# Part of this Good Breakfast **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892 "2004-01-17T05:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![collinsc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@collinsc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/collinsc)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/1 "2004-01-17T05:51:37Z")
Just what is “this good breakfast”? What does it take to be “part of” it? It can’t mean much as every breakfast cereal (as opposed to lunch cereal? :dubious: ) is one. Am I really to believe that Cap’n’s Choco-Donuts have the same nutritional substance as Cheerios? Froot Loops as Total? Also, I have noticed a shift from the old phrase “part of a balanced breakfast.” What is (was?) the difference between a “good” and a “balanced” breakfast as far as cereal is concerned? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/2 "2004-01-17T06:27:35Z")
It means, “Eat whatever the heck else you want along with our super sugary cereal, as long as you make sure to buy several boxes of the stuff every month.” It’s just the manufacturers’ way of covering themselves. They can always claim that they showed you fruit, juice, toast, eggs, and whatnot. I recall hearing “balanced” and “nutritious” but I have yet to hear “good.” (I do take your word for it, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/3 "2004-01-17T11:48:18Z")
I don’t see many cereal commercials anymore… do those Saturday morning adverts still show glasses of milk and orange juice, eggs, toast and a grapefruit? I always figured you could swap your cereal for lead flakes in used engine coolant and _still_ qualify as healthy with all that backing you up. ---
**Author:** ![NutWrench](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nutwrench/32/20193_2.png) [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/4 "2004-01-17T12:04:29Z")
Their cereal is a great source of Calcium, too! 🙂 (as long as you put milk on it) :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/5 "2004-01-17T12:21:27Z")
I don’t recall hearing “good”, but I do specifically remember hearing “part of this good-for-you breakfast.” ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/6 "2004-01-17T15:08:23Z")
It means the cereal itself only has a small portion of the vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy meal so you must eat other things as well. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/7 "2004-01-17T15:30:26Z")
> [@collinsc](#): > > It can’t mean much as every breakfast cereal (as opposed to lunch cereal? :dubious: ) is one. Am I really to believe that Cap’n’s Choco-Donuts have the same nutritional substance as Cheerios? Froot Loops as Total? [Yep](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_114c.html). Pretty much every cereal is fortified with some combination of vitamins and minerals, so ultimately once you get past the hype the question becomes whether you want your cereal to taste good or not, and is good taste a small price to pay for giving lotsa sugar to children? I’m rather fond of the Monster cereals, myself. I want Fruit Brute back, too, and barring that Fruity Yummy Mummy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/8 "2004-01-17T15:43:03Z")
As Dave Barry’s Grammar Person always used to insist, that really should be “adjacent to this Good Breakfast.” ---
**Author:** ![Indefatigable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9d8465/32.png) [@Indefatigable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indefatigable)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/9 "2004-01-17T16:39:44Z")
Cap’n Crunch is my favourite. Up here the phrase is usually ‘part of this _complete_ breakfast’. And they do show a glass of juice and a grapefruit and some eggs or something. It just means the stuff isn’t suitable to eat for breakfast all by itself. ---
**Author:** ![collinsc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@collinsc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/collinsc)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/10 "2004-01-17T16:44:40Z")
> [@Indefatigable](#): > > It just means the stuff isn’t suitable to eat for breakfast all by itself. Thanks, all. I figure this is pretty much the heart of it. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/11 "2004-01-17T16:47:34Z")
> [@RM Mentock](#): > > As Dave Barry’s Grammar Person always used to insist, that really should be “adjacent to this Good Breakfast.” I think he also pointed out that the claim “part of this complete breakfast” could also be made about a can of shaving cream or a dead bat. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/12 "2004-01-17T17:40:03Z")
That would be the Nutrition Person, not the Grammar Person ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/13 "2004-01-17T18:20:41Z")
Also, **collinsc** , it means that the breakfast doesn’t meet up with the infamous RDA Food Pyramid where every meal must contain protein, dairy, grain, and fruit so that the ranchers, farmers and orchard owners are happy. I remember the commercials as “part of this nutritious breakfast.” Back when I was in school, eggs, were “dairy,” too. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-this-good-breakfast/224892/14 "2004-01-18T01:25:30Z")
The trend now in ads is just to show one thing, like a cereal bar being flung through the air to a harried person so they can scarf down breakfast in the car or on the schoolbus. Apparently there’s some milk equivalent in the middle of the bar?