Mzansi Cereals: Four unique South African favourites

Mzansi has unique taste, and it’s just because South Africa has a lot of things you won’t find anywhere else. You’d need to buy from an ‘expat store’ if you wanted to find Bokomo Otees or traditional porridge anywhere abroad.

What’s your favourite local cereal?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and cereals are a quick energy boost. Some would even say it’s the ‘Breakfast of Champions’!

Some prefer to have eggs and ‘wors’ for breakfast. For other people, some cereal is just what they need.

Here’s what Mzansi eats for breakfast.

1. MZANSI EATS: OTEES

Bokomo Otees are made from oats and rice, also combining sugar and glucose syrup for its added sweetness. They’re also available in different flavours, like bubblegum, cream soda, or chocolate – yes, you can go with vanilla too.

They are similar to Lucky Charms cereal, except South Africans don’t have leprechauns on their cereal brands.

They’re also shaped like the letter O, giving the cereal its name.

2. MZANSI EATS: WEET-BIX

South Africans love their Weet-Bix – unless, of course, you don’t.

It’s not a purely South African breakfast cereal. The cereal actually comes from Australia, where it’s been around as a ‘health-aid’ cereal since the 1960s.

Since 2014, you can buy a gluten-free version.

It can be mixed with hot (or cold) milk.

Some people have it with fruit juice… Not kidding!

You can also eat Weet-Bix like a cookie, adding butter.

3. MZANSI EATS: JUNGLE OATS

Jungle Oats is the ‘Breakfast of Champions’ according to its advertising campaign.

There’s also Oatso-Easy, an instant oats version, if you’re too busy to be boiling oats in the morning.

It gets eaten with sugar, sometimes with honey.

You get different flavours, just in case you want to ‘spice it up’ with something new.

Stores also sell ‘portioned’ packs for smaller appetites or quick snacking.

PRONUTRO

ProNutro is another proudly South African breakfast food.

The texture and taste is unique, and might be hard to describe to anyone outside of Africa.

It’s like porridge, but also different. It comes in different flavours. You can add sugar, but don’t have to.

ProNutro is something special.

There’s even something about ProNutro on Reddit.

You either love it, or you don’t!