Beat the Morning Rush

Beat the Morning Rush


From eating exotic leftovers to brushing their teeth in the shower, Americans get creative when it comes to simplifying morning routines
- With today's hectic lifestyles, many Americans say it's all they can do to get out the door in the morning.
According to a recent survey conducted for Chex(R) Morning Mix(TM), a new portable breakfast product, 75 percent of Americans multi-task in order to manage their morning routine, with some people performing up to four tasks at once.
Often the challenge starts with getting out of bed. More than 30 percent claim to oversleep on a typical weekday, and 31 percent say they hit the snooze alarm. To minimize oversleeping, 39 percent of Americans set their alarm to go off earlier than needed.
Once their feet hit the floor, however, the rush is on. When mornings are packed with making lunches, grabbing clothes out of the dryer and squeezing in a few minutes of exercise time, respondents in harried households say multi-tasking is the name of the game. Tasks encompass everything from brushing teeth in the shower to grabbing weird leftovers from the fridge. Rushed breakfast choices include everything from leftover liver patй to rattlesnake stew.
While the "ideal way to start the day" is having breakfast in bed for 20 percent of all respondents, 62 percent say they frequently eat breakfast "on the go." One third say they skip breakfast altogether, with a third of these people citing not enough time as the reason for not eating breakfast.
"Getting the day started right and having a nutritious breakfast can be the most important part of a busy day," says Bibie Wu, General Mills marketing manager. "But with hectic morning routines, the importance of breakfast is often overlooked. Chex Morning Mix is one way for people in busy households to start the day right, no matter where life takes them for breakfast."
For those who feel like they never have enough time, Chex Morning Mix is a one-of-a-kind portable breakfast that's filled with all the right ingredients -- delicious Chex cereal, wholesome fruits and nuts.
Instead of turning breakfast into one more task to complete before heading out the door, busy people can simply grab a bag of Chex Morning Mix and eat it on the run -- walking to work, on the bus or at their desks.
Other survey findings include:
* If given 15 extra minutes every morning, most people would sleep in.
* Laying out clothes the night before was considered the most effective time-saving tip.
* On average, women reported performing up to four tasks at once compared to men performing up to two.
* 32 percent of women claimed their morning routine typically made them feel "always a bit behind the clock," compared with 25 percent of men.
Chex Morning Mix is available in three flavors: Fruit & Nut, Cinnamon, and Honey Nut, and contains Chex cereal, almonds, raisins and cranberries in each single-serve pouch. Part of a balanced diet, Chex Morning Mix is a good source of calcium and provides nine vitamins and minerals. It has 130 calories per serving, 3.5 grams of fat and 2 grams of protein.
Chex Morning Mix comes in 1.15-ounce single serving pouches, with six pouches per box. It can be found in the granola/breakfast bar aisle with an approximate retail price of $2.99 per box.
For more information about Chex Morning Mix, visit the General Mills Web site at www.generalmills.com.