To-Go Breakfast Bowls

FROM: Chris
DATE: Wednesday September 29, 2004 -- 10:45:50 am

If you used the shelf stable ultra pasteruized milk that you can get for camping the milk would have a shelf life of several months. Then build the spoon into the lid somehow.....

I think you are on to something here

FROM: Zack
DATE: Wednesday September 29, 2004 -- 11:22:10 am

I suppose they could do it, but it would be expensive. I can envision a two-part package maybe shaped like a flying saucer, with the cereal in the lower part in a plastic bowl, with the milk 'upside down' in a separate dome above. They could be held together by a bead of tape around their common circumference, with the spoon in between.

To use, pull off the tape to separate the two pieces, peel off the lid from the bowl to expose the creeal, tear off the tab from the milk, pour, and enjoy.

The whole deal could be kept refrigerated as long as the cereal was in an airtight sealed container so that the cereal would not absorb humidity from the air once it left refrigeration. The problem is the shelf life of the milk, which would require refrigeration unless you packaged it in one of those foil-lined juice-pack containers like Parmalat, which I understand does not need refrigeration because the oxygen has been completely eliminated during processing. But it's expensive.

I would think it is just as easy to buy one of those 8-pack mini cereal assortments and a container of Parmalat. What I have often done myself is to make the lunch the night before, so if I oversleep it's still ready to go. You can put milk in a small thermos bottle and stick it in the fridge overnight. All you have to do is grab it. The cereal can be put in a Rubbermaid type container and left on the table overnight.

A few years ago Nova on PBS had a great show about developing new food packaging. One part was a story about a microwavable hot fudge sundae. They wound up putting a specially formulated fudge into a dome with the ice cream in the lower portion; the whole package then got nuked. There was a surprising amount of experimentation involved in getting the fudge to melt just right without also melting the ice cream.

Hey, we have micro cheeseburgers, and pancakes, and sausages, and all other kinds of stuff, including those cereal 'sandwich' bars that supposedly have the milk in them alrready (oh really?), why not real milk and cereal? At least it's the real stuff.

FROM: Ryan [E-Mail]
DATE: Wednesday September 29, 2004 -- 11:38:34 am

Chris -- If you used the shelf stable ultra pasteruized milk that you can get for camping the milk would have a shelf life of several months.

Do they have a soy milk version? :)

Zack -- I love the upside down milk-container vision. Very cool idea.

FROM: jk
DATE: Wednesday September 29, 2004 -- 2:35:48 pm

I would surely buy this product, lactose-free of course. I have however grown to like chocolate soy milk in recent months.

FROM: Joseph
DATE: Wednesday September 29, 2004 -- 6:20:08 pm

Why not just package one of those mini boxes of cereal (better yet, just a plastic bag full of cereal) in a vacuum formed polypropylene bowl with a kiddie carton of milk--you know, the ubitquitous pint serving of grade school lunch time fame? I suppose you could package the milk in a foil or mylar bag al la Capri Sun and have the two bags fit inside the bowl with a plastic spoon thrown in.
Voila!

FROM: Paul
DATE: Thursday September 30, 2004 -- 7:43:08 am

Ryan? The good news is that it's been done, the bad news is that it's at a new type of restaurant - a cereal bar. Cereality just opened up (or is, soon, I forget) in Chicago and serves a portable box with cereal and milk for $3.00.

The whole store idea is great.

FROM: Katy [E-Mail]
DATE: Friday January 28, 2005 -- 5:23:22 pm

I love to travel and cereal is a great healthy way to start the day.
I am lactose intolerant so I find myself buying soy milk also.

As a temporary fix, you can buy one of those round-ish Gladware containers and quart-sized plastic baggies and do the following:

Line the bottom of the container with the baggie, fill the baggie with your milk product and squeeze as much of the air out of it as you can. Seal the baggie VERY WELL. Then, flatten it into the bottom of the container as best as you can and pour your cereal on top of it. Close the lid and travel with it.

When you arrive on location carefully pull out the baggie from under your dry cereal, open and pour over your cereal. Make sure to pack a spoon in your lunchbag or use cellophane tape to tape one to the top of your gladware and you're set.

I am working on actually inventing a bowl similar to the salad blaster (www.assseenontv.com) that will hold the milk and the cereal in opposite bowls and allow you to combine them when you get to your destination.

FROM: Vinh Truong
DATE: Thursday September 8, 2005 -- 12:16:33 pm

I think that I found a solution for this problem. Who can help me to find partner or investor ?