10 FAVORITES (1) - Breakfast Cereals

In honor of the great response I received on my 100 Favorite Movies list, I am starting a new series of lists. This time, I am limiting it to 10 and they can be anything from favorites to bests to even worsts!Each list, revealed weekly, will be on a different topic ranging in a multitude of subjects from entertainment (film, tv, theatre, etc.) to arts (performance, literature, etc.) to just plain ordinary pop culture. Some of it will be serious, some of it will be a mixed bag and a lot of it will be just plain fun. Like my first one:

TOP 10 FAVORITE CEREALS!

When you're a kid, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. For a lot of us growing up, it was also the most fun because Mom or Dad bought you your favorite cereal. And there certainly was a plethora of choices when it came to having a favorite (at least when I was growing up!). So here are the breakfast cereals I still love to this very day: My Top 10 Favorite Cereals of All-Time (with a special bonus one too!).

HONORABLE MENTION - CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH

This one never became a staple in my house growing up but it still was a favorite of mine. I love the cinnamon flavor and I even had an appreciation for the commercials and their mascots: Wendell (the old and sometime crazy chef) and his creepy assistants.

#10 - FRUITY and/or COCOA PEBBLES

Combine famous TV cartoon characters with flavored cereal flakes and you have a great addition to any kid's breakfast bowl. The Flintstones was a successful 1960's animated Primetime sitcom (like The Simpsons or Family Guy are today). Their marketablity was so strong on products like Flintstones Vitamins, the Post Cereal Company got together with Hanna-Barbera and the cereal ultimately sold itself!

#9 - RAISIN BRAN

This was a cereal my Grandma and Grandpa always had me eat because they loved it and I loved raisins. I especially loved picking out the raisins and eating them for a snack!

#8 - RICE KRISPIES

My other Grandmother always had this cereal and what a fun breakfast to have! I mean, you actually got to play with your food when you poured the milk on the cereal! Listen for the SNAP! CRACKLE! POP!

#7 - LUCKY CHARMS

For many of us, the first leprechaun we could name of the top of our heads was "Lucky," the impish little Irish creature who was always trying to hide his marshmallow treats. Kids were always after his Lucky Charms from the green shamrocks to the yellow moons to the purple horseshoes.

#6 - APPLE JACKS

I LOVED this cereal when I was a kid. I was practically obsessed with this cereal. These days, the company has changed its recipe and its look, but for me, this will always be amongst my favorites just because of the strange obsession I had for it.

#5 - FROOT LOOPS

As I got older, my obsession with Apple Jacks subsided and I moved on to its Kellogg's cohort Froot Loops. I wasn't as obsessed with it as I was with Apple Jacks but still loved having it every morning. Plus the commercials with Toucan Sam and "following his nose" to the great flavors were just great!

#4 - TRIX

On a list of the greatest Cereal mascots, this one would be my #1 for sure. I, like many of my generation, thought that the kids in the commercials who refused the Rabbit the tasty cereal were complete jerks. I never saw any problem with giving the Rabbit the cereal. There was one theory, though, that said the Trix Rabbit was the equivalent of a drug addict and the kids' refusal was seen as a way of not enabling his habit. (Remember, I grew up in the "Just Say No" 1980's, theories like this were just standard.)

#3 - CAP'N CRUNCH

I know there are many versions (Peanut Butter Crunch, Crunch Berries, etc.) but none of them beat the original in my eyes. Yes, it is sweetened corn and oat pieces but it is just too good to pass up!

#2 - HONEY NUT CHEERIOS (and to a lesser extent ORIGINAL CHEERIOS)

While I do love original Cheerios, I cannot get enough of Honey Nut Cheerios even to this very day. It is sweet, tasty and even good for you. Nothing can beat the delightful Honeybee, except...

#1 - COCOA PUFFS

Ah, Sonny! If ANY cereal mascot was the equivalent of a drug addict, Sonny was it! He was basically insane (you know, "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!"). And who could blame him really? I mean this is a damn good cereal. Its like chocolate-covered crack! Who wouldn't get addicted to the mouth-watering chocolatey goodness that awaits consumers in the box? Plus it makes the milk chocolate and so you have, of course, CHOCOLATE MILK! So full of sugar but just so good you can't resist it.

Gosh! All this talk about cereal, I'm getting hungry. I think I'm gonna head to my local grocery and pick up one or two of these breakfast greats.

And yes, I know. No Frosted Flakes! No Count Chocula! No Kix! Sorry, I had to make the cut somewhere (I even added an Honorable Mention, what more do you want?!?).

If you want to send in ideas for future 10 FAVORITES blog posts, just click on my profile and send me an e-mail. I would love to hear what readers think!