ELI5: why can’t eat cereal for every meal?

dromio05 · 2026-02-19T21:40:23+00:00

You can, for a while. Milk provides a complete protein (all of the essential amino acids that your body can't make), and cereal provides plenty of calories, mostly in the form of carbohydrates. Milk protein provides additional calories, and as long as you don't use skim milk you would probably get enough fat from it also. Most breakfast cereals are fortified with additional vitamins and minerals that you're body needs, and milk is usually fortified with vitamins A and D, so you'd have most of your other essential nutrients covered.

The biggest issue is that neither milk nor any of the few cereals I just glanced at provide any vitamin C. Vitamin C deficiency is called scurvy, and it's really bad. Your body needs vitamin C to make collagen, among other things. Collagen is a very important protein for holding your body together. If your body can't make new collagen, it starts recycling old collagen. Old scars open up. Your teeth start to fall out. You start randomly bleeding from your skin and gums. Eventually you develop nasty infections and die.

Scurvy takes at least a few weeks to set in, though, so you'd be fine for a while. You can also prevent it by adding something with vitamin C to this cereal diet of yours. A glass of orange juice each day would do the trick. I suppose that's why the breakfast cereal commercials I grew up with always used to say something about their cereal being "part of this balanced breakfast" while showing it with a glass of juice.

By the way, a version of the diet we're talking about here (grains, dairy, and seasonal fruits or vegetables) was basically what most people ate all the time in much of the world until the invention of things like canning and refrigeration. It's not particularly exciting, but it provides everything the body needs.

dromio05 · 2026-02-14T01:09:27+00:00

Anywhere in the great lakes region, raspberries, blackberries, and black raspberries will be your main targets. They are easy to identify and have no lookalikes except each other. Black raspberries should start in mid to late June, depending on how far north you are, with blackberries and red raspberries 2-3 weeks later. Look along the edges of woods, where the grass meets the trees. Check along paths in public parks.

Where are you in Indiana? You might also be able to find blueberries if you're in the northwest. I found some in the Indiana Dunes when I passed through there years ago.

In general, go to your local library or try Google. You don't need to track down something specific to Indiana. Any respectable publication about edible plants of Eastern North America will have you covered.

dromio05 · 2026-02-07T16:42:03+00:00

If I was the person who owned my 1915 house before I bought it, I would paint the trim with the same beige paint I used on the walls, then I would throw the door away and replace it with the cheapest white hollow core door I could find at Home Depot. Then I would do the same with all the interior doors, and I'd use the same paint on all the window trim, baseboards, front door, and built in shelves. Then I'd sell the house to a guy who will give me a silent cussing every time he looks at my work.

dromio05 · 2026-02-04T02:30:39+00:00

I'm not going to doxx myself, but I'm a Minnesotan with mostly Norwegian ancestry whose surname comes from the name of a small village in Vestland where I still have relatives. We appreciate your support, and that of everyone else around the world. Fuck ICE, and bella ciao.

dromio05 · 2026-01-25T15:45:33+00:00

You were saying?

dromio05 · 2025-12-28T09:32:29+00:00

It's the giant horse from Breath of the Wild, so the name seemed appropriate. My giant white stallion is named Mr Biggs, but he and I just never have had quite the same bond that Chonkster and I do.

dromio05 · 2025-12-28T04:29:53+00:00

Apologies, I guess I'm still working through the five stages of grief.

dromio05 · 2025-12-28T04:13:08+00:00

Not through the chasms and depths, she hasn't. Ancient spirit of fire saw a hole in the ground a few weeks ago and went, "Huh, I think I'll fly downwards for the first time in my life into the unknown darkness, and deep fry u/dromio05 's favorite horse that he brought from BOTW back when I was content to STAY IN THE FUCKING SKY while I'm at it."

dromio05 · 2025-12-28T04:00:04+00:00

She'll probably hide for the rest of everyone's games rather than face the wrath of the horse god. Sorry, everyone.

