Sometimes all you need in the morning is a warm pick me up. What’s easier than toasting a Pop-Tart?
I never leave the house without breakfast. It’s something so foundational in my morning that I can’t go without it. Whether it’s a full pancake breakfast or a Clif Bar on the way out, nothing gets me going like food. One breakfast however, stands above the rest.
Obviously, this humble breakfast is the Pop-Tart. The Pop-Tart website gives an epic detailed history of how these guys originated, and the timeline goes something like this. These little identical twins in foil packaging originated back in 1963, when Mr. William E. Lamothe wanted to revolutionize breakfast. In a creative take on the iconic toast and jelly, Mr. Lamothe and his friend Joe Thompson created the fruit scone, which was later renamed the Pop-Tart for marketing purposes. The four core flavors were established in 1964: Strawberry, Blueberry, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and Apple. By 1965, Pop-Tarts had expanded from Cleveland, Ohio to the rest of the United States. The iconic frosting and sprinkles came by 1968, and by 1971 the iconic mascot emerged as the spokesperson for the new brand: The Spokestoaster - which was a toaster. (“Pop-Tarts® History Timeline”).
After popping out of toasters for over fifty years, there are now over 24 flavors of Pop-Tarts, with each one sharing some pastry DNA. Each has a filling surrounded by pastry and topped with some frosting, sprinkles, both, or neither. They’ve come a long way from imitating toast and jelly. Whenever a Pop-Tart leaves its packaging and leaves the toaster, each one brings a little fresh-baked character to any morning, afternoon, or night.
Many people can agree that Pop-Tarts are a staple of breakfasts across America. Fewer, however, see the purpose in investing two minutes to toast them. Pop-Tarts are an epitome of convenience, you can take them out of a disposable box, open up their disposable wrapper, eat two mediocre pastries, and be done. For the average American in a hurry to get things done, taking five seconds to get a Pop-Tart out of the pantry is a good-enough convenience. A toasted Pop-Tart appeals more to an intentional person. Someone who can set aside two minutes, someone who can spare a spot for a plate in the sink, someone who appreciates a warm bite to eat over pure convenience.
You could consider me the latter of those people. With so many of my mornings being scrambled and rushed, the mornings I get to toast my Pop-Tarts stand out to me. Instead of just eating to keep my blood-sugar levels from plummeting during third period, I can eat to enjoy what I’m consuming. I can eat because it’s a luxury, not a necessity. Instead of a cold, unforgiving rectangle in a wrapper, I can enjoy a warm pastry, filled with borderline molten filling, and topped with soft sweet frosting. Something about that toaster brings out a character often unseen in the everyday Pop-Tart.
For the longest time, and even often now, I have found myself rushing through my mornings and not enjoying the small things in life that make each day a little bit better. I wake up just early enough to have some time before I leave. I shower quickly, I get dressed, brush my teeth, fix my hair, all the things you would expect someone to do, and I do them very quickly. From the time I wake up to the time I’m out the door not a single intentional thought or action has occurred, I've done what I always do. Yet as I muscle-memory my way through each morning I sometimes stop and think, how could two minutes change my day?
That was when I re-discovered the magnificent toasted Pop-Tart. No longer did I have to eat cold Clif Bars or quickly down a protein shake. In the two minutes it took me to organize my backpack and fill up a water bottle, I let a Pop-Tart toast. Right before I began to leave, the toaster sprung up. My fingers burned on the freshly baked breakfast, but soon it was manageable enough to eat. I walked into school that day energized, my stomach full and my mind relaxed. I had enjoyed part of my morning, and it changed my entire day for the better.
It might seem weird that something as basic as a Pop-Tart can change my day. Just a kid’s snack, with a meager 200 calories and 2 grams of protein coupled with 16 grams of sugar, somehow transforms a morning (“Pop-Tarts® Frosted Strawberry - SmartLabel™”). This is when I realized something. It wasn’t the toasted Pop-Tart itself that had changed my morning. My morning was changed because instead of rushing thoughtlessly through my routine, I took two minutes to intentionally make my day better. So I’ll keep toasting my Pop-Tarts, making each morning just a little bit better because of two intentional minutes.
Works Cited
“Pop-Tarts® History Timeline.” Pop-Tarts, https://www.poptarts.com/en_US/our-story.html. Accessed 16 January 2025.
“Pop-Tarts® Frosted Strawberry - SmartLabel™.” SmartLabel™, 6 November 2024, https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000317316. Accessed 22 January 2025
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