I am pure Chinese, born in Hong Kong, and my husband is German-Scottish born in Buffalo, NY. Our household is full of cultural traditions from both sides of the family — from Chinese New Year red envelopes and cooking noodles for birthdays (signifies long life) to pumpkin-shaped Halloween cookies tied with an orange yarn, knitted Christmas stockings, and shortbread on Christmas morning.

It’s so wonderful to have certain family rituals made special, passed on from generation to generation. There is something very comforting about celebrating your family legacy.

My toddlers don’t fully understand the word “tradition” quite yet, but they know to expect to make German Oven Pancakes on Sunday mornings. It’s an incredibly easy recipe that even the youngest can help out with. The pancake batter bakes in a skillet in the oven. You never know what comes out…sometimes the pancake is flat with a high curved edge like the photo, sometimes it has puffs, valleys and crevices perfect for hiding chocolate chips. It’s fun to gather in front of the oven window and watch the pancake rise and form. The edges are light and crisp, perfectly browned. We usually top it with strawberries and cream and eat it right out of the skillet, tearing pieces with our hands. Sometimes we just rip pancake pieces and dip in maple syrup. It’s our Sunday morning family tradition.

What are some of your traditions in your family?

German Oven Pancakes

1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, sifted
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 450F

1. Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, melted butter, salt and sugar. Gradually add flour to egg mixture, a spoonful at a time. You can use an electric mixer or have your child help you by spooning the flour in while you whisk. Make sure the flour is well incorporated in the batter with no lumps. Let batter sit for 10 minutes.
2. Pour batter in a greased 9-11″ oven safe skillet. Bake 18-20 minutes. It’s fun to turn on the oven light and watch the pancake form!

Top with berries and whipped cream. You can also mix chocolate chips in the batter.

One of the very first foods that babies feed themselves is Cheerios, as they are the perfect size, shape and texture for itty bitty mouths. As a mother of two toddlers, we have gone through probably bushels of this stuff.

The funny thing is, I don’t think we’ve ever eaten Cheerios for breakfast before — we’ve used them to bribe the kids to keep quiet at restaurants, as a meal replacement when the pureed spinach was flung across the room and painted our walls a lovely, lovely shade of puke green, a midnight snack for me when the kids have worn me out and I’m so exhausted and hungry that I resign to reaching between the couch cracks and pulling out a handful of Cheerios, and miscellaneous art projects (like drawing an octopus and gluing the Cheerios on the legs to mimic suction cups).

So when General Mills came with this new Fruity Cheerios (FC), it was like my favorite B&W movie coming alive in technicolor (cue in heavenly harps and angelic choir). General Mills claims that FC has 12 vitamins and minerals, 100 calories per serving, flavored with real fruit juice and has 25% less sugar than the leading fruity cereal (i.e., they were too chicken to say outright “Kellogg’s Froot Loops” — but come on, if you’re gonna copy their cereal, at least just give them props!)

Well, here is a taste test I did with my 2 & 3 year old:
Day 1: the great breakfast experiment
Bowl A - whole wheat mini bagel, scrambled egg white, flax seed
Bowl B - Fruity Cheerios

Result - they chose the FC

Ok, DUH! That wasn’t really a fair experiment. Try again.

Day 2:
Bowl A - instant apple cinnamon oatmeal with sliced bananas
Bowl B - Fruity Cheerios

Result - FC scores again. Time to change approach.

Day 3:
Bowl A - last night’s chocolate cake with topped with whipped cream, chocolate chips and sour gummy worms
Bowl B - Fruity Cheerios

Result - aha! I found the breaking point!!!

Ok, so in conclusion, FC has sugar. Your kids have a built in sensor to detect which food item has a higher sugar content. They will always choose the sugar rush. The second ingredient is sugar and the fourth ingredient is corn starch. BUT… if you’re kids are as spoiled as mine, this is what you’d call the lesser evil. A choice between buying FC or Lucky Charms? I’d choose FC.

The taste is not so bad. It tastes so much better than Froot Loops. Plus, after leaving the box opened, unsealed and uncovered for 4 days in the hot, humid Florida weather under the couch next to the muddy socks, it is still crunchy and fresh. Does it taste like fruit? No. But neither do canned mandarin oranges or green apple infused vodka. Plus, they make for colorful octopus art and they are easier to find in the couch cracks.

Photo from cheerios.com