Everyone has heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and for me, it’s cereal that makes the meal what it is today. March 7 is National Cereal Day, and in honor of the holiday, here are my top five favorite cereals. 

5. Lucky Charms

This is the cereal of my childhood, so I have fond memories of it. When I was younger, I enjoyed the marshmallows in it more than anything else, but now I just love the cereal in general. The marshmallows don’t only bring color to the cereal, but they bring color with sweetness, too. 

Lucky Charms are full of sugar and words cannot describe how thankful I am for that. I’m not one for eating breakfast every day, but when I do, this cereal wakes me up. The only issue with it is the amount of pure sweetness and lack of an overall flavor. If I wanted the taste, I could eat a marshmallow. 

Nonetheless, this is an amazing cereal with a great taste, earning it the No. 5 spot on this list. 

4. Coco Puffs

When I was younger, my fantasy breakfast would have consisted of a Hershey’s chocolate bar. My mother, being the responsible adult in charge of me, was not my biggest supporter when it came to my breakfast wishes. So, since this cereal was another option, it quickly became one of my favorites.

As for flavor, it’s the same thing as Lucky Charms, where I could eat something else and taste the same thing. Coco Puffs, however, taste so much better than Lucky Charms. It’s not just certain parts of the cereal that taste good like the marshmallows in Lucky Charms, it’s all of it. 

This cereal is one of my favorites, but it can get tiring to eat every day on end. Still, if I have a random day where I want something sweet and chocolaty, this is my cereal of choice. 

3. Fruity Pebbles

Though there is a chocolate version of this cereal, nothing can beat the original. Fruity Pebbles are a blast of flavor and fun. Not only are they colorful, but the box also has two fun mascots. When I was younger, this cereal made my day. 

The only issue with this cereal is that the pebbles disappear into the milk, making it hard to find and eat them all. When eating them without milk, they can be messy and fall out of my hands. Months after eating them, I will still find little pieces of them in my bed. 

I can confidently say that this cereal made each day brighter and was gone within a week at our house. While it might have its flaws, the flavor redeems it and makes Fruity Pebbles superior to most cereals.

2. Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Though its cinnamon flavor tastes amazing and it doesn’t need to rely on milk to taste good, I fell in love with Cinnamon Toast Crunch because of the commercials. I can vividly recall a commercial where one of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces figures out it tastes good and proceeds to eat the rest of the bowl. 

I remember immediately asking my mom for the cereal because of the commercial, which led to me trying one of the best cereals ever created. It has an amazing crunch to it, a sweet, yet not too overpowering flavor, and a good taste with or without milk. 

This cereal isn’t close to anything else on the list, but can’t manage to beat the one next to it. If I were forced to eat this every day for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t complain. There’s nothing I can say against this cereal. 

1. Captain Crunch’s Crunch Berries

Last semester, I asked my friend to bring me a bit of cereal. Instead, she brought me a mega size box of Captain Crunch’s Crunch Berries. This started an endless cycle of me carrying this cereal in my bag. It’s been with me in happy and hard times, tasting just enough like candy to feel like a snack, but not sweet enough to sicken me. 

One of the ways you know a cereal is good is if it tastes good without milk. This cereal passes the test, as it tastes amazing when it has milk and somehow just as good without it. There’s a lot of color, they don’t get too soggy too quickly and the flavor can never grow old. 

When I first made this ranking, this was the obvious choice for first place. With a fun mascot and one million different colors, this cereal is the best of them all. 

There are so many cereals out there that just fall short, but without a doubt, these are the best ones. National Cereal Day is a holiday made for celebrating, and with these by your side, you’ll be able to celebrate properly.