Diet Food Reviews

QuakerLife Cereal (Honey Graham)

By: Delia L | Nov 7, 2009

I was perusing the cereal aisle when I came across Quaker Honey Graham Life Cereal. The regular version of Life cereal is one of my favorites for its simple yet tasty and healthy nature, so I wanted to see how this cereal compared to the original.

The Honey Graham version looks identical to the original Life cereal, but the taste is a bit perplexing. It's hard to pinpoint the difference in taste between the two - but it's there and I would say this one is better - but only slightly.

The ingredient list for both is the same with the exception of the addition of "natural and artificial flavors" to the Honey Graham flavor. This version is crunchy and mildly sweet, but I can't quite identify the taste - not much of a honey or Graham cracker like flavor. In fact, being sweet is probably the best descriptor for this, although it's not overwhelmingly so - it just doesn't have a very interesting flavor profile (but how complex do you need your cereal to be). ... continue reading »

Quaker Golden Maple Oatmeal Squares Cereal

By: Delia L | Nov 6, 2009

I am a huge fan of the sweet yet wholesome Quaker Brown Sugar Oatmeal Squares. It's not a particularly flashy cereal, but when I saw the Golden Maple, I knew I had to try it.

These Quaker Golden Maple Oatmeal Squares are very similar in structure to the original, but with the new flavor, they have carved out their own niche. When I opened the bag inside, I could instantly smell the maple scent. It reminded me of other maple syrup-inspired cereals, but I knew this cereal was much healthier for me with whole oat flour as the main ingredient.

There is a mild sweetness but not overwhelmingly so. Because the squares are pretty thick and crunchy (did I mention ... thick), they work well with milk and have amazing crunch in the bowl, or as a snack by themselves. This is another win from Quaker

Each cup provides 210 calories, 18% of the daily value for fiber, 12 grams of sugars and 6 grams of protein. There is also a host of vitamins and minerals, most notably 90% DV iron and 100% DV folic acid. Sure there are other lower calorie cereals out there, but trust me, this one is filling, nutritious, has a sane ingredients list and can;t be beat as a snack.

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Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Honey Nut Little Bites

By: Emily W | Nov 5, 2009

While looking around for a new cereal to try out, I discovered Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats Little Bites in Honey Nut and Chocolate. However, the chocolate variety contained saturated fat, which I generally like to keep out of my breakfasts, so Honey Nut it was (plus Honey Nut makes for a great cereal). Kellogg's says this cereal is made with 100% whole grains and this "lightly sweetened whole-grain wheat cereal" is nearly half the size of regular Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal (one of my complaints about the regular one is that the size is a little too big for me).

The traditional spun wheat is shrunken into bite sized pieces (about the size of a sugar cube) and topped with a layer of sweet honey/caramel flavored icing (though some of the little bites are naked). At first, they seemed a little stale in texture; but after a few bites, the whole shredded wheat thing grew on me and I began to really enjoy them. The little woven squares soften up with a splash of milk and create a delicious bowl of breakfast with the perfect crunchy to soft ratio. On the other hand, I have grown to enjoy them on-the-go, straight from a snack-sized baggie too. ... continue reading »

Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Blueberry Muffin Cereal

By: Delia L | Nov 4, 2009

After finishing a box of Kellogg's Smart Start Strawberry Oat Bites, I was perusing the cereal aisle and saw Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Blueberry Muffin Cereal. With a rebate offer on the box, I decided it was worth a try. The Frosted Mini-Wheats Blueberry Muffin Cereal is very similar to the regular Frosted Mini-Wheats except for the added blueberry flavored coating.

I really like the mini-wheat squares cereal for their heartiness and ability to hold on to the milk when eaten together. The coloring seems a little strange on a cereal that is usually so simple, but it grew on me. I ate this more as a snack than for breakfast, and they were quite filling (the nature of the shredded wheat results in a lot of crumbs when you bite into the cereal when it's eaten as a snack). ... continue reading »

Fiber One Brown Sugar Cinnamon Toaster Pastry

By: Maggie Hagan | Nov 4, 2009

Before I ever cared about nutrition, my typical on-the-go breakfast was 2 Kellogg's Pop-Tarts and a bottle of sugary fruit juice. Today, however, I am much more conscious about calories and nutrition. Now, I try to eat something filling for breakfast that will not leave me famished within an hour. I still love my occasional sweet tarts though, and so I was excited to see that Fiber One tried to "healthyfy" them ... somewhat.

I picked up Fiber One Brown Sugar Cinnamon Toaster Pastry and couldn't help but compare the nutritional values to Kellogg's Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts. There isn't much difference nutritionally, as both have 5 grams of fiber, but Fiber One has 2 grams more sugar and 10 fewer calories, and Kellogg's has 2 grams less protein.

The ingredients are also similar except Fiber One uses whole grain wheat flour and Kellogg's uses a combination of whole wheat and enriched flour. They both use various sweeteners (corn syrup, HFCS and brown sugar).

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