Workers Swap ‘Processed Grain Stuffed Full Of Sugar’ For….

….Oh. More of the same?

Pity the poor cereal manufacturers.

Really?

After decades of growth, with Britons crunching and sucking their way through bowl after bowl of heavily processed grain made palatable by salt and sugar and afforded spurious claims of nutrition by "fortifying" vitamins, something has changed. Sales of Crunchy Nut are down 15% by volume in the last year alone, Special K by almost 10%. Even Corn Flakes have suffered a drop.

So, what are people eating instead?

Instead, people are apparently buying yoghurt drinks, cereal bars, pastries and "breakfast biscuits", ingesting these in front of computer screens…

Ah.

There are two possible factors at play here. One is the explanation offered by the cereal industry: that so shackled are we to our precariously held jobs, none of us have time to tinkle some flakes into a bowl and slosh a bit of milk on them..

Odd explanation, as most big offices provide fridges or microwaves.

The second explanation – and the one I prefer – is that more people are realising what overpriced, unhealthy junk most breakfast cereals are.

But, wait! Aren’t they…?

Yes. Yes, it appears they are…

The problem is that many of the new, popular, time-saving breakfast foods – such as cereal bars – are often of dubious nutritional value and almost always jacked with sugar and salt.

Whoops! So…what do you suggest?

It shouldn't be difficult to eat a quick and healthy breakfast midweek. Mine are usually oat-based: muesli for most of the year (I used to make my own in a fit of expensive, tie-dye madness, but now buy Jordan's), porridge in winter.

Riiiight…

A ripe avocado or a fat tomato in summer, a pinch of salt and a little olive are lovely, healthier alternatives to sugary spread. Smoked salmon still feels like a treat, especially on a rainy Tuesday. Homemade granola is far easier than you might think and keeps for weeks.

Back to the McDonald’s Breakfast Wrap for me!