Cereals

Mayoegian

Hi!

I'm wondering what are the best cereals out there. I thought Special K was good, but now I'm of the opinion it's just a marketing gimmick after reading some articles about it! I thought Corn Flakes were a healthy option, but I read somewhere that it contains more salt than a bag of Walkers crisps!:eek:

So what are the best cereals on the market? Also, just a quick little Q! I have an addiction to.....Coco Pops!:D Are these bad for me? Is there a lot of sugar in them?

Thanking you in advance!:)

Ciaran500

MaighEoGoDeo wrote: »

Hi!

I'm wondering what are the best cereals out there. I thought Special K was good, but now I'm of the opinion it's just a marketing gimmick after reading some articles about it! I thought Corn Flakes were a healthy option, but I read somewhere that it contains more salt than a bag of Walkers crisps!:eek:

So what are the best cereals on the market? Also, just a quick little Q! I have an addiction to.....Coco Pops!:D Are these bad for me? Is there a lot of sugar in them?

Thanking you in advance!:)

There are almost no cereals from the big providers that don't have salt and sugar added, avoid them all if you want to eat healthy. Shredded wheat is the only cereal that comes to mind without any sugar or salt. Porridge and sugar free musili are the only healthy cereals I managed to find when changing my diet. My breakfast normally consists of some scrambled eggs or a large bowl of porridge.

EDIT: A bowl of Coco pops has about the same amount of sugar as a 250ml bottle of coke. ~25g

Transform

oats oats and more oats

Melia

Weetabix and Oatibix aren't bad, but not as good as porridge or eggs.

Sapsorrow

Sugar free porridge and muesli are the only really heathy breakfast cereals. Never eat anything thats referred to as a 'slurry' at anypoint.
In europe they eat muesli with grated apples, berries and yoghurt and it's gorgeous.

EileenG

Porridge is the best cereal, but only if you don't add sugar or honey etc. One experiement in the Young Scientists show was about measuring the GI of foods. Porridge was very low, but porridge with milk or syrup added was pretty hight.

Failing that, some genuinely sugar-free muesli would be good, but that means no banana chips or dried apples or things like that.

Anything with honey in the name is full of sugar. I mean, obscene amounts of sugar.

corkcomp

ive never heard of sugar free muesli, only no added sugar muesli. muesli will have sugar present if it has dried fruits etc, but some muesli has sugar added ON TOP of the natual sugars. the op didnt say she wanted to lose weight or anything, just find a healthy breakfast so IMO muesli fits the bill there

ForeverYoung90

you cant beat a bowl of cheerios..healthy and delicious!

Sapsorrow

corkcomp wrote: »

ive never heard of sugar free muesli, only no added sugar muesli.

You know what was meant though thats just pickin nits! :rolleyes: You can make your own muesli easily and omit the fruit if you could be arsed wouldn't be a very exciting eating experience though. A few raisins isn't going to hurt anyone anyway.

KatCookie

I know I shouldnt eat the "bad" cereals either. My general rule is that if a cereal tatses sweet enough not to need added sugar, it is too sugary. therefore I dont eat them.

I know my logic is flawed- Really, I should not be eating Rice Crispies or Corn Flakes, but from my experience, for me, they provide more long lasting energy than Cheerios or Coco Pops.

They are the lesser of two evils if you will...

Sapsorrow

KatCookie wrote: »

I know I shouldnt eat the "bad" cereals either. My general rule is that if a cereal tatses sweet enough not to need added sugar, it is too sugary. therefore I dont eat them.

I know my logic is flawed- Really, I should not be eating Rice Crispies or Corn Flakes, but from my experience, for me, they provide more long lasting energy than Cheerios or Coco Pops.

They are the lesser of two evils if you will...

Ah ya whatever works for you yourself and it is the lesser evil! It's up to yourself how healthy you want it to be afterall

corkcomp

khrystyna100 wrote: »

You know what was meant though thats just pickin nits! :rolleyes: You can make your own muesli easily and omit the fruit if you could be arsed wouldn't be a very exciting eating experience though. A few raisins isn't going to hurt anyone anyway.

NO, as a matter of fact it wasnt nit picking at all (have you nothing better to do :rolleyes:), Im pretty sure eileen was refering to sugar free rather than no added sugar. It was pointed out that it shouldnt contain dried fruit and IMO dried fruit is not a problem, as you mentioned yourself above.

Transform

corkcomp wrote: »

NO, as a matter of fact it wasnt nit picking at all (have you nothing better to do :rolleyes:), Im pretty sure eileen was refering to sugar free rather than no added sugar. It was pointed out that it shouldnt contain dried fruit and IMO dried fruit is not a problem, as you mentioned yourself above.

agreed

EileenG

I've seen muesli on sale that claimed to be sugar-free, but then boasted about have 47% dried fruit.

