17 October 2007

How do you like your cereal?

Phil commented in my jogging post a couple of articles back:
Jogging is overrated. Stick with the brisk walks. Your knees will thank you someday...

This sent me and Harry researching on which is the better exercise. Our finding: other than joggers burning energy faster than brisk walkers and the time it takes to cover a certain distance is faster for joggers, the benefits between these two are relatively similar. Calories burned by brisk walking can equal that of jogging by doing longer walks. Plus, jogging and running incurs more injuries than walking. So we intend to do more brisk walking in the succeeding days. Running, however, will prove to be very useful when we attract howling-mad dogs. Other than that, we will keep jogging to a bare minimum. Thanks Phil!

[Google "jogging vs walking"for info]

Now we come to the pleasant task of breakfast. Before my jogging days, I usually wake up at 7:30 and I skip breakfast, favoring an occasional small mid-morning snack. Now, we wake up at 5:30 at return to the pad at around 6:15. And then we prepare for work at 7. This new schedule has made me crave for breakfast. Simple solution: I bought cereal. But I'm not particularly fond of the taste so to liven it up a bit, I returned to the grocery store and bought bananas and apples.

And then I thought, what if I just bought processed fruits? They will last longer, and I no longer need to peel anything. But when I saw the price of these bottled fruits, I made a beeline back to the fresh fruits section instead.
Hmmm... what about putting fruit cocktail into my cereal? I wonder how it will taste like?

And then I saw these pre-chopped fruits at 20 pesos per pack (see left side of photo below)! Interesting. One pack can last me three days. So I bought one for testing purposes.
I made a quick detour to these goodies and bought dried red ginger, dried meat, and dried pineapple. Chinese sweets! Ummm... I didn't like the dried shredded meat at all. Sayang.

So I had my cereal with the pre-chopped fruits and I added a banana to it. I like how the banana tasted with the cereal, and the crunchy apple gave the meal some texture. I didn't like the orange wedge, though. I'll stick to the apples and bananas medley until my supplies last. And then it's back to the drawing board, so to speak.
So how do you like your cereal? I'd appreciate a tip or two on how to jazz it up. Is there a milk substitute? My stomach is not exactly fond of milk either. Thanks!

21 comments:

  1. Well if you were anywhere but the Philippines, I would recommend bicycling as a high aerobic low knee impact exercise but I think riding a bicycle in the RP is probably more risky than running.

    Short of going with sugar, bananas work and apples work quite well.

    If milk disagrees with you, perhaps you are lactose intollerant. Over here in the States, you can buy milk made for the lactose intollerant in most grocery stores. I used to be lactose intollerant until I apparently out grew it in my teens.

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  2. Anonymous4:11 am

    ako rin dati i used to eat cereal. sa dubai that have this sweet milk na masarap sa cereal. dito wala sila nung per gallon nasa maliliit na tetra lang. pero oks na rin. wow gandang diet yan a.

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  3. Anonymous11:56 am

    kuya, pasensya na... mukhang hindi yata kita matutulungan dyan kasi ang cereal ko e gatas lang ang inihahalo ko! sabi mo kasi, di ka masyadong umiinom ng gatas!

    nweiz... mag-enjoy ka ng todo sa pagtakbo mo! :)

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  4. ako kasi oatmeal ang tinitira ko, at the best ang banana-honey-milk combination dito. i also tried mango pero masyado nang matamis.

    ang kaibahan lang, i am eating oatmeal sa gabi, bale ito yung pinaka-dinner ko (i eat a lot naman during breakfast and lunch, me meryenda pa). samahan ng exercise, this is very effective in trimming the tummy. :)

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  5. Ed: Yeah I think I'm lactose intolerant. I haven't seen that sort of milk around; I'll try asking if there is such here.

    I used to have a mountain bike but I simply ran around in circles in our compound. I didn't want to explore the streets outside because yes, it can be dangerous indeed.

    Airwind: ayos ba? I hope tuloy-tuloy ito.

    rho: salamat!

    zherwin: ayos ah. oatmeal sa gabi! My companion also eats oatmeal after our exercise. Ewan ko ba, parang nagsawa ako sa oatmeal. Gustong-gusto ko ito noon.

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  6. Anonymous11:07 am

    Mga bata lang ang kumakain ng cereal dito sa bahay. Kami ni kd syempre dun sa sbd meal plan ang kinakain namin na usually ay omellete. Pero dati may favorite na cereal si kd na puro dried fruits and nuts, masarap sya.

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  7. I also take cereals in the morning but with no fruits in them. Milk is enough for me. I prefer cereals over oatmeal. The latter really tastes bland but I was told it's healthier and has lesser calories.

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  8. Ann: ako rin may nabili noon na may dried fruits and nuts. Sarap! Pero nung naubos na, di ko na mahanap ulit yung brand na yun! So I stopped eating cereals.

    Abaniko: Pero fruits would be a healthy addition to the cereal di ba? Wouldn't fruits make it healthier?

