Living On Cereal has done it again. Once again Living on Cereal has found an innovative cereal product. Under the Hood (UTH) sells the cereal attire that you desire. Not only does UTH sell t-shirts, hoodies and jackets; they also sell jeans.

Now from a Living On Cereal perspective this is a little ridiculous. $40.00 for a shirt? That is a lot of cash especially if you are Living On Cereal.

Generic Cereals

You know it is not always bad to lean toward a generic cereal when it comes to the end of the month and you are living on cereal. When I turn down the cereal aisle at my local grocery store I am welcomed by the likes of Fred Flintstone, Snap, Crackle and Pop. But sometimes I feel compelled to drift a little further down the aisle and look at the those cereals in the plastic bag. What I am referring to here is the Malt-O-Meal cereals. They have some cereal names which sometimes I find very enticing such as; Apple Zings, Choco-Colossal Crunch and Dyno-Bites. I was so interested in this brand I even visited the Malt-O-Meal website. This website had it all, product information, product comparisons and even a recipe page. I visited the product comparison site and found that Tootie Fruites costs $1.85 per lb. where as Froot Loops costs $2.72 per lb. Now I have not put that to the official Living on Cereal taste test but that is on its way (we are going grocery shopping today). The recipe section of the web-site offers many dessert recipes that can be made with Malt-O-Meal cereal. One of the recipes is for "Honey Buzzers Caterpillars" (try saying that 5 times). I do not plan to try this recipe but I like the name. Living On Cereal would like to dedicate the next poll to Malt-O-Meal and other generic cereals. Please vote for the generic cereal with the best name.

Cereal Art

Jason Mecier is a San Francisco artist/illustrator. His work has appeared in Entertainment Weeklyand on Nickelodeon. Mecier used Cap'n Crunch, Crunch Berries, Cheerios, Froot Loops, Alpha Bits, Count Chocula, Frosted Mini Wheats and other cereals to create this portrait.

This just proves that even an artist can live on cereal and still make a good living.

It's Cocoa Puffs!!

America (well 22 Americans) has voted and Cocoa Puffs has beaten Cocoa Pebbles by a slim margin. Sorry Chad I know you are crushed and will demand a recount. The word chad brings up harsh feelings among the Democrats so Living on Cereal would like to apologize to all Democrats. Count Chocula was very disappointed in the voting as he felt like a Libertarian picking up just a few charity votes.

Cereal Girls

If you know me then you know I love both of my girls. I get the gift of waking up everyday and being with them (now don't get all choked up on me as you read this). One of the best experiences I share with my girls is watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating cereal. I am glad my girls like to watch cartoons because now I can watch them in front of my wife without feeling too immature. As far as Saturday morning cartoons go; Superfriends was as good as it gets.

Anyways, my girls love me, I love them and all of us love living on cereal. Girls, this is for you!

Mr. T Cereal

"I pity the fool who does not eat Mr. T cereal". Well that should have been the slogan for this cereal instead of "It's Coo" (that is not a typo if you listen to Mr. T on the commercial); it may have lasted longer. Combine that with the fact the cereal tasted just like Cap'n Crunch the outlook did not look good.
Mr. T was a hero to everyone in the 1980's. I remember when he beat the fool out of Rocky and then made his mark as B.A Baracus on the A-Team. I remember Mr. T would never drink anything but milk.
I did a little research on Mr. T and found out that he was a body guard for celebrities; even Muhammad Ali. Mr. T charged $3,000.00 a day for his services. His business card read, "Next to God, there is no greater protector than I." He was interviewed once and said that it took more than an hour for him to put his jewelry on. The good news is that Mr. T can always sell his jewelry so he will not have to live on cereal.

Opie Taylor is Living On Cereal

Even Opie Taylor was Living on Cereal at one point in his life.

Pink Panther Flakes

In 1973 a breakfast cereal called "Pink Panther Flakes" was made by Post Cereal. The cereal resembled Frosted Flakes in taste and texture but the sugar coating was PINK, which would color your milk after a few seconds (ewww). There is a new (well 2006) Pink Panther movie starring Steve Martin; this movie is one my daughter's favorite movies.

Cocoa Cereals

So which Cocoa cereal do readers of "Living on Cereal" like best? Please choose from one of the choices listed on the 1st "Living on Cereal" Poll.

Cocoa Pebbles

I have a friend that is very fond of Cocoa Pebbles. In fact, he tells me he eats this cereal almost everyday. I committed a "living on cereal" faux pas as I confused Cocoa Pebbles with Cocoa Puffs. My friend Chad promptly responded via email. Chad wrote in his email, "that is the problem all you people who KNOW NOTHING and confuse Cocoa PUFFS and Cocoa Pebbles. Pebbles is with Fred Flintstone and me and Fred eat almost every morning. Our first week of marriage my wife was asked to get me some Cocoa Pebbles and she got me Cocoa Puffs with that stupid bird on the box and I almost put her out of the house right then. After a single back hand and explanation of the difference between “Pebbles” and “Puffs” she agreed that she had made a grave error and asked for forgiveness and has never made such a stupid mistake again."

