Saturday, November 9, 2013

Breakfast of champions


Guilty pleasure: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and banana
All due respect to Wheaties (for which the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" is trademarked), I don't consider them a healthy breakfast. I much prefer oat cereal. Peter cooks steel-cut oats three mornings a week when the kids are here, and we doctor it with plain yogurt, cinnamon, a little brown sugar, almonds, bananas, and/or blueberries.  Last summer at the lake, their mom cooked oatmeal every morning with applies and raisins, and she pre-cooked the brown sugar with a little butter. It was heavenly.

To my surprise, I discovered that dry cereals calling themselves Oat This and Oat That often have more wheat than oats. I just don't trust wheat anymore; it's been modified until it produces huge crops that aren't good for us. As I read somewhere (and I wish I could remember where because it helped clarify my thinking: It's not your grandmother's wheat anymore.When I want to grab a dry cereal, I've turned to plain Cheerios. Sometimes I experiment with a more exotic granola-type cereal; right now I'm eating something with flax seeds and quinoa.

But as you may have guessed, I'm really here to talk about a guilty pleasure.

In the 1970s, General Mills (who happen to make both Wheaties and Cheerios) opened a small chain of Betty Crocker Pie Shops. The first time I ate there, I fell in love with Peanut Butter-Banana Cream Pie. When I returned for it I learned they only made it occasionally, and the pie shop staff had no idea when it would appear again. I got into the habit of calling, and if it was on the menu I was there.

The chain didn't last long, and I never cared enough to try making peanut butter-banana cream pie on my own. But about 10 years ago I found myself with some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on hand after Halloween. I took them to the office. On the same day, I happened to take a banana. The banana wasn't unusual because I never managed to eat breakfast at home.

On that magical day I got the bright idea of taking a bite of banana and then a bite of Peanut Butter Cup. Woohoo! Instant taste treat. And instant guilty pleasure. The candy is overloaded with sugar, coloring, preservatives, emulsifiers, who knows what. I will pay a price; fibromyalgia will bring pins and needles to life in my left hip and maybe keep me awake tonight. For one day a year, I don't care.  


23 comments:

Teresa Evangeline said...

My confession: completely out of character for me at breakfast, I had a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and banana slices on it. No chocolate, but that's only because my favorite candy bar, yes, a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, was not on hand ... I can relate ... :)

DJan said...

It sounds like a perfect combination. I don't eat Reese's PB cups because I can't seem to stop once I start, so I just don't start. These days I have 85% cocoa chocolate, and now it's a favorite taste. :-)

stephen Hayes said...

Sometimes you just gotta satisfy a craving or it will drive you nuts. I have bananas and peanut butter cups so maybe I'll give this a try.

stephen Hayes said...

Sometimes you just gotta satisfy a craving or it will drive you nuts. I have bananas and peanut butter cups so maybe I'll give this a try.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I am not fond of the peanut butter cup candy....but if the combination works for you then you go girl! Now a Nut Goodie and a banana would work for me or a Dark Milky Way:)

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I cook steel cut oats a couple times a week for breakfast. I like that idea of the cooked brown sugar.

Reeses - I love them. Would not allow myself to buy them for Halloween treats. But, some nights when I'm up too late, I'll spread Nutella on a piece of bread with a few slices of banana. Very tasty.

Also, thank you for your last comment on last post in July. Much fun seeing the Twins win in NYC.

Jeanie said...

My current guilty pleasure is a lemon cake donut from a local donut shop. Fortunately, like the peanut butter-banana cream pie, they only make them occasionally on some unknown schedule. Of course, now you have me thinking about peanut butter cups and bananas.

Ms Sparrow said...

I love a banana with my peanut butter on toasted English Muffin bread! Terrific! Baker's Square used to have a boysenberry supreme pie. The fruit was on top of a cream cheese layer and it was my favorite.
They stopped making it years ago so I eventually tried to make it myself. Of course, the result wasn't as good.

troutbirder said...

Well once a year doesn't seem to bad. I mean really. I for one rigorously eat warm oatmeal for breakfast everyday on the it cleans out the arteries theory. Of course then there is pig out this and that the rest of the day...

Grandmother Mary said...

My daughter's fav treat is a banana with peanut butter spread on the top after every bite. PB cups were my fav candy as a kid when we got them scooped into a brown paper bag by a grandmotherly woman who sold them at the open market in the north end of Boston. So good.

Red Shoes said...

My favorite breakfast is a piece of toast with peanut butter and a banana... and every now and then, yogurt...

How are you doing?

I'm actually starting to consider retirement...

What advice would you have for me?

~shoes~

Marty said...

Like you, I sail along virtuously at breakfast for days and then fall off the wagon. All I can say is, whatever you do, don't pick up a jar of Nutella!

Peaceful Warrior said...

God I'm missing out over here, I have porridge for breakfast.....

My mouth's watering now..

Love and light.

Green Monkey said...

what a great idea, taking a bite of each. I'm not hungry but that sounds sooo good.

Jeanie said...

That sounds incredibly delicious -- banana and peanut butter cup. I have a to-die-for recipe that makes peanut butter bars that taste just like Reeses. Now I think I need to dig it out!

Miss Bea said...

OMG! I love the same thing! Also, this year I bought Peanut Butter Cups and Snickers for Halloween 2 weeks early and made the mistake of opening them! I was eating 1 or 2+ each day! Unfortunately I just had my yearly physical and found my cholesterol up from last year! The rest of them are in the freezer now - my hiding place...

Linda Myers said...

I love Reese's peanut butter cups, but I appreciate good chocolate more. Maybe a square of 80 percent chocolate with a smear of Skippy's super chunk peanut butter?

RURAL said...

While I am definitely not a banana or peanut butter fan, I can totally understand the urge to splurge. I say go for it, and the pins and needles be darned...pun intended sorry.

Jen

Unknown said...

Being a huge fan of peanut butter and banana sandwiches - with a side of chocolate - why not! But I vote for more than once a year!

Unknown said...

I love oatmeal, but I'm more likely to reach for the Cheerios - especially the honey nut ones which unfortunately have about 30% more calories than regular. So I stick with regular.

Jayne Martin said...

That oatmeal sounds fabulous! But the peanut butter cups and banana? Oh, my Lord. I'll be thinking about that all evening. ;)

Allyson said...

Ohhhhh...that sounds...dangerous. I'm way too addicted to Reese's cups to keep them in the house for any length of time. And Neal eats those Red Mill steel cut oats every morning. Oatmeal makes me gag but at least he's passing his healthy eating on to Blue.

Deb Shucka said...

This made me laugh! How happy your taste buds must have been at that surprise. My guilty pleasure these days is an organic version of Cheetos (Barbaras makes them). You've gotta live on the edge once in a while, right?

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