Any of you Lord of the Rings fans out there? Well, that is where I got the title of this blogpost. You can watch the clip of the movie scene here. Anyway, there actually is a such thing as a "second breakfast" that is eaten between breakfast and lunch and is traditional in Poland and Bavaria. Here is some more info about it.
Some of us do not even have our first breakfast, let alone second breakfast. We should be ashamed of ourselves! Don't we know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? We should be eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast every morning to get our day going...and I don't mean coffee and doughnuts, a Snickers bar and a Mountain Dew, or a Pop Tart and hot cocoa. I am guilty of this myself (actually, I haven't even had my breakfast yet this morning!), but have been doing better lately. For example, this week I have been eating egg sandwiches with juice and homemade Fruit-n-Yogurt parfaits (recipe at the bottom of this post).
So while some of us don't even make time for breakfast, others of us stick to the cereal routine, maybe adding some juice and toast on the side. This is actually a good breakfast for you, depending on the type of cereal, that is. In fact, according to My Blog Spark and General Mills, "ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters." Many of us became cereal eaters at a young age and it just carried on throughout our adult years. We may have different tastes now than we did as children -- some of us may prefer Fiber One over Trix and so forth. General Mills has recently announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving, making cereal even better today than 20 years ago. The company has also produced a report on the Benefits of Cereal. It is very interesting, I suggest you check it out!
General Mills, along with My Blog Spark, sent me 4 coupons for four free boxes of cereal. How awesome is that!? Although they have not yet been released, I cannot wait to try these new and improved cereals....and I would love for you to try them too! That is why I have decided to give away two of my coupons. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me either your favorite cereal, your favorite breakfast, or what you normally eat for breakfast every morning (or all three if you want!). The winner will receive two coupons for 2 free boxes of General Mills cereal. Free things are always good in my book!
Okay, now for the recipe I promised. You are going to love these!
Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits
1 container vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup mixed berries (if frozen, thaw them a little first)
1/4 cup granola
Layer the vanilla yogurt, then berries, then yogurt, then berries and so forth. Top with granola. It's that easy! You can also use peaches, strawberries, or any of your favorite fruit in place of the mixed berries. Enjoy!