Wow, now if that isn't cocoa rage I do know what is. Anyways Chad, Cocoa Pebbles was introduced along with Fruity Pebbles in 1971. The characters who are on the box are the Flintstones. Basically Barney Rubble is out to get Fred Flintstones Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles. Barney has been known to disguise himself as a rap artist, detective and even Santa Claus in order to get Fred's Pebbles.

Pepsi

How can you have a Jackson 5 commercial without having this one. This is one of the best commercials ever. Do you know who that kid in the commercial is? That boy is no other than Alfonso Ribeiro aka Carlton Banks on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I have no idea what he did after this commercial so Alfonso might have been living on some cereal for a while until Will Smith saved him.

Alpha-Bits

Alpha-Bits cereal was invented by Thomas M. Quigley who worked for Post Cereals (he had to be a nerd to think of letters in cereal). The cereal was introduced in 1958 and was taken off the market in 2006. Alpha-Bit re-appeared for sale in January 2008 with a new formulation, touting "0% Sugar!" as a "Limited Edition" cereal. It is still around so I guess they must have produced over 1,000,000 boxes.
The first mascot for Alpha-Bits was a mail man named Loveable Truly. Since then, mascots have included the Alpha-Bits Wizard and in 1980s there was yet another mascot named Alfie. Alfie was Alpha-Bits cereal wonder dog.
The Jackson 5 produced many commercials in the early 70's for Alpha-bits. I have not heard much from them except of course MJ. Jermaine did have a hit in the 80's that my brother Mark would lip-sync too.
I am sure Alfie found a new owner but I have no idea what happened to Tito, Jackie and Marlon. I hope they made enough money in the 70's and are not living on cereal.

Punch Crunch

My niece Ally told me last night that her favorite cereal was Cap'n Crunch. I get that answer from a lot of people. I like to go deeper into the mysteries of Cap'n Crunch. Do you know his full name is Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch. He also had a friend hippo named Harry. Harry even had his own cereal for a short time in the 1970's, CRUNCH PUNCH. What a name. The cereal was a fruit punch flavor. Unfortunately for Harry the cereal was discontinued and Harry the hippo ended up being treated like a stowaway and eventually was kicked off the The Good Ship Guppy (Cap'n Crunch's ship). Hopefully Harry the hippo has found some new friends and is having fun living on cereal.

Cereal On the Go

Cereal On the Go is a product of Cool Gear International. This product looks like a stylish thermos but it actually is made up of two sections. The top section is a 12 oz. bowl that holds your dry cereal. Once you unscrew the lower section you will find a 5.7 oz milk container. This container is surrounded by a gel which keeps your milk cool. Cereal on the Go even comes with a fold out spoon. Cereal on the Go sells for $5.99 at Cool Gear Internationale's web site and comes in the colors blue, pink, orange and lime green.

Cereal on the Go has its positives and its negatives. Cereal on the Go is perfect for the Cereal Lover if they are taking their cereal to work with them and has time to sit down and consume their cereal. A negative to this idea is the fact that most people who want their "cereal on the go" may want to eat it in the car. In an interview with Ms. Gresham (another person who has not bought the product), she believes that, "if you really want your cereal on the go, you can just put the cereal in a large cup, pour the milk in and just drink it as you drive. Ms. Gresham has been in 3 wrecks involving things that do not move (tree, fence, stop sign) so Living on Cereal does not recommend driving with your face in a cup of cereal. Once you come to a complete stop though this can be done. If you plan on driving a long distance without stopping you may want to look into purchasing an EatmeCruchy Cup.

The thought of being able to bring your cereal to work without looking foolish by carrying an entire box of cereal with you (Ms. Angie Sams) is a great idea. Therefore, Living on Cereal endorses this product if you have $5.99 to spend. Though the 12 oz. bowl is a little small for me; it is perfect for the individual who is looking to stretch their last box of cereal. Living on Cereal believes this would be a great gift for a co-worker, especially if they are your sister-n-law and you are tired of seeing them with that huge box of shredded wheat and eating it out of a Styrofoam cup. However, I do not recommend buying this as a gift for your wife's birthday.

Breakfast of Champions?

Wheaties is the Breakfast of Champions. Only the best of the best make it on this cereal box. Over the years the box has been adorned by champions such as MJ, Emmit Smith, John Elway, Mary Lou Retton, Cal Ripken and of course Bruce Jenner.

