Quaker Simple Harvest Oatmeal (Maple Brown Sugar with Pecans) Review

(Photo Credit: Plaid Ninja)

There have been rumors of Quaker Simple Harvest products being discontinued, but I refused to believe! I really like the Quaker Simple Harvest Apples and Cinnamon Oats Cereal, and with my stockpile dwindling fast, I decided to try Quaker Simple Harvest Maple Brown Sugar with Pecans Oatmeal, which I found on sale, 2 for $5, at the drugstore.

I popped a packet of this stuff in a cup, added the requisite water, and stuck it in the microwave. When it finished cooking (and after stirring it down a couple of times), I took my first spoonful. I really liked the pecans - there are a lot in each packet, but they are small nubs, not whole pecans like you might be used to seeing or like they portray on the box. The sweetness isn't excessive, either, which is quite nice. One word of warning though: make sure to stir the oatmeal thoroughly to distribute the maple sugar flavor, otherwise it stays at the bottom - and it gets sickeningly sweet towards the end.

Quaker True Delights Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond Bar Review

(Photo Credit: Healthy and Sane)

I've heard a lot about Quaker True Delights Bars, and was drawn to them especially because one of the flavors included dark chocolate. That flavor - Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond - sounded too good to pass up, so I bought a box of five on sale for $2.50. The shtick for these granola bars is that they allow you to "indulge wholesomely."

I checked out the ingredients list and must say I was a bit surprised. Said ingredients include: whole grain rolled oats, corn syrup, semisweet chocolate chunks (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, salt, vanilla), crisp rice (rice flour, sugar, malt extract, salt), almonds, brown sugar, oligofructose, honey, dried sweetened raspberries (dried red raspberries, sugar), invert sugar, sunflower oil, glycerin, coconut oil, and 2% or less of freeze dried raspberries, corn syrup solids, fructose, sorbitol, water, sea salt, soy lecithin, cinnamon, natural and artificial flavor, vanilla extract, caramel color, natural mixed tocopherols (antioxidant), maltodextrin, whey, and sodium caseinate. That's a pretty long ingredient list for a "wholesome" product. The ingredients list for Simbree Cashew Coconut Energy Bar for example is organic rolled oats, cashew, wild blackberry honey, organic oat bran, sesame seeds, brown sugar, ground soybeans, shredded coconut and expeller pressed canola oil. Now that's what a "wholesome ingredients list looks like.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal (Original) Review

I go back and forth between oatmeal and oat bran cravings, and right now I'm in an oatmeal rut. I usually buy regular or instant oats in bulk, but sometimes I have to splurge on individual packets. Why? There's just something about them. It cooks up to have a chewier texture, it has a little bit of a saltier flavor (which I like, but can be easily covered up with any sweetener), and it has added vitamins and minerals. My favorite type of the instant stuff? Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Regular Flavor.

Quaker Instant Oatmeal is a fantastic snack or meal because it offers a lot of filling protein and fiber for relatively few calories. What toppings do you put on your oatmeal? I usually just add a dash of cinnamon to mine, and maybe some apples if I have it on hand.

Each packet of Quaker Instant Oatmeal (Regular) provides a convenient, portable, portion-controlled 100 calories, 2 grams of fat (no saturated or trans), 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, and daily values of 20% for vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, and folic acid plus 40% for iron.

Quaker Mini Delights Chocolatey Drizzle Review

Quaker was so confident that their "rice and multigrain snacks are satisfyingly delicious" that they sent out free samples of Quaker Mini Delights Chocolatey Drizzle. When I heard about this offer, I put in my name right away - not only do I love free things, but I can't pass up free chocolate-flavored goodies.

My Mini Delights bite sized multigrain cakes, each was about the size of a quarter, were drizzled with chocolate and packed a satisfying crunch. The multigrain flavor wasn't cardboard-y like some other whole grain snacks, and the chocolate flavor was good.

Each small 20 gram bag has 90 calories, 3.5 grams of total fat, all of which is saturated fat - 16% of the daily value. There is also 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 1 gram of protein.

Scanning the ingredient list, I did notice partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil and hydrogenated palm oil, which is too bad because the other ingredients are fairly decent.

Quaker Oats Granola Bites (Peanut Flavor) Review

I am a huge fan of granola, however, my love for granola can sometimes be a bit problematic since 1/2 cup usually delivers 200 calories, (e.g. Bear Naked Blueberry Walnut Peak Protein Granola). So I got pretty excited when I saw that Quaker Oats had come up with a portion controlled size. I went through a phase when I would sprinkle Quaker Natural Granola - Oats and Honey flavor in my yogurt so I was optimistic about the Quaker Oats Peanut Granola Bites.

The bite of granola is a small ball about the circumference of a dime. The ball is basically the granola (oats, puffed cereal) dipped into a peanut butter coating. The texture brings a nice crunch but oh my goodness they are so sweet ... the fake kind of sweet that requires a huge gulp of water afterward. This would probably work well in a thick Greek yogurt that most people would want to sweeten anyway, but on it's own - too much sweetness for me!

The serving size is one bag which is about 20 small bites which provides 90 calories, 6% of the daily value for total fat, 2 grams of protein, 6 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber (7% of the DV). There is not much in the way of vitamins or minerals.

Quaker Oats Granola Bites (Peanut Flavor) Review

I am a huge fan of granola, however, my love for granola can sometimes be a bit problematic since 1/2 cup usually delivers 200 calories, (e.g. Bear Naked Blueberry Walnut Peak Protein Granola). So I got pretty excited when I saw that Quaker Oats had come up with a portion controlled size. I went through a phase when I would sprinkle Quaker Natural Granola - Oats and Honey flavor in my yogurt so I was optimistic about the Quaker Oats Peanut Granola Bites.

The bite of granola is a small ball about the circumference of a dime. The ball is basically the granola (oats, puffed cereal) dipped into a peanut butter coating. The texture brings a nice crunch but oh my goodness they are so sweet ... the fake kind of sweet that requires a huge gulp of water afterward. This would probably work well in a thick Greek yogurt that most people would want to sweeten anyway, but on it's own - too much sweetness for me!

The serving size is one bag which is about 20 small bites which provides 90 calories, 6% of the daily value for total fat, 2 grams of protein, 6 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber (7% of the DV). There is not much in the way of vitamins or minerals.