I’m a serial cereal eater.

Need proof? Here’s a photo of our cereal cabinet at its peak, taken last summer.

As my husband stated when he posted this photo on Facebook, it’s the “cereal equivalent of the Death Star.”

I start every day with a bowl of Kashi Go Lean, a sprinkle of Kashi Go Lean Crunch (yes, I top cereal with cereal), almond slivers, walnuts, raisins, and (while they’re still relatively cheap) organic strawberries. Every Sunday, I throw together five Ziploc baggies containing all of the above ingredients so they are grab-ready for the upcoming work week.

The cereal junkie's equivalent of a meth lab

Some days, I am not able to eat my beloved bowl of cereal for breakfast because I have to work one-on-one with our department intern, and I don’t think she’d appreciate me spewing almondmilk and fiber twigs all over her computer monitor. Instead, I’ll eat a ProBar or Clif bar, and as much as I love those snacks as well, they are not cereal, and that makes me sad.

Cereal is a big part of my day. When I wake up at 5:30 a.m., one of the first things that goes through my mind is “Can’t wait for breakfast!” Even my afternoon yogurt break involves cereal, because I cannot eat yogurt alone and require a crunchy texture to placate my teeth. They like a workout, I suppose. Currently, Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Multibran serves as my yogurt mix-in. I used to keep a box of Kashi Heart-to-Heart at my desk as the yogurt accompaniment, but I had a tendency to just shove handfuls of it in mouth during stressful times, so I had to opt for something less grabb-y that would fall through my fingers or break apart in my grip. Something packed with a lot of bran (fiber) is also good, because I know better than to binge on that. :-/

Cereal is also a potential dinner option. Some people resort to cereal for dinner when they are pressed for time or cash; for me, it’s because I love it! However, my version of “making a bowl of cereal” is a bit more complicated than it is for most people. If my husband and I both agree to have cereal for dinner, he’s usually done eating his by the time I sit down to start mine. There’s a lot of prep work for a hearty dinnertime bowl of cereal!

Base cereal with two "toppings" of cereal, strawberries, banana, nuts, raisins, and milk!

And who says cereal can’t make for a good dessert? Just last night, after Kashi Go Lean for dinner, I moved on to Go Lean Crunch for dessert. To make it more “desserty,” I added some Reese’s Pieces to the mix. Why not? Remember being 5 and pleading with your mom to eat candy for breakfast and when she said no, you’re all like, “I can’t wait to be a grown up so I can put Reese’s Pieces in my cereal!”? This is what adulthood is about, man.

I love cereal so much that it frequently comes along with me on vacation. Doesn’t your Disney World-bound suitcase include shorts, t-shirts, socks, underwear, a box of Go Lean, baggies of raisins and nuts, a bowl and spoon, and individual packs of rice milk? Up until our most recent trip (at which point I reluctantly switched to transportable protein bars for breakfast), I’d bring all of the above so I could make myself a lovely little bowl of cereal before heading out to the parks. Disney must’ve known I was coming when they installed these handy little cereal nooks into the rooms at the All-Star resorts!

I may or may not have brought my own coffee maker, too

What food/meal are you absolutely nutso about? Also, tell me your favorite cereal toppings! I’m determined to make a grand “Thanksgiving dinner” bowl of cereal that will put traditional holiday meals to shame.