Cream of Wheat

I've always had a veracious appetite. My mother said that as a baby I would eat until absolutely full, throw up, and then eat again. I wasn't a purger, I just had a serious Roman-like dietary ethic: eat till you drop! I have paid the price throughout my life with the fact that I love food for the taste. I wish my motto had been, "Eat to live, not live to eat." Food just has way too much fun and comfort attached for it to be simply a mechanical exercise of survival.

I usually wake up able and ready to eat breakfast. Some people, like my wife, can't even think about eating till after mid-morning. My favorite choice has always been Cream of Wheat. I can make it sweet, buttery and creamy--so I get a meal and dessert in one fell swoop. It's warm when it goes down and sticks to the ribs (the only way I was able to find them until a few months ago!).

My mother made Cream of Wheat or oatmeal often for her three boys back in the 60s. We would all line up across the open oven door, dipping out of our bowls, while we warmed our PJ-clad rears (I don't think it got down below 40 degrees in Fullerton, CA very often but it seemed like 30 below zero some mornings). Missing breakfast was a missed opportunity for joy, warmth and togetherness.

I guess food still strikes me in that same way today. I got out of the healthy-habit of eating breakfast for a few decades but now make it a part of my middle-age fitness routine. I never leave the house without Cream of Wheat or oatmeal in my gut. Summer, fall, winter or spring, hot cereal always trumps the cold stuff for me. I replace the sugar with Splenda and the butter with a substitute containing less fat and I'm good to go. There's nothing like starting the day with a warm bowl of Cream of Wheat and good memories of days gone by--filling my stomach, heart and soul.