Last year I had the opportunity to host a Kellogg’s Love Your Cereal breakfast with friends and family. We learned more about Kellogg’s cereals and had a chance to ask questions directly from a Kellogg’s representative. This year, I’ve once again partnered with Kellogg’s and was part of the Ama Tu Cereal (Love Your Cereal) team they sponsored to the Blogalicious 2011 conference. I’m happy to partner with Kellogg’s again, as they’re a company that has been a part of my life since I can remember.

In Puerto Rico, and throughout much of the Caribbean and Latin America, we have a bad habit of calling things by the most popular name brand that makes it. So, for example, all pain killers are Tylenol, regardless of the actual brand. Likewise, for much of my childhood I heard my mami saying, “Quieres con fleik?” which translates to “Do you want some corn flakes?” It didn’t matter that she might have been talking about Frosted Flakes instead. Another way we referenced Frosted Flakes in our house was to simply call it “El Tigre” (The Tiger), due to Tony the Tiger of course! To this day, Frosted Flakes is still my brother’s favorite cereal and it’s probably my husband’s too.

As part of my work with the Kellogg’s Ama Tu Cereal team at Blogalicious, I helped provide information on how Latina moms responded to Kellogg’s Breakfast in America survey. The survey found that 9 out of 10 Latina moms want their kids to eat breakfast every day, but unfortunately, 40% said their kids did not. However, almost 40% did say they ensure their children have breakfast daily. Additionally, Latina moms are 20% more likely than moms overall to get up early to prepare their children’s breakfast. And, it was found that Latina moms are 17% more likely than moms overall to say their family brings breakfast to work or school.

I know that it gets hectic in the morning as the entire household works to get ready for school and work. I admit that my husband and I are not good about eating breakfast and most days skip it. However, we make sure baby girl eats breakfast every day. It’s not always fancy, and sometimes it is a bowl of cereal, but she always eats something in the morning.

What are some favorite breakfast foods for your family?

Disclosure: Kellogg’s was a sponsor for the Blogalicious 2011 conference and I was compensated for my work.

Cereal photo: Mike Johnson – TheBusyBrain.com

This post is part of a paid campaign.

I don’t know about you, but cereal has been around a really long time in my family. I grew up eating cereal, for breakfast and as a snack. From the stories he tells me, it seems my husband ate a ton more cereal than I did growing up. So, naturally, cereal continues to be a staple in our pantry now that we have our own family. Though you might think that we only buy kid cereals, the truth is that we buy a variety – from those with fun characters on the box, to the traditionally “grown-up” cereals. Our baby girl will eat from both types too.

This past Thursday, I hosted a Kellogg’s Mom’s Breakfast Club Love Your Cereal breakfast with a few of my friends and family. Mine was 1 of 18 breakfasts hosted across the nation that provided an online and offline discussion with moms about the benefits of cereal.

My friends enjoyed a variety of Kellogg’s cereals, Kellogg’s Granola Parfaits, and homemade Kellogg’s Breakfast pie – which everyone loved. (Recipes for both shared below.) We also had a conference call with a Kellogg company representative and discussed cereal and morning routines. Everyone enjoyed the information provided and appreciated being able to ask questions from Kellogg’s directly. Some of the topics we talked about amongst the group included challenges and tips for the morning routine. Here’s what they had to say:

What are some challenges you face regarding morning/breakfast routine and your kids?

• Those with young kids (toddler/preschool age) all agreed that getting them to eat anything was a huge challenge.
• Picky eaters of all varieties (some don’t eat meat, others no bread) caused for creative ideas to be shared amongst the group for trying new breakfast foods.

What tips do you have for making the morning routine a little easier?

• One mom of three shared that she just makes sure to have all of her kid’s preferred cereals on-hand, so that they each know their choices and can help in serving themselves breakfast.
• A lot of the moms agreed that preparing the bags, clothes, etc. the night before is a big help.

As I mentioned, the group also had a chance to ask questions of the Kellogg’s representative. Most of the questions revolved around sugar content:

Which cereals do not have high fructose corn syrup?

• The representative from Kellogg’s believed that Rice Krispies and the Kashi line do not have high fructose corn syrup, but a definitive list is to be provided for my guests.

Which cereals are the lowest in sugar content?

• Apple Jacks and Froot Loops were mentioned as being on the lower-end of the scale, again with a more definitive list to be provided.

Some other fun facts we learned:

• Everyone was surprised that the sugar consumed from kids’ cereals only accounts for 5% of their daily sugar intake.
• 90% of moms surveyed by Kellogg’s said their kids eat cereal for breakfast.

*For more information on cereals and other facts, check out the Love Your Cereal site.

It was great to take some time in the morning to connect with other moms, introduce them to one another and be able to relate on something we all deal with. What are some of your biggest morning/breakfast challenges?

Breakfast Recipes

Kellogg’s Granola Parfait

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients
1 container (8 oz.) low-fat vanilla flavored yogurt
1/2 cup fresh fruit (sliced strawberries, sliced banana, blueberries or raspberries)
1 cup Kellogg’s® Special K® Low Fat Granola

Directions

1. In 2 tall glasses, layer yogurt, fruit and Kellogg’s® Special K® Low Fat Granola until glass is full.
2. Top with extra fruit.
3. Serve immediately.

Kellogg’s Breakfast Pie

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients
8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled reserving 1 tablespoon drippings
1/2 cup Kellogg’s® Corn Flake Crumbs
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups frozen hashbrown potatoes
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (I actually used Mozarella cheese.)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 green onion chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
4 drops liquid pepper sauce

Directions

1. Mix Kellogg’s® Corn Flake Crumbs with drippings. Set aside.
2. In medium-size bowl beat eggs until foamy. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 9-inch pie pan. Sprinkle with crumbs mixture and bacon. Cover. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Remove pan from refrigerator. Uncover and bake at 350° F about 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Disclosure: For hosting a Kellogg’s Mom’s Breakfast Club breakfast and working with TheMotherhood.com and Kellogg on this campaign, I was compensated for my time.