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What started as a 100-day challenge has become a way of life for the Leake family.

How long could you go without junk food? Last year, the Leake family attempted to abstain for 100 days. A year later, it’s still going strong. “Halfway through the first challenge I took the basket of Halloween candy I was hiding in the guest room for when we’d completed the challenge, and just threw it out,” says Lisa Leake, a stay-at-home mom of two daughters, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Inspired by an Oprah interview with food activist Michael Pollan, Lisa and her husband, Jason, embarked on the challenge as a way to rethink their unhealthy eating habits. Lisa was raised on Doritos and powdered macaroni and cheese. She tried to prepare healthy meals for her daughters, Sienna, then 3 and Sydney, then 5, but like most busy moms, she relied heavily on processed frozen meals and boxed groceries that had mile-long ingredients lists and the potential to cause long-term health problems, like heart disease and diabetes. Even the foods she thought were healthy weren’t as natural as she had once believed. “I was so surprised by how much food is processed,” says Lisa, “like for example, bread that lists wheat as an ingredient isn’t good for you unless it’s made from whole wheat. You really have to study the ingredients.”

Read more: How one family broke its junk food addiction

Consumers are losing their taste for these six well-known breakfast brands.

The average American spends about 13 minutes a day preparing and eating breakfast, the meal nutritionists consider to be the most important of the day, according to NPD Group. Increasingly, people are eating less cold cereal, which has been part of breakfast for more than 100 years.

Sales of ready-to-eat cereals fell 2.55% in the 52 weeks ending April 17 to $6.41 billion, according to data from Symphony/IRI which covers retail outlets such as supermarkets. Sales of cheap, private label cereals dropped 7.2% to $637.5 million during that same time frame. Sales and units shipped have been lackluster since at least 2007, predating the Global Recession and the recent rise in grain prices. This represents a change in fortunes for Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K – News), General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS – News) Ralcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RAH – News), parent of Post, and Quaker Oats owner PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP – News).

Six cereal brands have been hit particularly hard by American’s changing breakfast tastes. These include Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, Corn Pops, and Special K. Sales of some of these brands fell by double digits between 2007 to 2010, and those declines have continued in the most recent period measured by Symphony/IRI.

Read more: Breakfast Cereals Americans No Longer Love

While healthier items are now offered alongside traditional fare, they can be pricey.

The secrets aren’t only in the sauce.

1. We have healthy options, but they’ll cost you more.

After years of serving 1,000-calorie meals, most fast-food chains have started to offer healthier options salads, fruit cups and other un-fried options. But if you reach for the lower-cal options, be prepared for some sticker shock. On average, the salad with chicken at a fast-food restaurant tends to be the most expensive option on the menu ($4.85 on average) and costs $1.90 more than a large burger, according to a study published in December 2010 by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. And the healthy chicken sandwich costs $3.73 on average, about 26% more than a large “red-meat sandwich.

This pricing, in addition to the heavy marketing of unhealthy food options, undercuts what the fast food industry says is its commitment to healthy options, says Jennifer Harris, a spokesperson for the center. People typically look to get as much food for the price, which makes the healthy options look less appealing, she adds. But Sue Hensley, a spokesperson for the National Restaurant Association, says that the industry has plenty of affordable healthy options and that fast-food restaurants are “offering more nutritious children’s opt

Read more: Things Fast-Food Companies Won’t Say

Tired of that burning feeling in your eyes? There’s a simple and practical solution.

The inspiration: We wouldn’t cry over spilt milk, so why shed a tear over our Spanish onion? After tracking down the best tricks for preventing weeping while chopping, we put them to the test in one of the most tear-jerking test labs yet.

The tester: 6 onions

Read more: No-Tear Onion-Chopping Tricks

When the temperature is hot and the humidity is high, the last thing you want to do is heat up your kitchen. These easy no-cook recipes will keep your house cool and satisfy your appetite for the taste of summer.

Read more here: No Cook Recipes