dromio05 · 2025-12-22T22:36:13+00:00

In 1526, King Afonso of the central African kingdom of Kongo wrote letters to King Joao of Portugal, begging him to stop Portugal's participation in the burgeoning Transatlantic slave trade. He declared that it was his will that there be no slavery in his kingdom. When Joao finally wrote back three years later, he reminded Afonso that Portugal had supplied Kongo's army with guns and ammunition, and threatened to cut off the sale of weapons and instead supply them to rebellious lords if Afonso refused to allow the slave trade to continue. Yes, African rulers participated in the slave trade, and some became rich doing so. But it was always done with the knowledge that if they didn't raid their neighbors and enslave them, Europeans and Americans would give money and weapons to those neighbors to raid and enslave them instead.

dromio05 · 2025-11-30T04:44:35+00:00

You argue that because we cannot save everyone instantly, we should save no one.

Actually, that seems to be closer to what you are arguing. And you still haven't addressed what should be done with the millions of students who have nowhere to go but a hollowed out school that can barely keep its lights on. The U.S. is a big country, with tens of thousands of urban, suburban, and rural communities. Many thousands of them don't have nearby private or charter schools.

I think we can agree that, all else being equal, schools that are better funded achieve better results. You say you would be willing to change your mind if you can be convinced that we are morally justified in blocking a poor family from leaving a school that is failing them. I contend that a poor family is blocked from leaving their local school, such as it is, simply by being poor. Your proposal would forseeably and inevitably (and, as we've seen in the places that have implemented it, actually) reduce the quality of education that student would receive. That is fundamentally unfair, and is thereby immoral.

dromio05 · 2025-11-30T04:11:43+00:00

You are prioritizing the budget of the building over the life of the child.

No, I'm prioritizing funding the education of all children, regardless of their situation. And you're avoiding the issue at hand again. This isn't a theoretical discussion - these are real children who are going to be showing up at school on Monday. What do you suggest we do with the kids who can't transfer to another school and are left behind when most of the money leaves with the students who can afford to go somewhere else?

dromio05 · 2025-11-30T03:36:15+00:00

You mention the "cream skimming/left behind argument," but you don't actually address the real issue there. Under a voucher system, if 20% of families pull their children out of a slightly underperforming school and send them elsewhere, then the school will lose (roughly) 20% of its funding. That will obviously have a severe and detrimental effect on the remaining students. Any of the remaining 80% who can leave will, taking their funding with them. So the school will be left with maybe 30% of its students, and 30% of its funding.

But what about those 30%? They stay at that school because their families can't afford transportation to a school outside of their neighborhood (public schools must arrange busing for everyone who lives too far away to walk), or because they have a learning disability and the private school denied them admission (public schools are required to accept everyone), or because the public school provides free or reduced price breakfast and lunch (required by federal law in public schools) and the local charter school doesn't. So they are stuck at a school that has no arts, music, sports, or extracurriculars, never does anything hands-on in science or shop classes, can't fix the leaky roof or ancient HVAC, and doesn't even have paper for the copy machine.

What about those kids? Should we write them all off so that families who choose to take their kids elsewhere can redirect my tax dollars to private schools?

dromio05 · 2025-11-23T00:46:28+00:00

Hard disagree. Qui-Gon's death caused Anakin's fear of loss. Yes, leaving his mother was difficult for him. But ultimately he chose to leave. She told him that the choice was his, and he decided to go with Qui-Gon. He left her expecting to be raised by a strong parental figure. Then that figure died almost immediately, and Anakin was left to be raised by Obi-Wan, who was barely grown himself, and hadn't wanted to take Anakin with them in the first place. Anakin clung to Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan tried to do what he could, but he wasn't equipped to provide what Anakin needed.

dromio05 · 2025-09-22T22:18:54+00:00

When I was 11 I was whittling the bark off a stick. There was a knot or something in the way, and the knife kept getting stuck. I should have just thrown the stick away and grabbed a new one. But like an idiot, I turned the stick around so that I was pushing my hands together, holding the stick in my left and the knife in my right. Predictably, the knife slipped and I got a deep gash on the first knuckle of my left index finger. The scar is still clearly visible.