EileenG

I've seen muesli on sale that claimed to be sugar-free, but then boasted about have 47% dried fruit. At that point, it's not so much muesli, as fruit cake without the liquid.

Sapsorrow

EileenG wrote: »

I've seen muesli on sale that claimed to be sugar-free, but then boasted about have 47% dried fruit. At that point, it's not so much muesli, as fruit cake without the liquid.

Woa seriously? That'd be manky!

KatCookie

khrystyna100 wrote: »

Ah ya whatever works for you yourself and it is the lesser evil! It's up to yourself how healthy you want it to be afterall

Thanks!.. i think..
I could be healthier and eat porridge every day, but Rice Crispies and a weetabix suits me and my digestive system just fine.
They way i see it, i could eat a lot unhealthier!

Sapsorrow

KatCookie wrote: »

They way i see it, i could eat a lot unhealthier!

Damn right remember lucky charms!? It was like pick and mix with milk thrown in :eek:

Clare Bear

ForeverYoung90 wrote: »

you cant beat a bowl of cheerios..healthy and delicious!

You sure about that? Cheerios are so nice they have to be saturated in sugar!

Thankfully I love porridge and have it every morning, sets me up for the day. I hate when I see friends swear by Special K, such a gimmick.

Melia

ForeverYoung90 wrote: »

you cant beat a bowl of cheerios..healthy and delicious!

They're 21.3% sugar. That's more than a fifth!

corkcomp

Clare Bear wrote: »

You sure about that? Cheerios are so nice they have to be saturated in sugar!

Thankfully I love porridge and have it every morning, sets me up for the day. I hate when I see friends swear by Special K, such a gimmick.

dont feed the troll people! i cant imagine he / she was serious about cheerios being healthy.

Michael B

corkcomp wrote: »

dont feed the troll people! i cant imagine he / she was serious about cheerios being healthy.

You'd be suprised how many people believe Cheerios are healthy!

Transform

Clare Bear wrote: »

You sure about that? Cheerios are so nice they have to be saturated in sugar!

Thankfully I love porridge and have it every morning, sets me up for the day. I hate when I see friends swear by Special K, such a gimmick.

agreed and total muck

wheatabix and rice crispies v's coco pops is just swaping methadone for heroin. Yes its not as bad as pop tarts but not what i would recommend at all

rubadub

Michael B wrote: »

You'd be suprised how many people believe Cheerios are healthy!

+1, the ads go on about being wholegrain etc, and people believe this to mean they are "healthy"

MaighEoGoDeo wrote: »

I have an addiction to.....Coco Pops!:D Are these bad for me? Is there a lot of sugar in them?

There is no secret, all the info (e.g. how much sugar) is on the side of the pack, read the small print and ignore the adverts. Ignore the miniscule portions they quote and weight your food.

Transform wrote: »

wheatabix and rice crispies v's coco pops is just swaping methadone for heroin.

+1 although weetabix are the best of that bad bunch -I am surprised it is not advertised more since it is a lot better than most of the ones overly claimed to be healthy (like branflakes & special k). But if I am going to eat junk I do not fool myself about it. I would sooner give a kid a bowl of porridge & a mini mars than coco pops.

Pembily

Healthy is relative though!!!

My brother loves cheerios and is fit and healthy... Me on the other hand know they are shockingly bad but the way he sees it cheerios are WAY WAY better than a fry that the rest on the building site have

WindSock

Whats the best way to make plain porridge? Do you just pour boiling water in and stir? Or bung it in the microwave? Or on the stove?

Kipling

WindSock

Never had the 2nd one but Start is quite sweet. I'd imagine it is not very healthy.

Haven't had it in years. Want some now.

Transform

Kipling wrote: »

wow - muck and muck.

Anytime you hear the words 'fortified with vitamins and minerals' you should put it down gently and walk away

rubadub

WindSock wrote: »

Whats the best way to make plain porridge? Do you just pour boiling water in and stir? Or bung it in the microwave? Or on the stove?

Microwave porridge is a scam, you can cook any in a microwave, the problem is it can sometimes bubble up with massive bubbles which sort of blow it all out. Trick is to let it soak overnight in the bowl in the fridge, then it microwaves better. I do not bother with a pot since it is more cleaning -actually I have not made porridge in a few years I think. There is no need to cook it at all, I just have it with cold milk -museli is nothing but porridge oats & fruit & nuts. If you have overly sweet museli you can just dilute it with more oats. I also make pancakes with the oats.

