Breakfast of BBs
Guess who cares what I think: Kellogg’s. Really. I’m not kidding. They actually asked me to try two of their high fiber cereals and report to you, my loyal readers, what I thought of them (see: one more benefit to being over 40!). And I thought: boy, are they brave! Have they ever read this blog?
Let me start by admitting that I’ve always loved cereal (and serial killers, but that’s another story). Growing up, cereal was our main breakfast choice, given there were six kids and only one Mom. Our usual selection, though, was usually limited to the basics: Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Cheerios and Rice Krispies. It is merely a coincidence that two of the three were from the same company that’s asked for my opinion. Unless, of course, Rupert Murdock was hacking into our phone conversations back in the 50s and 60s and learned of my proclivity . . . but, I digress.
Yes, we got Sugar Pops sometimes, and Frosted Flakes, Trix and Lucky Charms, too. (Cereal with candy in it! What a revolutionary idea!) As expected, the sugary, sweet cereals were the first to be eaten. My brother, Vincent, even added sugar – not quite sufficiently stimulative for him, as packaged. One time I even saved my allowance (25 cents a week, was it?) to buy my own Cap’t Crunch. . . and hated it. What a waste of weeks of savings.
But, getting back to the actual task at hand. Cereal taste testing. Another disclosure: nowadays, when I buy cereal, I only buy shredded wheat – which I love. But I don’t even buy that very much for one simple reason: I’m Atkins-enamored. Or, more accurately, I’ve been adhering to the low-carb Atkins lifestyle for over two decades.
Both of the Fiber Plus cereals Kellogg sent me – Cinnamon Oat Crunch (a Cheerios-like cereal) and Berry Yogurt Crunch (flakes and “berry and yogurt flavored clusters”) – were actually not bad in terms of carb count. And they had about 10 grams of fiber each. The Oat Crunch (which listed a serving as 3/4 but I’ve calculated it up to a cup – who eats 3/4 of a cup of cereal?) has 22.6 grams of net carbs. Not bad. And I liked them. They’re a little puffed up with air and tend to get mushy if you don’t eat them quickly, but I’d buy them. If I ate cereal.
But, get this: the regular Cheerios only have 17 net grams of carbs. Honey Nut Cheerios has 20. Less fiber, sure, but I digress.
The Berry Yogurt Crunch (which did estimate a one cup serving) were really good – and a lot more carbs: 33. But still not bad by cereal standards. And I actually liked them better than the Cinnamon thingys. More substantial (Gary claims the cinnamon ones were all air – though he just ate two bowls of them).
But here’s the thing: how do we judge what’s good and what’s bad? For me, carbs bad. For others, fat bad. Fiber good, but how good? Trans fat? HFC? Sodium? Ugh. too much to think about. Personally, a great breakfast for me is four strips of bacon. Keeps me satisfied for hours (unlike those two bowls of cereal Gary had – which he followed with a third bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch) and they can be eaten in the car.
Now, if they could make a bacon cereal. . . .
* Just to show this is all above board, let me state: I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. #FiberPlus
To find out the nutritional data on virtually any cereal, visit http://www.acaloriecounter.com/breakfast-cereal.php
Tags: asking my opinion, Atkins diet, Babedom, beyond babedom, breakfast, cereal, eating habits, how do you judge a cereal, is high fiber good for you, men over 40, what cereals are best, women over 40
