Now buying cereal may not seem earth-shattering to you, but Jim and I are pretty religious oatmeal eaters. We used to eat cereal as kids and through college, but after we received a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions published by an organization called The Weston A Price Foundation, we stopped cereal and began eating oatmeal, thinking that it was easier to digest and better for you. Also living in Hawaii, oatmeal was a lot cheaper (Jim’s mom always packs her own boxes of cereal when she comes to visit us, and sometimes will stuff them in packages she sends as filler).

In the spirit of trying something new, we thought we’d give oatmeal a break and try the  Kirkland Signature Organic Raisin Bran from Costco, and we’ve been pleasantly re-united with the ease of eating cereal. No 30 minute cooking times (we usually use steel cut oats), no soaking overnight (a Nourishing Traditions suggestion), no heartburn for Jim. So quick and easy. As for the cereal itself, we found it to be nice and crunchy (even when soaked with milk), tons of raisins, and huge flakes (almost so big you can’t fit some in your mouth). Two thumbs up!

We use Costco’s organic milk as well, regular cow’s milk, as we are not big soy fans because we’ve read some frightening facts about having soy in your diet. If you are interested in learning more about this, check out the dangers of soy at www.westonaprice.org.

I’m sure we will return to eating oatmeal at some point, but it has been nice to take a little break.

Today Beth and I ate a pint of Ben & Jerry’s “dublin mudslide” all in one sitting! 

While I love all of the constituent parts, Irish Cream liqueur, a java fudge swirl, and chocolaty cookies, the flavor didn’t bowl me over. Maybe it was because it was a little freezer-burnt (it is a long trip from Vermont to Hawaii for a poor little ice cream pint) or maybe I have just been completely spoiled by the overwhelming flavors of the “mix-ins” at places like Cold Stone or the Marble Slab Creamery.

Either way, I think I am going to keep my Irish Cream flavor either in my morning coffee (non-alcoholic, of course) or my evening desert drink or nightcap (alcoholic, of course), and give a different Ben and Jerry’s flavor a try during my next “day off from work due to lack of interest.”