"The only real stumbling block is the fear of failure. In cooking, you have got to have a what-the-hell attitude." ~ Julia Child

Cheerios, the (Other) Breakfast of Champions, turns 70

by Julie on June 27, 2011

in Food News

Cheerio's box

The staff of life

Happy Birthday, Cheerios. You’re 70 years old this year.

I have a special place for you in my heart, which is undoubtedly much the healthier since I’ve been eating you for 40 of those 70 years.

Yep. I ate bowls of you as a kid, sitting around the TV on Saturday Mornings watching Scooby Doo and the Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.

You supplemented my diet in junior high and high school.  You kept me going throughout my undergraduate days, when I didn’t know how to cook anything for myself, no, not even pasta.

And while it’s true I did live on the infamous cigarette and banana diet in my days as a journalist in NYC, my nicotine and potassium intake was heavily augmented by Cheerios.

Fast forward to the next chapter. When I was pregnant with the girl I ate pallets of plain Cheerios (no milk) and washed them down with cranberry juice.  Later on I let both my babies learn to eat with them, picking them up one by one from their high chair trays. I never left the house without a little baggie of O’s because they could stop even the loudest tantrums. Mommy’s or toddlers’.

These days the Drama Teen loves them. I’ll never get them out of her rug. The boy can play Halo 3 and eat four bowls.

I still love you too. Even now I’ll wander into the kitchen, blood sugar tanked, nothing already made, and I head right for the cereal cupboard. I’ve been known to have Cheerios for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

For dinner I usually include a little glass of wine to wash it all down with. It works.

So really, Cheerios, you and I have been close my entire life. No reason to think I’ll stop seeing you any time soon.

OK, so I’m now buying the cheaper Joe’s O’s from Trader Joe’s. What can I say? They taste (almost) the same. And they’re $4 cheaper. You do what you have to in this new economy, right?

But sometimes if I can find you on sale at Target…well, I just can’t resist the original.

Nothing says home to me like a cup of tea or a bowl of Cheerios.

Happy Birthday, my love. You’ve stuck by me all these years. And I don’t care how old or plain you are. Here’s to another 70 years of good times.

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Dawn B June 27, 2011 at 10:30 am

I truly fear that I will be bending over in my wheelchair and still picking Cheerios up off the damn floor!

Reply

Bruce June 27, 2011 at 10:55 am

Is it bad that I never really got attached to Cheerios? I’ve always been a fan of the Honey Nut variety, but the originals never really got to me.

Reply

Tony Davenport June 27, 2011 at 11:23 am

I was always more of a Wheaties fan, myself. Cheerios never had sports stars on the box. Didn’t learn to appreciate Cheerios til I started feeding them to my kids.

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Suzanne Woolley June 27, 2011 at 11:35 am

I have to admit I only came to appreciate Cheerios at age 48. It is very helpful because I occasionally share a weekend house that involves four children age four and under…Cheerios are now part of our design aesthetic.

Reply

Dawn B June 27, 2011 at 3:17 pm

“part of our design aesthetic” = brilliant! Gonna totally steal that. Hope you don’t mind. 🙂

Reply

Gordon June 27, 2011 at 3:17 pm

The stuff should be re-branded as Toddler-Chow. I’ve pacified dozens of them with Cheerios. Oh and before you call Child Protective Services, I was working at a nursery and had a background check completed.

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