life with a bowl of cereal and milk, reading the back of the box and refilling the bowl until there's no more milk left. There was a frozen waffle phase I went through for a few years, when getting out the door quickly in the morning was a bigger priority than food, but eventually I settled back into my comfortable status quo. When I was younger I not only read the boxes, studying the illustrations and solving the puzzles, but I'd often have 2 or 3 different boxes on the table, mixing and matching cereals for variety. These days, I usually retreat to my computer in the morning, the cereal box tossed aside as I read blogs, check my e-mail, and hope for new comments. Tastes change with age, but for now here are my favorites:

10) Corn Flakes: When I was a kid, I didn't actually care for these. I preferred sweeter cereals like Cap'n Crunch, cereals that turned the milk hazy and sugary as they quickly softened to a sugary mush. Corn Flakes alone were bland, and unless I let them sit for a while to soften and absorb the milk, they were too crunchy and stuck to my teeth. Occasionally I'd have a bowl with slices of a banana, which wasn't as bad. Eventually, I found the sweet cereals too sweet, the notion of discolored milk repellent, and plain cereal more appealing. It's not my first choice, and it still needs to spend more time in milk than other brands, but I definitely appreciate Corn Flakes more as an adult.

9) Life: Yes, MCF likes it! Sometimes, a sweet cereal is okay and Life is just sweet enough, and more adept than Corn Flakes at absorbing milk, thanks to its grid-like construction. Of course, combining Life with Corn Flakes or another plain cereal is also a great way to cut the sweetness of one while enriching the other.

8) Corn Bran: This is one of the rare cereals that tastes equally good dry and crunchy as it does saturated and soft. It tends to get sweeter in milk, and offers a great balance between plain and sweet. Unfortunately, it's hard to find in New York these days, and it's been years since I've had any.

7) Cheerios: I've probably had more Cheerios over the years than any other brand on this list. Like Corn Flakes, it tastes great with sliced bananas. Like Corn Bran, it makes a great dry snack as well. The only reason it's not higher on my list is because I've had it so often, I tend to get bored with it. Cheerios will never completely go away, and remains a morning staple for many people.

6) Honey Nut Cheerios: The only thing better than regular Cheerios is Honey Nut Cheerios, for those times when just a little more flavor is required. It's not something I could have all the time, but once a year or so it's a nice treat and alternative to its plain alter ego.

5) Rice Krispies: There's a method to eating Rice Krispies. First, fill a bowl with the cereal. Next, slowly add milk to the center. As the cereal begins snapping, crackling, and popping, observe it rise on the sides of the bowl and cease pouring before it spills. Now, using a spoon, eat from the center of the “crater”. As the center clears, use the spoon to pull from the edges and fill it in with dry cereal, causing more of its trademark sound, and continue eating from the center and repeating the process as necessary. No other plain cereal is as much fun.

4) Honeycomb: If this were a list of sweet cereal, Honeycomb would be my number one. It comes in sizable chunks that taste great as a dried snack or in a bowl of milk. It's not overly sweet. And when I was a kid, it had the best prizes. I still remember the state license plates for bikes, the ones that came with letter stickers so you could customize them. I wish I could remember what mine said, though I'm sure it was something sufficiently geeky that I erroneously thought was cool at the time. Like Honey Nut Cheerios, I don't have this one often but it's always a treat when I do.

3) Kix: I think they've added more sugar to Kix over the years, or my tastes have changed. When I was younger I liked it, but didn't find it as flavorful. These days if there's a box in the house, it doesn't last beyond two or three days. It's not very absorbent, and I have to refill my bowl more often to use up the milk, and it tastes great crunchy. I think due to the puffy nature, there's probably less cereal in a box of Kix than with other brands.

2) Corn Chex: Hands down, Corn Chex is the only acceptable Chex for me. While all Chex has the same grid structure that makes Life cereal great, I just don't like the other flavors. Like Kix, Corn Chex doesn't last long in my house. If I use up the milk in my bowl, I'll very often pour more and continue eating, glutton that I am.

1) Wheaties: Ironically, it seems the “Breakfast of Champions” tops my list, offering the best of every other brand I've described tonight. It easily beats Corn Flakes as a flake cereal, and marginally beats Total which I found to be very similar when I tried it for the first time two weeks ago. Wheaties has a hint of sweetness, makes a great crunchy snack, and is delicious at any density. I don't know whether I believe too much in the hype, but when I start the day with Wheaties I always feel energized throughout the day, and run faster at night in gym. If it works for the world's greatest athletes, surely it must be enhancing my abilities, right? Even if its advantages are purely psychological, I enjoy it. I'm not a morning person, and any cereal that speeds up the transformation from numb zombie to fully awake—or at least more awake and less numb—ranks high.

All this talk of cereal has made me hungry, and I can't wait to wake up in a few hours. Cereal is always best on a Saturday morning.