For me, cereal has always been an efficient, quick way to stuff my body with whole grains before hitting the grind. This is, of course, early in the morning where I would prefer not to put much thought into anything. Other than Sundays between the ages of 5 and 13, where my parents allowed us to eat outrageously sweet serials (I’ve grown out of that), I’ve never taken much pleasure in eating it, and I’ve never understood those who like to snack on cereal the same way I like to snack on chips and salsa.

My wife is different. No, she doesn’t sit around in her PJs snacking cereal all day long. But this morning, like many morning, she put a little tender love and care to produce a delightful muesli. It included:

1. Cornflakes
2. Raw oatmeal
3. “Nordic Muesli” from IKEA (which consists of almonds, dried bananas and dried oranges)
4. Raisins
5. Apple slices
6. Canned pineapple
7. The juice from the same can
8. Flax seed
9. Plain “Greek Style” yogurt (instead of milk)

My cereal consisted of:

1. Cheerios, mixed with…
2. Chex
3. Soy milk

Guess which one of us enjoyed her breakfast.