There is one champion that unfortunately will never be on a box of Wheaties. His name is Alan Francis of Defiance, OH. Alan has won the Men's World Horseshoe Championship an amazing fourteen times. In the 2007 championship Alan had an amazing 89.6% ringers over the course of the week. I do not believe that MJ has won 14 championships nor has he shot 89.6% from the field. The comparisons go on. Just like MJ has his own shoe so does Alan Francis. You can buy his unique Horseshoe on Alan's Website. Unlike MJ's shoes you can buy a set of Alan's shoes for only $58.00. The shoes come in colors white and blue.

From this point on I am asking all Living on Cereal readers to boycott Wheaties until Alan Francis is given the proper respect that all champion professional athletes deserve; to be immortalized on a box of Wheaties.

Cinnabon Cereal

I entered a contest today. The contest was to win a free box of Cinnabon Cereal. Given that fact that I love cinnamon rolls this would be great to win for me. The contest is posted at A Moms Review. Speaking of Cinnabon; Cinnabon loves to torture poor people. You walk past their place of business and you smell that wonderful cinnamon. You walk up to the counter only to find out that a cinnamon roll is going to cost you $4.50. Too expensive for someone who is living on cereal.

Circus Peanuts?

Lucky Charms is a favorite among children. Lucky the leprechaun is an icon. Because of these two reasons I just had to research this cereal. I discovered that the cereal came about by mixing Cheerios with Circus Peanuts! I have to stop right there with the Lucky Charms because Circus Peanuts brought back a lot of memories for me. As a young boy I remember looking for the most horrible sounding and repulsive looking candy to purchase with $1.00 (I usually earned a $1.00 by changing the "pee the bed" sheets on the bed of my brother's spend the night guest); Circus Peanuts fit that description.

Last night I left my house to find a bag of Circus Peanuts. I had to go to two gas stations and a CVS to find some Circus Peanuts. CVS actually carried this candy. Once I brought the candy home and survived the wrath of my wife (I am supposed to be on a low-triglyceride diet) I opened the bag and did a taste test. Just as I remembered; tastes like a stale marshmallow with a hint of a horrible banana after-taste.

Why a Circus Peanut is orange I do not know. I honestly do not understand who came up with the idea of a Circus Peanut. My thought is that a couple of stale marshmallows were accidentally packaged inside bag of Orange Slices. I do not believe anyone wants to take responsibility for the idea behind the name Circus Peanuts. Though the name and idea of Circus Peanuts stuck; Brach's probably blamed the whole thing on the bearded-lady working at the front desk. Hopefully that bearded-lady joined a circus. If not, some where out there is a bearded lady living on cereal.

Product Review: EatMeCrunchy Cereal Bowl

What in the world is this? Someone has created a cereal bowl that divides the milk from the majority of the cereal. The name of the bowl is the Eatmecrunchy Cereal Bowl. The idea behind this bowl is that most people like to eat their cereal crunchy (I raise my hand) and most people do not like it when their cereal gets soggy in milk (I raise my hand again). You will have to look at the picture above (or visit Eatmecrunchy.com) but the bowl has a shelf that divides the cereal from the milk; only a little bit of the dry cereal touches the milk.

Here is Living On Cereal's review of the product. First of all I need to say that I have not purchased this item. I can not afford to pay $9.00 for a bowl. Second, what is wrong with these people that their cereal gets soggy anyways. When I prepare my cereal I am smart enough (after 10 years of college) to pour enough milk to cover my cereal and not a drop more. My only conclusion is that the person who invented this cereal bowl talks too much and or has trouble with finding the solution to the puzzle on the back of the cereal box. A suggestion to the problem of talking too much can be solved by a) not asking open-ended questions or b) take a bite after each sentence.

As for finding the answer to cereal box questions I sought the advice from a co-worker of mine, Ms. Gwen Gresham. Ms. Gresham has found that the answer to the puzzles on the back of the cereal box are either the cereal's name or cereal mascot. Ms. Gresham further suggested that after thrity seconds if you find yourself still bewildered then look on the bottom of the box and the answers are usually there. Overall, I would only purchase a EatMeCrunchy Cereal Bowl if I was going to give it to someone as a Secret Santa Gift.

Jean LaFoote "The Bare Foot Pirate"

Jean LaFoote is the nemesis of Cap'n Crunch. Back in the 60's LaFoote always tried to steal cereal from Cap'n Crunch. Fortunately for LaFoote he received his own cereal in 1973. The cereal did not last long and was taken off the shelves. LaFoote must have kept some extra cereal in his treasure chest to live on because after twenty years he is back. You can look for Jean LaFoote on the back of Cap'n Crunch cereal boxes. Maybe Jean LaFoote will have his own cereal again.

