Instagram Message: These were the good ole days when she was still able to eat fun cereal. Tmrw 3/7 is National Cereal Day. Find out on thoughtfulpinch.com why Bella skips cereal these days.

When I was growing up there wasn't much fuss about the amount of sugar in cereal. Or if fusses existed, my parents didn't know or care about it because I was able to get as many boxes of any cereal I wanted. My early childhood faves included: Honeycomb, Sugar Smacks, Apple Jacks and Captain Crunch. During middle and high school, I really loved, loved, loved, Frosted Flakes, Count Chocola and Peanut Butter Captain Crunch. My college memories include Golden Grahams and Lucky Charms. Eventually I matured into an adult and my favorites became Grape Nuts, Shredded Wheat and Raisin Bran. When I had kids all the cereal love came to a screeching halt. Wait, what? Yes, because the sugar shame came on strong and not just by other moms who knew more about nutrition than me, it was the hub who banned any fun cereal from coming into our house. Not that there's anything fun about Grape Nuts and Shredded Wheat but he did not allow any cereal that contained sugar as the primary ingredient. Boo hoo!

When the hub was a little boy, his mother did not buy anything with sugar in it. NOTHING. She was ahead of her time (or maybe a modern day hippie) and she favored homemade, no preservatives, no processed, no food coloring, no nothing except whole foods. The hub didn't know any better until he spent the night at a friend's house and found himself more interested in the kitchen cabinets that contained the sugar-packed cereal than playing with his friends. He told me that he would eat boxes of cereal while he was there because he knew he could never get it at home. This is the part in the story where you must be thinking then why would he deprive his own kids from fun cereal when it could backfire on him just like when he was growing up. Based on his own unofficial study, he found that the friends who ate cereal in the mornings usually ended up having bad eating habits later on and he was sure our kids would follow that path. Hence, the ban on fun cereal. For years now, my kids have actually skipped cereal because it's boring. I should be glad that they would rather have avocado on toast then boring cereal, however, I'm still a kid at heart. I'm the only one in my family that gets excited about Cheerios, Rice Krispies and Rice Chex because they are all gluten-free.

For the cereal lover in your life, check out these thoughtful pinches that I found at my local farmer's market. These hand stamped spoons can also be purchased on Etsy. The Harry Potter themed spoons could be used for cereal or ice cream or anything really.

And I saw some bowls online at Uncommon Goods - they would be perfect as a cereal enthusiast's thoughtful pinch. https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/couch-bowl-set-of-2, https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/the-mug-with-a-hoop, https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/the-hockey-mug-with-a-net, https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/the-soccer-mug-with-a-goal and one adorable https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/elwood-the-unicorn-cereal-bowl.

My daughter is sweet like this little bird so this is her cereal bowl.

Here's a glimpse of my son's food pickiness or control issues. My son's cereal bowl keeps the cereal dry and not mushy because he controls when the cereal goes into the milk. I bought it years ago at Brookstone's - I think.

National Cereal Day is on March 7th every year. What I love about "my job" is that I get to research these proclaimed national days. I usually rely on my "go to" website for information - nationaldaycalendar.com. The website gives historical background on each day if it is available. Check out the site to find why they nicknamed Battle Creek, MI the Cereal Capitol of the World. If you celebrate National Cereal Day - use the hashtag #NationalCerealDay.

Pinches,

Barb