Cereal – A breakfast cereal (cereal) is a packaged breakfast food. It is eaten cold, usually mixed with milk, water or yogurt, but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge. Some companies promote their products for the health benefits from eating oat-based and high-fiber cereals. Cereals may be fortified with vitamins. Some cereals are made with high sugar content.

History – Breakfast cereals have their beginnings in the vegetarian movement in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, which influenced members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States. The main Western breakfast at that time was a cooked breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and beef. The first packaged breakfast cereal, Granula (named after granules) was invented in the United States in 1863 by James Caleb Jackson, operator of the Jackson Sanitorium in Dansville, New York and a staunch vegetarian. The cereal never became popular; it was far too inconvenient, as the heavy bran nuggets needed soaking overnight before they were tender enough to eat. Ferdinand Schumacher, president of the American Cereal Company, created the first commercially successful cereal made from oats; manufacturing took place in Akron, Ohio.

Breakfast cereals were considerably more convenient, and, combined with clever marketing, they finally managed to catch on. In 1877, John Harvey Kellogg, operator of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, invented a biscuit made of ground-up wheat, oat, and cornmeal for his patients suffering from bowel problems. The product was initially also named "Granula", but changed to "Granola" after a lawsuit. His most famous contribution, however, was an accident. After leaving a batch of boiled wheat soaking overnight and rolling it out, Kellogg had created wheat flakes. His brother Will Keith Kellogg later invented corn flakes from a similar method, bought out his brother's share in their business, and went on to found the Kellogg Company in 1906. With his shrewd marketing and advertising, Kellogg's sold their one millionth case after three years.

The 20th century – In the 1930s, the first puffed cereal, Kix, went on the market. Beginning after World War II, the big breakfast cereal companies – now including General Mills, who entered the market in 1924 with Wheaties – increasingly started to target children. The flour was refined to remove fiber, which at the time was considered to make digestion and absorption of nutrients difficult, and sugar was added to improve the flavor for children. The new breakfast cereals began to look starkly different from their ancestors. As one example, Kellogg's Sugar Smacks, created in 1953, had 56% sugar by weight. Different mascots were introduced, first with the Rice Krispies elves and later pop icons like Tony the Tiger and the Trix Rabbit. Because of Kellogg and Post, the city of Battle Creek, Michigan is nicknamed the "cereal city"

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Granola is a breakfast food and snack food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, honey, and sometimes rice, that is usually baked until crispy. During the baking process the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose, breakfast cereal-type consistency. Dried fruits, such as raisins and dates, are sometimes added.

Besides serving as food for breakfast and/or snacks, granola is also often eaten by those who are hiking, camping, or backpacking due to the fact that it is lightweight, high in calories, and easy to store; these properties make it similar to trail mix and muesli.

Granola is often eaten in combination with yogurt, honey, strawberries, bananas, milk, and/or other forms of cereal. It can also serve as a topping for various types of pastries and/or desserts.

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Museli (pronounced /ˈmjuːzli/ or /ˈmuːzli/) is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital. It is available as a packaged dry form, or it can be made fresh.

In Switzerland, it is also eaten as a light evening dish; Birchermüesli complet is muesli with butterbrot and milk coffee.

Originally known in Swiss German as Birchermüesli or simply Müesli, the word is an Alemannic diminutive of Mues which is related to the Old English word moose, meaning stew or pottage.

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