Cheerios—keeping your heart healthy

My relationship to Cheerios has been one of the strongest and longest relationships of my life.  We’re going on 21-22 years now, depending on how old I was when I started eating solid foods.  I eat a bowl of Cheerios at least once a day, often twice.  I eat them dry, with a cup of milk on the side.  In the past four years I started experimenting with different “side dishes” to complement my Cheerios.  I began with shredded cheddar cheese and progressed to mozzarella string cheese.  (I believe my favorite food group is the “ch” food group: Cheerios, cheese, Cheetos, chips, and chocolate.)

If I don’t get my daily dose of Cheerios, I get cranky.  I pack them in ziploc baggies on trips.  I take them to friends’ houses when we’re hanging out.  I recall sticking an entire box into my suitcase for my ten-day trip to Spain.  (I usually go through about a box a week.  BIG boxes.)  When I visited my friend Heather after New Year’s Day, I saw that she had deliberately purchased a box of Cheerios for my stay.  Heather, I never told you this, but…that box was way too small.

(But oh, how good it tasted with true Wisconsin cheese.)

I have walked into a room and people have claimed they smell Cheerios on me, much like you might be able to smell alcohol on someone who’s just been to a bar.  Can I help it if the Cheerios dust gets on my cheeks and I forget to brush it off?

And, I’m not proud of this, but I once ate a crushed Cheerio off the carpet of my dorm room.  Yes, it’s true, I did.  But only because Robby dared me to.

This post is an ode to my love of Cheerios.  They are indeed cheery.  I don’t think I will ever grow tired of eating them.  After all, I haven’t stopped in over two decades.