Winning Words 10/26/12
“Grape=Nuts is a cross between gerbil food and gravel.”  (Dave Barry)  Today is the birthday of C.W. Post (1854), the inventor of Grape=Nuts.  It’s one of my favorite cereals, and it’s supposed to be good for you, too.  Another favorite is Shredded Wheat, even though some say that it tastes like straw.  I like Quaker Oats, too.  I’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Do you have an opinion?    ;-)  Jack

 FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE:  granola + fruit work for me.////FROM JACK:  Granola was invented as a health food in the 19th century, just like Grape=Nuts.////HG:  Take a look at the Kashi cereal. I use the Go Lean Crunch variety.////JACK:  Kashi sounds like a Muslim name to me.

FROM KB IN MICHIGAN:  I haven't thought about Grape Nuts in a while--my father's favorite cereal--thanks for the memory////FROM JACK:  What's your favorite?  Special K(itty)?

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  I like the texture and taste of Grape-Nuts. Guess the trick is to eat it without looking at it.////FROM JACK:  It has a strange name, since it doesn't contain either grapes or nuts...although its shape resembles grape pits.

 FROM BF IN MICHIGAN:  Too often I skip breakfast but I agree Shredded Wheat tastes like straw!  I better go eat my Cheerios now...////FROM JACK:  I remember when Cherrios were first introduced...same shape as now, but with the name, Cheerioats, because of the oatmeal content.

  FROM (SAINT) JUDY:  We love Dave Barry.  No one makes me laugh as hard as reading his material.  He once wrote about a dead whale on the Oregon coast and how the people decided to get rid of the whale by blowing it up.  It happened to be a true story and it was hilarious!  On the cereal front:  I love my Quaker Oats oatmeal and have it at least three times a week.  I do like Cheerios too.////FROM JACK:  Speaking of blowing up things, Quaker Puffed Wheat is supposed to be created by shooting kernels of wheat from guns.

 FROM PM STILL VISITING IN MICHIGAN:  Wheaties for me...breakfast of champions!////FROM JACK:  Hey!  That's what I had this morning.  "We are the Champions," as the Queen song goes.

 FROM CL IN MICHIGAN:  Grape-Nuts used to be a favorite of mine one of my Drs suggested that it might be better if I found another breakfast treat.  My all time favorite breakfast most people have never heard of is "milk toast" Yes I agree breakfast is the most important meal of the day.////FROM JACK:  Do you remember the comic strip, The Timid Soul, featuring Caspar Milquetoast?  Milk toast, as you know,  is the name of a bland and fairly inoffensive food, milk toast, light and easy to digest, an appropriate food for someone with a weak or "nervous" stomach.  Why did your doctor speak ill of Grape=Nuts?

 FROM TS IN INDIANA:  You've got it!    Grape nuts is my favorite also.   I have bran flakes springled with grape nuts to add that crunchy  - and banana.    I agree about breakfast being the most important.   Great time to do the daily devotion also.////FROM JACK:  Even though I like oatmeal, eating dry cereal is faster.  Speaking of fast foods, my daily devotional book is called, Three Minutes a Day, but I can do it in less time than that.

 FROM JUDY, JUDY IN MICHIGAN:  I agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I like frosted Mini Wheats and homemade oatmeal made with Quaker Oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and dried cherries. I’m a homemade waffle fanatic and I make them a lot…. It’s a family thing. Nothing says the weekend, like a delicious, warm breakfast of my favs, waffles, bacon, eggs over easy, and dark, strong coffee and the a couple of morning newspapers and nowhere to go!  The “nowhere to go” part is rare that’s why when I can linger over breakfast. it’s a treat!////FROM JACK:  I like the strawberry waffles at The Big Boy...with the whipped cream.  But, I agree.  Your weekend menu is great!

 FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN:  I make my own bread in a bread machine.  I toast oatmeal and barley in the oven til light brown and then put it in the blender to make it finer.  Also in the bread is wheat flour and corn meal.  It makes a very heavy bread.  I toast a piece every morning and put natural nutty peanut butter and honey on it.  I have eaten it every day for about 20 years and think it is very healthy. Rick thinks I could save time and energy if I just bought a 2 by 4 from Home Depot and ate that!////FROM JACK:  Rick is a very funny guy.  Genes probably affect how long we live, more than the stuff we eat.

