Honey Nut _____

There is only one Honey Nut food you should ever consider with breakfast. Honey Nut Cheerios were a staple in my childhood diet until I discovered my parent’s stash of Multigrain Cheerios. Not only did my perception of the health benefits of multigrain (woah, there are several types of grains in here!) drive this decision but also a lower level of sweetness — which catered to my above average refined palate at the age of 10.

Though I write here to my 10 year old self soaking his multigrain cheerios in 5 days too old Fat Free Milk from Shop Rite — Jack, I present to you a superior option to both.

It’s not a cereal, and it’s not even a breakfast food.

Squash

When I subleased my cousin’s apartment in July of last year, immediately prior working out, I’d pick up a racquet and a squash ball and go to town against myself in the apartment’s first-come first-serve squash court. Yes — intense serve practice sessions, Squash YouTube videos at night for form improvement, and the like. I knew that access to a squash court would be quite limited in the future so take advantage of the present moment. Those days are long gone but it’s a nice personal memory to recall.

However, I write to you today about a different type of squash.

There’s a vegetable named Butternut Squash that has become uber popular in modern society. So much so that it has superceded the sweet potato in my family’s pantry (at least for the Monday vegetable). No matter how many times my dad complains that the squash isn’t sweet enough, Butternut Squash always prevails. I’ll thank restaurants and more importantly Victoria’s Market for catching onto that trend and pushing Butternut Squash on their menus as the only squash one should buy (with the name squash in it).

But I don’t write to you today about Butternut Squash.

Rather, the disproportionate level of satisfaction that I received from the $8 I spent on this particular squash at the Metropolitan Avenue C-Town proves just how valuable it is. I cooked 2 of them last week and have placed a strict 3 piece / day limit on myself in order to conserve the batch for as long as humanly possible. I even froze half my remaining batch to mitigate any risk of spoilage.

And it’s my very honor to say this immediate ascendence in my personal rankings of fruits and vegetables is unlike anything I’ve seen in the previous 26 years of my life. It may have even eclipsed the pomegranate. (Definitely a recency bias).

The Vegetable?

Honey Nut Squash.

-Jack

PS Instead of discarding the seeds, throw them in their own sheet pan with some olive oil salt and pepper for a fabulous crunchy snack!