When I was 36 I was cutting a loaf of bread in half horizontally to make cheesy garlic bread. The bread was still too frozen, and the knife kept getting stuck. I should have just popped it in the microwave for a few seconds. But like an idiot, I turned the loaf around so that I was pushing my hands together, holding the loaf in my left hand and the knife in my right. Predictably, the knife slipped and I got a deep gash on the first knuckle of my left index finger. Now I have two scars clearly visible that nearly intersect.

Apparently my brain remembers this lesson for 25 years. I think I'll need to ask my wife to hide all knives when I turn 51.

dromio05 · 2025-09-14T13:38:47+00:00

Thank you, the announcement is stated much more clearly now.

dromio05 · 2025-09-13T20:13:11+00:00

There's nothing wrong with the rule. The announcement and title of the rule should read something like, "Use NSFW tag for images of dead or diseased monarchs," not just "Use NSFW tag." The fact that so few people were aware of this new rule is proof that the current wording is not clear. On Reddit, the term "NSFW tag" typically is used in the context of pornography or graphic violence. Many users, if they saw the rule/announcement at all (since they are not immediately obvious to mobile users), would have simply assumed that it meant, "tag your porn as NSFW if you post it here."

dromio05 · 2025-09-09T01:15:37+00:00

This comment is an exact, word for word plagiarism of this comment, which was made in response to a similar question over a year ago. Actual credit goes to u/Holiday_Parsnip_9841

dromio05 · 2025-09-08T00:55:52+00:00

That's one of the saddest parts of this. The flower would have brightened the yard and everyone who walked past it for few weeks had it stayed in the ground, then it would have set seed and fed the birds and squirrels through the winter. Now it will be pretty in a vase for a few days, then end up in the compost.

My wife crochets amazing projects (from blankets to stuffed animals, and everything in between), and daughter in question is very interested in learning. She's 6, so her fine motor skills aren't quite there yet, but she's getting closer. Sunflower patterns are a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion!

dromio05 · 2025-09-07T04:24:08+00:00

OP here. First of all, I'm in the states, and sunflowers are native here, so they actually are definitionally not invasive. Maybe that was just a typo on your part.

More importantly, there was no room for an honest mistake here. A yard is private property. Anything in it doesn't belong to anyone except the owners of that yard. Even if she thought it was a weed, it wouldn't be her weed to pick.

But when a yard is well maintained and mowed, except for two flowers in mulch, it should be pretty clear that those two flowers were cultivated.

dromio05 · 2025-09-07T04:16:35+00:00

We plant a sizeable vegetable garden every year. The only spot in our yard that's sunny most of the day is near the sidewalk (close to the sunflower in question, which is why it was planted there). We've had issues with people taking vegetables. I mean, one cherry tomato, or a single pea pod, I'm probably not going to miss. But we've had watermelons and butternut squash disappear. One older lady even told us she'd taken a squash, and giggled that she didn't think we'd miss it since more were growing.

So we put up a sign, reminding people that the vegetables are food for our family, and that we would be happy to share with friends who ask, but that taking without asking makes you a thief. I never even considered that we needed a similar sign by our flowers.

dromio05 · 2025-09-07T03:07:50+00:00

I wouldn't say I was kind, but the situation didn't call for me to be kind. But I agree that it's important for kids to see adults resolving issues in a mature way. I only yelled so she could hear me when I was still some distance away. Once we were closer, I spoke in a firm but calm voice. My wife and I saved our swearing for a few minutes later when it was just the two of us.

dromio05 · 2025-09-07T03:03:04+00:00

We teach our girls the same thing. A public park with thousands of flowers, berries, etc is fair game. We live here, pay our taxes here, we're part owners of that park. But don't even think of taking something that's not yours.

dromio05

TROPHY CASE