Friday July 25th, 2008
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The Whole Truth About Whole Grain Cereals
Posted by Kerry Trueman on February 3, 2006 - 11:56am.
How hard is it to make a healthy breakfast cereal that tastes good, too? Apparently, it's nearly impossible, according to a painstakingly researched expose in Wednesday's New York Times.
Intrepid food reporter and cookbook author Marian Burros sampled roughly a hundred varieties of “alternative” cereals, and rough is the operative word: according to Burros, many of them tasted like cardboard, or sawdust.
If you've tried any of these supposedly healthier cereals, you know first hand what she's talking about. What was news to me was the fact that not all the fiber contained in these cereals comes from the whole grains themselves. It's added to the cereal in much the same way as vitamins and minerals are added to most mainstream brands.
And some of these cereals, like their conventional counterparts, are high in sugars and salt. Sweeteners such as evaporated cane juice and honey are no better than refined sugar, Burros says.
Only a small fraction of these brands is totally organic, and while they're free of artificial colors, preservatives, additives, hydrogenated oils, and trans fats, they're mostly lacking in taste and texture as well.
Breakfast cereal was on my shopping list yesterday, so I bought two new varieties that “do pass muster” by Burros' standards. One, Kashi's Mighty Bites, is clearly aimed at kids and, while it wasn't bad, it was a bit sweet for me. It comes in what the box describes as “crunchy fun shapes,” which are, in fact, little people. I found this kind of cannibalistic and creepy.
I also tried another new Kashi cereal, 7 Whole Grain Flakes. It is, as the box proclaims, “crunchy.” So crunchy, my jaws got tired after eating half a bowl of it. It tasted OK, but I don't think I'd buy it again. Like Burros, I'll stick with a hot cereal, preferably steel cut oats. Chewing should be a pleasure, not a chore.
Does anyone know of a breakfast cereal that's tasty, and healthy, too? Is it time to revisit our childhood cereals, now that Kellogg and General Mills have reformulated them to include whole grains?
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they’re sweet, but they’re gooood. Glad you wrote about this—locking down a healthy breakfast is an ongoing struggle. In the winter months (which used to include January) I, too, dive into steel cut oats.
Our family has settled on steel cut oats on cold winter mornings, weaning the kids off Frosted Flakes and Rice Crispies. As for me, I stick to generic bran flakes and add raisins. But I have to confess that every year on our beach vacation, we ritually consume a box of Peanut Butter Cap’t Crunch.
Hi – for hot cereal, I like arrowhead mills organic 7 grain. After making it, mixing it with organic raisins and raw honey is good.
hot_cereals...
For other organic cereal, I like the Peace Brand (esp. the raisin Maple)
http://www.peacecereal.com/Products/Products.aspx#Prod8
I realize it has evaporated cane juice, but personally although it might not be better than refined sugar, I do believe that it’s better than high fructose corn syrup (and more often commercial counterparts seem to have that and not refined sugar).
Kashi’s Organic Promise Autumn Wheat taste like regular frosted mini-wheats but are all natural, high in fiber, etc. I’m addicted and eat them pretty much every day.
I like Multigrain oatbran flakes cereal by Nature’s Path. It’s all organic. However, it does contain some evaporated cane juice, but it doesn’t seem to be much because the cereal is not very sweet. I like the flavor and it stays crunchy after being in milk for a while. It also comes in 32 oz size bags which means you buy less packaging.
I need to start eating brakfast
High fiber, low sugar (plain version, at least), right amount of crunchiness
Admittedly, finding a healthy yet tasty cereal is hard work! I’ve tried a lot of kinds and compared lots of different brands but I find the Kashi brand to be the best. Their Good friends cereal, Go Lean and Heart to Heart cereal are pretty good. If you want a bit more crunch, try the Go Lean Crunch. The Heart to Heart cereal is almost like cheerios but they taste a lot better and are better for you. Nature’s Path makes good cereals as well, although they are higher in calories.
I like Trader Joe’s shredded wheat