Dr. John Harvey Kellogg Breakfast in America in the mid-1800s was not all that different from other meals. Middle- and upper-class Americans ate eggs, pastries, and pancakes like we do today, but oysters, boiled chicken, beefsteaks and leftovers were also on the menu. It wasn’t until the invention of ready-to-eat cereal that breakfast became a meal with distinct foods that weren’t usually served at other times of day.
The men behind this transformation have names that are still recognized today. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and C.W. Post began a transformation in what Americans eat that is still controversial today.
During the nineteenth century, the most common American digestive complaint was dyspepsia, a term for what we now call indigestion. Dr. Kellogg and other nutritionists and reformers attributed this complaint to eating a diet too heavy in meat and spices and to too little exercise. They recommended what Kellogg called “biologic living,” a vegetarian lifestyle with more exercise, simple, unspiced foods, and whole grains. One dietary reformer, Sylvester Graham, invented the graham cracker in 1827. In 1863, another reformer named James Caleb Jackson invented a cereal that he named “granula” and his critics called “wheat rocks.” Kellogg invented his corn flakes in 1894.
The men behind this transformation have names that are still recognized today. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and C.W. Post began a transformation in what Americans eat that is still controversial today.
During the nineteenth century, the most common American digestive complaint was dyspepsia, a term for what we now call indigestion. Dr. Kellogg and other nutritionists and reformers attributed this complaint to eating a diet too heavy in meat and spices and to too little exercise. They recommended what Kellogg called “biologic living,” a vegetarian lifestyle with more exercise, simple, unspiced foods, and whole grains. One dietary reformer, Sylvester Graham, invented the graham cracker in 1827. In 1863, another reformer named James Caleb Jackson invented a cereal that he named “granula” and his critics called “wheat rocks.” Kellogg invented his corn flakes in 1894.
C.W. Post The public responded favorably to these new dietary theories. During its first year in production, more than 50 tons of corn flakes were sold. By 1903, over 100 cereal companies had begun producing breakfast cereals in Kellogg’s home town of Battle Creek, Michigan.
One of Kellogg’s biggest competitors was C.W. Post, who formed his own cereal company in 1895. Post became a convert to Kellogg’s theories after being under Kellogg’s care following a nervous breakdown in 1890. Less a reformer than an entrepreneur, his first product, Postum, was a grain-based coffee substitute similar to one Kellogg served his patients. The next year he began manufacturing Grape-Nuts, based on another Kellogg recipe.
Today, the bloom has come off the cereal rose. Americans are more obese than ever before. Tums and other antacid medications show that we still suffer from indigestion. The dietary pendulum has swung to the other extreme, as evidenced by advocates of Keto, paleo and other diets that are meat-centered. Yet, cereal continues to make billions of dollars each year, and it’s not just for breakfast anymore.
One of Kellogg’s biggest competitors was C.W. Post, who formed his own cereal company in 1895. Post became a convert to Kellogg’s theories after being under Kellogg’s care following a nervous breakdown in 1890. Less a reformer than an entrepreneur, his first product, Postum, was a grain-based coffee substitute similar to one Kellogg served his patients. The next year he began manufacturing Grape-Nuts, based on another Kellogg recipe.
Today, the bloom has come off the cereal rose. Americans are more obese than ever before. Tums and other antacid medications show that we still suffer from indigestion. The dietary pendulum has swung to the other extreme, as evidenced by advocates of Keto, paleo and other diets that are meat-centered. Yet, cereal continues to make billions of dollars each year, and it’s not just for breakfast anymore.
I’ve been posting a cookie recipe every month, with the ultimate plan of putting together a cookie recipe book for my friends, fans and family at the end of the year.
It’s too hot to bake, though. Here we are, in the middle of summer, and I find the idea of turning on the oven repugnant. Good thing there is such a thing as the no-bake cookie.
If you’ve known me longer than two months, you know that my husband loves cookies and he loves peanut butter. This recipe seems to be one of my go-tos for the indolent days of summer.
It’s too hot to bake, though. Here we are, in the middle of summer, and I find the idea of turning on the oven repugnant. Good thing there is such a thing as the no-bake cookie.
If you’ve known me longer than two months, you know that my husband loves cookies and he loves peanut butter. This recipe seems to be one of my go-tos for the indolent days of summer.
Peanut Butter Cereal Treats
Line a 9” square pan with plastic wrap
In a sauce pan, combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup corn syrup.
Boil 1 minute over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Sugar will melt into the corn syrup and mixture will be clear.
Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup smooth peanut butter
Mix in 4 cups rice krispies cereal
Press into pan. Let cool 15 minutes, then invert on cutting board, remove plastic wrap and cut into squares.
For an extra treat, you can melt ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I do this in the microwave by putting them in a glass measuring cup and microwaving 30 seconds at a time, stirring between sessions, until melted and smooth) and spreading over the treats when they are still in the pan. If you do this, put the pan in the refrigerator until set solid before turning out and cutting.)
In a sauce pan, combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup corn syrup.
Boil 1 minute over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Sugar will melt into the corn syrup and mixture will be clear.
Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup smooth peanut butter
Mix in 4 cups rice krispies cereal
Press into pan. Let cool 15 minutes, then invert on cutting board, remove plastic wrap and cut into squares.
For an extra treat, you can melt ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I do this in the microwave by putting them in a glass measuring cup and microwaving 30 seconds at a time, stirring between sessions, until melted and smooth) and spreading over the treats when they are still in the pan. If you do this, put the pan in the refrigerator until set solid before turning out and cutting.)
