Charging His Mornings With Cheerios Protein… and Kisses

Daddy D rushes out of here so quickly in the mornings. Like a flash, suited and booted, he flies out the door preparing to tackle another stressful, anxiety-ridden work day. I hate it. I’m usually stuffing a breakfast bar or a peeled orange in his hand as he kisses me good bye, knowing that he won’t eat a morsel until lunch time. I also know how taxing it is to start the day so frantically and have been on a mission to have Daddy D join us for breakfast. So when Cheerios asked me to try their newest selections of dry cereals, Cheerios Protein, I knew my hard working husband would be the perfect test taster. I’m also partial to the brand since their support of interracial marriages and mixed families in mainstream advertising became all the buzz two years ago.

But more on that later.

The iconic American company, Cheerios, recently launched Cheerios Protein, a cereal aimed to help us start the day with 11g of protein per serving of cereal when served with milk. With it’s added protein, Cheerios Protein provides long-lasting energy throughout the day. It provides fiber, contains 13 vitamins and minerals, more than half your daily value of whole grain, and has 11g of protein when served with milk. This breakfast goodness does come up high in sugar content (at 16-17 grams per serving), but I knew that the extra sweet crunch of the Cinnamon Almond flavor would entice Daddy D to sit down and enjoy a bowl of Cheerios Protein before facing his work day. It worked!

My man took his job as taste tester seriously as he scoped out the new Cheerios Protein. Ultimately, he loved it. And what’s not to love! With two Cheerios Protein flavors – Oats & Honey and Cinnamon Almond –  both with toasted “O”’s and crunchy granola clusters, you’re sure to find a favorite. The kids love to munch on Cheerios Protein as a snack and, I’m proud to report, there’s a little less nagging happening at breakfast time for D to sit down and eat. It’s truly a great tasting cereal that offers more protein intake than regular Cheerios.

Now, I would never feed my family or advise my readers to feed theirs a yummy new cereal simply because of a commercial, but I do want to remind us – especially those of raising multiracial children – how powerful our support is. How important our voices are. And after re-reading my emotions on racial advertising and the Cheerios commercial from two years ago, the memory of Alina identifying herself with someone on TV (for the first time!) came flooding back…

A lot has changed since the beautiful commercial of the biracial girl with her black dad and white mom first aired. I notice many more images that depict families like ours (sadly, many less with a Latina mom married to a black man), but Cheerios will always have a happy place in my heart for reinforcing to my child that black dads  – like her’s! – are wholesome, worthy of our dedicated care… and take naps on the couch! Of course we all were tickled pink with the second commercial of this gorgeous family and their addition of a baby brother… and a puppy.

Even as I explained to Alina that I would be taking pictures of Daddy and reminded her of the commercial with the pretty little girl, Alina screamed, “Do I get to pour Cheerios over my Daddy’s heart?!” I may have been reminded, but seems my biracial girl never forgot.

We all loved Cheerios Protein because it was a great tasting cereal that offers extra protein for long lasting energy throughout the morning – something Daddy D desperately needs.

But for this mama dedicated to raising a happy and wholesome biracial legacy, I also love Cheerios for some other reasons too.

Try the new Cheerios Protein for yourself with this coupon specifically for DSM readers:

$1 off 1 box of (NEW!) Cheerios Protein

This is a limited-time offer and 1 coupon per household is allowed.

Follow along as other families test out the new Cheerios Protein on Twitter with hashtag #CheeriosProtein and on the Cheerios Facebook page.