When I lived in the Cook Islands as a missionary I acquired a love for a weird food called Banana Poke (2 syllables, rhymes with okay). It's this opaque gelatinous mound that looks almost identical to that raisin desert blob in Better Off Dead: "It has raisins in it . . . you like raisins".
Unfortunately for the missionaries who served after me, the Cook Islanders continued to frequently serve this slightly unnerving delicacy after I left because I had raved about it so much and requested it at potlucks and parties.
There was an American family living on the island however, who showered us with dinner invitations as well. All of which were gratefully accepted because they served amazing things like lasagna, tacos, and spaghetti. I was always so excited and thankful for their generosity. For my birthday they put together a box of classic american favorites as a gift for me: pop tarts, kraft mac & cheese, toothpaste, root beer, and the most glorious thing of all: frosted mini wheats.
My companion, a Kiwi, liked the pop tarts but wouldn't try the moldy looking cereal to save her life. I tried to convince her that it was just frosting, but she remained dubious and I had the whole box to myself. What could be healthier than shredded wheat? What could be more delicious than frosting? What could be more clever than combining these two delicious things together to make the superfood we know and love as frosted mini wheats? And this is my thank you note to the universe for letting it happen.
The kid in me loves the frosting. She really does. Also little kid Karen wonders what ever happened to her star wars figurine collection?
I eat mini wheats for breakfast almost every day and I'm not gonna lie to you: I really only like the Malt-O-Meal version. The Kellogg's version isn't toasted enough. Unless you buy them in Canada because the Canadians toast theirs longer. Why? Because Canadians are cool like that.
I prefer toasted over non toasted. It's a subtle difference but it is significant.
My love of toast expands into other categories as well: bread, english muffins and marshmallows. All better toasted. At Subway, I always request a toasted sandwich. Obviously.
On the road trip I took this summer we bought a toaster thinking we could plug it into the dashboard with our car adapter. Wouldn't that have been the coolest story, "Yeah, as we drove around America we were crunching on toast we made IN THE CAR!" But alas, no dice. Apparently charging a laptop uses less watts that toasting a slice of bread. We shamefully took back the toaster we had excitedly bought from the Fred Meyer in Bend, Oregon where the inspiration hit us. And the only crunching that was happening inside our car was on the peanut butter and raisin covered celery sticks we ate almost continuously. ". . . you like raisins". It's true I do like raisins---I just like toast better.
Also, I have a pretty big crush on the band OK Go. So it is with delight that I introduce this next video that features a combination more delicious than shredded wheat and frosting: OK Go and toast.
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