 FROM WATERFORD JAN:  Add to your list of tasty treasures for breakfast:  Cream of Wheat.  If you put enough sugar on any of those bland cereals, they'll taste good.  I vote Yes for Breakfast!!!  I have been eating oatmeal almost exclusively (except for those rare occasions when I go out for crisp bacon and scrambled eggs) for three years.  I have compared how I feel later in the morning when I have eaten oatmeal or when I eat my bacon and eggs treat or just a piece of toast with peanut butter, on the run.  I consistently feel more energetic and less hungry for a longer period of time when I start my day with oatmeal.  Your Winning Words usually feed our minds; today you're "feeding" our bodies.////FROM JACK:  I've been eating  Trader Joe's "Quick" Oats lately.  Quick means 7 minutes.  I'm used to Quaker Quick (1 minute).  Why are we so obsessed with time?  In the old days sermons could last a half hour, or more.  Now, it's around 10 minutes.  When Trader Joe's is gone, I'll probably go back to Quaker..

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Opinion on what? Breakfast or breakfast food? Breakfast is the least satisfying meal of the day. Always done in a hurry.  There is only one breakfast  food...Old Fashioned Oatmeal. No sweetener.////FROM JACK:  Old Fashioned seems to be appropriate for some people..

 FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  I agree about breakfast being the most important meal--I never miss it--but I don't care for any of the cereals that you mention!  Ha!  I like Life.////FROM JACK:  You probably should write: "I Love Life!"

 FROM MEDD-O-LANE:  Unless you get up in the middle of the night and raid the ice box, the longest time between meals is from dinner the night before to the breakfast the next morning.  My favorite breakfast, although not done enough, is eggs, bacon or sausage, hash brown potatoes, toast and coffee.////FROM JACK:  You're making my mouth water.  Would the waitress think I was strange, if I ordered that for supper tonight?

 FROM BM IN MICHIGAN:  My motto is “never miss a meal”, and breakfast is one of the important ones!
////FROM JACK:  Does a visit to Starbucks count as a meal?

 FROM MW IN ILLINOIS:  Looks like we're on the same page, shredded wheat & oatmeal have always been  my favorites.////FROM JACK:  I remember that Shredded Wheat used to be manufactured in Niagara Falls and there was a picture of the falls on the box.  The biscuits weren't wrapped, either, and I didn't care.

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  In most cases, yes, because that is how I was raised and how we raised our family.  But our family in Orlando has not eaten breakfast for years, and , yet, they have a lot of energy and no health problems.  So they defy that wisdom.////FROM JACK:  I seem to recall that you are one who does not like Shredded Wheat.  I can't imagine not eating breakfast...my favorite meal.

 FROM ILLINOIS LIZ:  All of those are great if you put enuf sugar on them. Brown sugar and a pat of butter on oatmeal. Had a bowl after work last nite!   Tried Frosted Mini-Wheats?////FROM JACK:  The "frosted" cereals aren't GR-R-REAT!, to my taste.  Kids seem to like 'em.

 FROM BS IN ENGLAND:  I love those cereals and often have them during the week but at the weekends I like to linger over breakfast with maybe  eggs and bacon whilst reading the paper.   I have always enjoyed breakfast and when I was  at school Mother would make a cooked breakfast before we left home every morning and I agree it is the most important meal of the day!////FROM JACK:  What are the brand names of some of the popular cereals in England?  What newspaper do you read?

 FROM KB IN MICHIGAN:  I’m kind of a Granola girl.////FROM JACK:  I've heard that kitty's are pretty finicky eaters.////KB:  I am a real meat and potatoes girl.  I never eat food that I cannot identify at first glance

 FROM PH IN MINNESOTA:  I love sugar crisp but its not too good for your waist line!!////FROM JACK:  There's a baseball player for the Oakland A's named, Coco Crisp.  His real first name is Covelli.  When he was a small child. his sister and brother gave him the nickname.  Maybe people should start calling you Sugar Crisp, or Sugar Daddy.