Friday, April 27, 2012

Weet-Bix versus Weetabix--brings back some memories

Ask any Kiwi kid; the ones that can claim 50 plus years and they will probably have a story or two about one of our national icons—Weet-Bix. Now that there seems to be of a stosh going on about the rip-off version marketed in England under the name Weetabix. The NZ manufacturer, Sanitarium has taken umbrage at the rival and is trying to stop the use of the name.
I won’t get into the rights and wrongs of that, but it does bring back some memories. How many kids (once again, I use that term loosely) brag about how many of the little biscuits they have eaten at one sitting. I have heard ridiculous numbers--- hell someone can eat 2o is beyond me. I think I may have managed about 7, and that may have been spread over 2 sittings.
Weet-Bix became the standby when one of us didn’t like the dessert Mum had made, but that’s understandable when there are six hu8ngry kids to be fed. I often wonder how Mum balanced all of our likes and hates. No wonder she enjoyed not having to cook in her later life. Those were the days, when takeaways were not the meal of convenience. We rarely had them, choosing instead to make the cheaper and probably healthier option.
There were possibly only three desserts I didn’t like in Mum’s collection of ‘old faithful’s---rice-pudding, junket and bread and butter pudding. Out then came the Weet-Bix.
Of course, Weet-Bix was a regular breakfast offering along with porridge. We had it with either cold milk, or in the winter, with hot milk. The addition of brown sugar or honey lifted the mix to new heights.
Once I left home and went through the ‘flatting’ period of my life, Weet-Bix was always a staple. I have never sickened of this wonderful food item. Mmmm—that reminds me—I better buy some when I go shopping today. I even have one of their collectable tins to keep it fresh.

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