The Cereal Bowl

What is this.....a cereal restaurant. The Cereal Bowl serves cold cereals and other items. Looking at some of the items on their menu reminds me of being in a situation where you pour a bowl of cereal only to find out that you need to add another cereal to fill up the bowl. For example: adding Cocoa Puffs to your Fruit Loops. Does not seem too appetizing but when you are living on cereal you have no choice. An item on their menu is "The Sweetest Thing". This is a combination of Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Vanilla Wafers and Rainbow Sprinkles. I do not know about the wafers and the sprinkles but I believe I have tried this combo before. Another item is "Morning Glory". This is a healthy alternative since it contains Mini-Wheats and fruit. With items on the menu that combines chocolate chips, with gummy worms and Cookie Crisp makes me wonder about this owner. They also have a "Beyond the Bowl" menu that lists items such as ice cream with cereal toppings and healthy fruit smoothies. I am no Dr. Manning (my school's counselor) but after reading the menu of The Cereal Bowl I have come to the conclusion that this owner suffers from Schizophrenia. Plus, anyone who can actually afford to go to a place like this is not Living on Cereal.

Cowboy Crunchies

This is not a real cereal but needs to be mentioned. If you remember in Toy Story 2, Woody was shown an old show from the series Woody's Roundup. Who sponsored the show? No other than Cowboy Crunchies! Cowboy Crunchies is "the only cereal that is sugar coated and double dipped in chocolate". I guess if it was a real cereal then they would have stopped making Cowboy Crunchies once Sputnik was launched into outer space. If you do not understand this post then you need to watch Toy Story 2.

Apple Jacks Kids

Whatever happened to these two? The Apple Jacks Kids, a boy and a girl, appeared on Apple Jacks' boxes in the 1970's. For some reason as soon as Ronald Reagan became our President (1980) they were not to be seen again. Somewhere, there are two adult stick figures out of work and living on "free samples" of cereal.

Hail To The King

I will give the King his due.

Kroger Brand Cereals

A kid never falls for this marketing trick. What does Kroger think they are doing trying to insult the intelligence of a four year old. As I walked down the cereal aisle I watched as my girl looked for her favorite cereal (favorite cereal as defined by a kid means cereal box with the best free prize). My four-year old pointed at the Lucky Charms so I grabbed the Kroger Marshmallow Treasures and by doing so received a disheartened look. What was I doing? I suddenly remembered all of the times when I would tell my Mom to buy me the Cap' N Crunch and the feeling of disappointment when I looked in the paper bag to see King Vitamin staring back at me. Dave always got the name-brand with the prize though; always the best prize too.

My daughter looked at me like I was her hero again when I put the Marshmallow Treasures back (on the wrong shelf of course) and put the Lucky Charms in the cart. Daddy and Lucky the Leprechaun save the day!

Cheerios

America's #1 Selling Cereal. The cereal hit the shelves in 1941. I personally do not care for this cereal. No Prizes!!

Honeycomb Cereal License Plates

The Honeycomb cereal mini-license plates first made thier appearance in 1978. I always wanted to pull a West Virginia plate but never did.

Tony the Tiger goes Bananas?

In 1981 Banana Frosted Flakes made its debut. The cereal was later discontinued.

Living on Cereal Theme

This is dedicated to all in Cougarville.

Do not worry Dave.

My brother is a trivia man. If I did not post this he would quickly call and tell me about my lack of intelligence. Anyways, there was another monster that may have made it to your table. Fruity Yummy Mummy was introduced in 1988 and discontinued a few years later. This was a fruit cereal with vanilla marshmallows. Fruit Brute had lime flavored marshmallows.

Fruit Brute?

You should know the three monsters that may have made it to your table in the morning; Count Chocula, Frankenberry and Boo Berry. But what about a werewolf? Introduced in 1975 Fruit Brute made its appearance. In the commercials the werewolf would howl "Frooooooot" (you can stop howling now). Unfortunately, the cereal was discontinued in 1983.

Strawberry Mini-Wheats

Angie is my big bro's wife. She is on a low sodium diet. This her favorite cereal and this one is dedicated to her.

So what is the Frog's Name

The name of the frog on a box of Honey Smack is Dig 'em.

Honey Smacks or Sugar Smacks

Honey Smacks were once called Sugar Smacks. In 1953 Sugar Smacks was first put on grocery store shelves. In the 60's the character on the box was none other than the famous Quick Draw McGraw! Now you will see a frog on a box of Honey Smacks.

Cereal Fact of the Day

When Cinnamon Toast Crunch was first introduced in 1984 the characters on the box were Wendall, Bob and Quello. In 1992 Bob and Quello were fired. Only Wendell is now on the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Bob and Quello are now broke and "living on cereal".