Cereal Season

March is usually when people begin to look forward to longer days thanks to daylight savings time. Daylight savings time is an unofficial marker of spring as well, so the warmth and sunlight that accompany March's less wintery weather is also a welcome sight. For whatever reason, though, March 2022 is officially cereal season when it comes to NHL players and their business ventures. We already saw Brad Marchand introduce March Munch last week in the Boston area, and we got another cereal arrival in the Center of the Universe as John Tavares joined the breakfast bunch with his ideal morning meal! What is it? Let's find out!

Before we get to Tavares' breakfast meal creation, this is another PLB Sports and Entertainment venture. Who are they? From their website,

"PLB Sports & Entertainment (PLBSE) has worked with some of the world's greatest athletes and entertainers to create a premier line of superior quality food products. These partners include names such as Nolan Ryan, Jerome Bettis, Dan Marino, Anthony Rizzo, Justin Verlander, Rob Gronkowski, Patrick Mahomes, John Cena and many others. Our high-quality sports and entertainment products are endorsed by players from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA along with the WWE's biggest and brightest stars. Since 1996 we've worked with hundreds of clients launching successful products in the cereal, salsa, condiment, beef jerky, confection, and beverage categories. We have sold over 20 million items over this time span and helped raise over $22 million for various charities attached to our clients. PLBSE is a brand-building organization that develops successful products, creates the packaging, crafts effective marketing strategies both at retail and via social media, and compliments the client's marketing objectives."

In short, it sounds like PLB Sports and Entertainment knows what they're doing when it comes to devising a food product for an athlete to help raise funds for charity. Perhaps they're preparing these Tavares boxes of cereal not with a special prize inside, but an offer where three UPC codes will get you a set of Maple Leaf pyjamas? One can only hope, right?

John Tavares' cereal is called "Recipe 91" which sounds more like a something found in a test kitchen rather than the cereal aisle in your grocery store, but here we are. Recipe 91 is comprised of granola that contains dark chocolate, blueberries, and coconut! Like March Munch, this sounds like it might be pretty tasty, but there's another major component to the sale of Recipe 91. For every box of cereal sold with John Tavares' image on it, proceeds will go to the John Tavares Foundation, an organization that helps "kids everywhere understand the importance of proper nutrition and embrace healthy lifestyle options that fuel both their passions and potential" in order to "support their physical, cognitive and emotional well-being."

"I am very excited to announce Recipe 91, where proceeds will support the John Tavares Foundation," Tavares said in a statement through PLB. "Aryne and I really enjoyed the process of creating this and we hope everyone will enjoy it as much as we do."

Just as I did, I went to check the pricing on a delivered two-box set of Recipe 91, and that $29.99 price tag just seems insane for 680 grams of granola. Factor in the shipping costs which pushes the total to around $45, and I'm passing on ordering Recipe 91 anytime soon. I may, however, stop by my local Sobeys grocery store as they have signed on to carry Recipe 91 as the official distributor in Canada! Let's just hope it isn't $22.50 a box there!

Honestly, this might be one of those "anytime of the day" cereals when it comes to taking it with you. As we know, granola is good for a snack so that added taste of dark chocolate, blueberries, and coconut could make it a good snack whether you're sitting at your desk at work or out hiking on a trail. I'm slightly worried about the total carbohydrates in a serving with chocolate, blueberries, and coconut all being present, so make sure you read the label if you're buying a box of Recipe 91 if you're counting carbs!

Recipe 91 won't get you into the NHL or make you the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is part of a healthy, balanced breakfast just like Tavares is part of a balanced attack on the Maple Leafs. As we know, eating right plays a large role in making sure each athlete is at their peak performance level, and it seems that Recipe 91 fits into that gameplan! Look for it in Canada at your local Sobeys grocery store!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!