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  9. my cereals go with chocolate drink.
    weird ano? ayaw ko kasi ng gatas. Hindi sila compatible ng taste buds ko (wahehehe)

    Ngayon naman i prefer yung Nesvita cereal drink (yun nga ba ang tawag dun?) Basta yung nesvita na cereal. Tapos chocolate flavor din nun.

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  10. I never ate cereal until I moved to the states. But I no longer eat cereal. I'm also lactose intolerant. I just eat fresh fruits by themselves for breakfast. I also pack some fruits to munch on during the day. To get my grain, I just eat whole wheat bread with peanut butter/jam. I also drink soy milk which is a milk substitute for lactose intolerant folks. There's also milk that doesn't have lactose.

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  11. Since you are of a mind to take a little advice from an old broken down runner, here's a bit more for you to mull over:

    I used to run with a small sheath knife in North Carolina because of the fierce farm dogs. That probably wasn't a smart choice. In Monrovia, Liberia, Western Africa, I ran with a small nightstick that we carried on duty in the embassy. The nightstick is probably the better idea. The one thing you NEVER do is to run from a large dog. You can't win a footrace with a canine and it WILL rip out the backs of your legs with one lucky bite. You've got to show them you're boss, back them down, and then back away until you are out of "their area."

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  12. i LOVE EATING BREAKFAST! i love ceral! in fact i just had some this morning. kellogg's ang best brand for cornflakes!

    i dont think you can substitute milk tho.. it's what goes best with cereal.. try eating it with strawberries too.. also, i cant eat ceral ALONE.. maybe if i had at least 4 servings.. if not, i have to eat it with hotdog, sandwhich, etc. or else i get hungry after an hour again!

    another brand you can try is POST's ba yun? their banana nut crunch flavor is to die for!!!! (i'm getting hungry again)

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  13. Jho: Ah yes Nesvita nga tawag dun. Di ko pa na-try yun. I wonder if that's also a nice alternative... for merienda.

    Wil: Soy milk... now that's something I haven't tried yet as well. Halata bang hindi ako adventurous sa breakfast ko? hehe

    Phil: Hmmm... That'll make hoodlums think twice about ganging up on us.. not that there are any in our neighborhood. Is the nightstick the one which retracts? I see those in Park Square 1 in Makati for sale.

    Desssagirl: Oo nga, Post yung brand nung gusto kong bilhin pero ang mahal! And then I got stuck with this bland cereal. So I bought fruits. Kung binili ko na lang yung Post na cereal, siguro I would have been better of, ano?

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  14. all true about walking v running, but running has better cardio.

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  15. Katana: We're keeping running to a minimum though until I get out of the "obese" weight range. Thanks!

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  16. Anonymous5:24 pm

    Hi Nikki,

    With regards to the canned fruits that you've seen in the market... i can get you a box from Dole Philippines for a very low price, i think it is only aroun 200 pesos per box with 24 fruit cups... don't worry i'll be going home this weekend so yun n lng pasalubong ko sa iyo...

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  17. Anonymous9:19 pm

    Hi, Watson!
    I prefer instant oatmeal than cereal. Lactose intolerant din ako so I don't go for milk. For fruit, my immediate choice is saging na lakatan. Paborito ko kasi yun. If I can go crazy, my breakfast can be like this :)
    As for biking, I agree with ed abbey. In fact, when I was working in Iloilo, I used to bike to neighboring towns every weekend. The farthest that I pedaled so far is from Iloilo City to San Jose de Buenavista in Antique. Well, my bike was stolen so I had to buy another one. But here in Manila, I see biking is not that safe. For me, my ideal place for biking is Global City or QC circle but being based in Mandaluyong, the access is not that privileged.
    I didn't know about issues between jogging and briskwalking. But, hey, I wouldn't want to be injured in my exercise. I'd rather walk if it's true that jogging is more stressful to our knees :)
    I need to really do some exercise. I'm gaining weight for already almost a year :(

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  18. Janice: Thank you for supporting my breakfast!

    Dodong: My friend Harry also prefers oatmeal. You know what? We tried brisk walking and I did break into sweat but my pulse rate did not change that much. Does this mean I'm not getting worked up enough for me to say that the exercise was indeed burning off calories? Hmmm

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  19. As katana commented, running has better cardio than walking but you already had burned enough calories.
    Pero if you're into high-endurance, I recommend bike na lang. To quote ed abbey, "I would recommend bicycling as a high aerobic low knee impact exercise".
    Bottom line, if you sweat it out, you're burning calories. I hope experts out there can clarify this claim. This is only my humble opinion...

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  20. yep.. if you bought post cereal worth in no! next time ha.. you know what to buy.. kellogg's rin super sarap

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  21. Anonymous5:48 pm

    Very seldom na akong kumain ng cereal. But I usually eat it with milk.

    I think you made the right choice with the fruits. Fresh fruits are healthier than processed fruits. But then again, I think it's cheaper to cut your own fruits than to buy them already chopped. :) You can prepare them at night if you don't have time in the morning. Just a suggestion. :)

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