Yum
I usually look in the cereal aisle to see if I can find my favorite, CoCo Wheats. And always come up empty. For a while, I thought perhaps they went out of business. Maybe it’s just this store. Maybe I’ll find it in another store.
My attention span for this search was limited. I’m not always in the mood for CoCo Wheats, nor always looking for them. So it took me two and a half years to realize something so obvious: maybe they just don’t sell them here.
As my wonderful, dependable dad pointed out, perhaps the “People’s Republic of California” doesn’t allow them in the state because they’re not healthy.
OK, so, the idea of a creamy hot wheat cereal treated with chocolate is not healthy? I told a food-particular friend at work that I was expecting a CoCo Wheats care package. After I explained what they were, she snorted in disgust and said, you know what they do to that sort of thing? They strip all the nutrition right out and add the vitamins back in.
What’s the problem with that? There’s chocolate involved. You add some sugar, butter, and it’s fantastic. It’s “the creamy hot cereal with the cocoa treat!”
Part of the attraction of CoCo Wheats comes from nostalgia. My Great Grandma M. used to make them for me as a kid, well into my teenage years. She was diabetic, so we often had to borrow sugar from the neighbor, or barring that, I would use Grandma’s Sweet’N Low.
I go on CoCo Wheats kicks, too. I might have a craving for them or not even think about them for a year or two.
I could’ve sworn I bought CoCo Wheats since I moved here, but then I realized that the box I had polished off very likely came from before the move out to California.
I kept searching. Bought Cream of Wheat once, but it wasn’t the same. It didn’t taste chocolately, didn’t have the stupid cartoons and didn’t remind me as much of being a kid.
So what’s a girl in the People’s Republic of California to do?
Ask Dad to send a box.
He informed me that he found CoCo Wheats quite easily, in the two different places he looked. He even purchased tracking for the package so I could chart its course across country.
I’m sorry, Dad. I really had no idea that you would be sending me the world’s most expensive box of CoCo Wheats. They might as well have been wrapped in gold instead of meticulous bubble wrapping and tape. Dad’s packaging often requires 10 minutes of hard work to undo.
I was excited, eagerly awaiting my coco package. I couldn’t wait to get a bowl of that doctored chocolatey goodness.
I had one today. Have a nagging urge to have another that I might not be able to fight off.
My friends told me, after finding out how much shipping cost (and I have no idea how much the bubble wrap or tape cost), that I’d be better off stocking up any time I go home. I won’t ask Dad to do that again.
“You’re going to have to make that box last until September,” they said.
I know. But there’s a lot of CoCo Wheats in that box. And the urge to eat them will probably pass after I pass out in an OD coco coma.
And then I can just get more when I go home. I’ll make sure to underpack, so I can bring a couple boxes back.
Mmm. CoCo Wheats. There’s nothing CoCo Wheats can’t cure.
You make them sound so good. I don’t think I have ever tried them, but may have to look for them next time I’m in the cereal aisle. I usually eat the “healthy” stuff, though. Kellogg’s “Smart Start” and other high-grain cereals. Lynn pointed out that even these healthy cereals are high in sugar, though, apparently to make them edible.
Dawn I used to live in the home town of the CoCo Wheats factory–Warsaw IN. We went to the factory and bought our very own, tres cool, CoCo Wheats T shirts. That was years ago now. Next time we make it to Warsaw maybe we will get you a T.
You know, I actually paused over CoCo Wheats in Meijer last week before picking up Cream of Wheat instead. May just have to break down and buy them next time.
As a side note, my sister once made CoCo Wheat sculptures that lasted for a good while before the brown started to turn green from mold. Can’t recall what possessed her to do such a thing…I think she even took them to school.
The wonders of the internet. Your blog came to me this morning via Google Alerts. I think you would be surprised how many things like this I see. Anyway, my wife & I own the company that makes CoCo Wheats. Thanks for all your great compliments. No wonder you like it..CW is totally good for you…no sugar or salt added. Real breakfast cocoa…not chocolate. Sorry we just can’t get distribution in the far west but you can always buy direct from our website. Thanks again. Have a great day!
Wonders indeed! To see a pic of Denny and learn more about Little Crow Foods, check out http://www.littlecrowfoods.com/contact_us/
(these are the things I Google when I’m avoiding real work…)
Heh heh. I stand corrected, Denny. They taste good and they’re good for me. Wait till I tell my friend at work! Hah!
Must add that I bought some yesterday and had a bowl for breakfast. Not bad, but I may actually prefer Cream of Wheat (with the requisite brown sugar), such is my adult palate. Elliot wasn’t as fond of CoCo Wheats as I had hoped…
Your son just needs to grow into the CoCo Wheats. What can you expect from a kid who likes pickles desperately?
He just needs some retraining.
You and those damn CoCo Wheats…
Yeah, well…he does love M&Ms, so he’s not all weirdness. What I’ve really been hungry for lately is Cocoa Krispies, but how to buy them and not let him have any? That’s the dilemma. Right now he’s happy enough with plain Krispies, Raisin Bran, and Grape Nuts (all without milk…he likes milk and cereal to be separate).
Saw CoCo Wheats at Meijer last night and thought about you. Maybe for your birthday?