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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Cereal - The Sugar Story

I read an article this morning in the Wall Street Journal about how cereal manufacturers, like General Mills, are having a hard time reducing the sugar they put in their cereals.  Much of the discussion and impetus behind reducing sugar is in response to the child obesity epidemic.  They say that their cereals are hitting a sugar threshold, kids just won't eat it the second day if it has less sugar.  For illustration, here is a chart provided in the article of how much sugar is in one serving of their cereals.  Notice that some have been reduced. 


If it takes THAT much sugar to make a cereal taste good, maybe there is something wrong with the cereal, and not the sugar??   

They go on to talk about how they use vitamins/fortified, fiber or whole grain to make the cereal "appear" more healthy.  But don't you think the bigger question is, why would you try to feed your child or yourself a tasteless, processed food that is gross in its raw state but palatable once you add tons of sugar and sodium to it?

Why not just feed your kids oatmeal with mix-ins or eggs?

[Just between you and me, maybe because General Mills doesn't sell plain oatmeal or eggs. haha]

The full article is below.


Past posting on how to make yummy oatmeal: Bring Back the Oatmeal!
Source and pictures source: WSJ: Success Is Only So Sweet in Remaking Cereals

4 comments:

julie said...

So, what's your fave healthy, cold cereal? I need an easy one to eat in the car (I eat it dry, obvs, as a bowl of milk in the car requires more skills than I have) on my way to work. Was Multi-Grain Cheerios, now it's Fiber One Frosted Wheats. Kate is trying to turn me on to Oatmeal Squares! What do yo think??

findfoodlove said...

Hi Jules! Actually, I think Oatmeal Squares is a great option! When i do eat cold cereal, I actually eat that! If you pair it with cashews, it's even better because the nutty flavor of the cashews are enhanced by the cereal (it was a creation by my Mom, haha). Hmm...but if you are eating breakfast in car, maybe you can do a hard boiled egg (put salt and pepper on top before you go), oatmeal squares and cashews combo, and a piece of apple or fruit to kind of wash it down.

Dawn said...

I'll second the Quaker Oats Oatmeal Squares. They're yummy, even without milk, and you can eat them by the handful so you don't even need a bowl. I also barely eat cereal, but it's one of the few I do buy from time to time.

I've been eating bananas in the car lately too.

Crazy how much sugar is in cereal - wow. Having a teaspoon conversion puts it all into perspective...

findfoodlove said...

Dawn, totally agree. The Quaker Oats Oatmeal Squares totally act that way, good without milk.