Transform wrote: »

Anytime you hear the words 'fortified with vitamins and minerals' you should put it down gently and walk away

Its a strange scam that they still get away with, people would laugh at the idea of a mars bar or pizza "fortified with vitamins & iron", yet they still fall for this crap.

That "multigrain" start

Cereal Flours (Whole Wheat, Maize, Whole Oat), Glucose Syrup, Brown Sugar (Sugar, Molasses), Barley Malt, Salt, Honey, Maize Germ Oil, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12.

"Multisugar" is a more appropriate name! there are 5 names for sugar in bold, and only 3 grains. 26% sugar.

Transform

rubadub wrote: »

Microwave porridge is a scam, you can cook any in a microwave, the problem is it can sometimes bubble up with massive bubbles which sort of blow it all out. Trick is to let it soak overnight in the bowl in the fridge, then it microwaves better. I do not bother with a pot since it is more cleaning -actually I have not made porridge in a few years I think. There is no need to cook it at all, I just have it with cold milk -museli is nothing but porridge oats & fruit & nuts. If you have overly sweet museli you can just dilute it with more oats. I also make pancakes with the oats.


Its a strange scam that they still get away with, people would laugh at the idea of a mars bar or pizza "fortified with vitamins & iron", yet they still fall for this crap.

That "multigrain" start



"Multisugar" is a more appropriate name! there are 5 names for sugar in bold, and only 3 grains. 26% sugar.

great breakdown man!

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Pembily

Iolar wrote: »

What kind of Porridge you recommend so?

Any kind you find in the shop!! I have eaten organic porridge, flahavans, odlums and Aldi and don't notice any different but others here do have favourites - if you want - cheapest!!! Trial and error, they are all oats!!!

Piste

I am a recent porridge convert! Granted I eat it with half milk and half water, and with a teaspoon of maple syrup so I'm not as "pure" are most of the long-term porridge-eaters, but I'll try to wean myself off the milk, or maybe start getting in supermilk. I try to rationalise it by telling myself I need sugar in the morning (I get cold, faint and shaky some mornings, possibly very mild hypoglycaemia) so I usually end up downing some juice to get some sugar into me, so maybe the milk and maple syrup will do me more good than harm. It's better than sugar too (ok only 3 calories better- sugar is 16 calories per tsp and maple syrup is 13 calories per tsp. Maple syrup also ads a gorgeous depth of flavour as well as sweetness.

Ciaran500

Nothing wrong with having milk with porridge, adds a bit of protein. I wouldn't be particularly worried about the maple syrup either, that much has about 5g of sugar in it.

WindSock

Phew. That's good to know that it is OK to have a little milk & syrup in porridge

xoxyx

The Shredded Wheat Bitesize with raisins is pretty tasty. Am I right in thinking there must be something bad added to it? (Surely a few raisins is nothing terrible, but it just tastes too good to be wholesome!)

metamorphosis

z_topaz wrote: »

The Shredded Wheat Bitesize with raisins is pretty tasty. Am I right in thinking there must be something bad added to it? (Surely a few raisins is nothing terrible, but it just tastes too good to be wholesome!)

http://www.cerealpartners.co.uk/brands/shredded-wheat-fruitful.aspx

Is that the one?

LeahK

Milk with porridge is the right way to have it...so creamy and warm.(lowfat milk i might add) No point in eating something if it tastes vile and IMO porridge made with water is GACK...bluughhh.

some day we'll all be calcium deficient and have rickets :eek:! Long live milk!

Edit : Porridge is by far the best breakfast..keep you full for sooo long!

xoxyx

ULstudent wrote: »

http://www.cerealpartners.co.uk/brands/shredded-wheat-fruitful.aspx

Is that the one?

No, it's just little mini shredded wheats with a single raisin inside each one.
Sounds kinda cute when you say it like that.

ronaneire

For me it has to be porridge and some Sun Maid California raisins.

cleremy jarkson

Nuttella on white bread toast, A bowl of frosties and a glass of Libby's orange C...far healthier than any porridge and coincidently nicer

corkcomp

cleremy jarkson wrote: »

Nuttella on white bread toast, A bowl of frosties and a glass of Libby's orange C...far healthier than any porridge and coincidently nicer

the ammount of trolling on here since the technical glitches is getting silly now :mad:

cleremy jarkson

corkcomp wrote: »

the ammount of trolling on here since the technical glitches is getting silly now :mad:

But the nutella releases energy slowly with its nuts, the frosties have added calcium and the libbys orange c might be sugary but it has vitamin c

porridge just has smelly oats in it

Ciaran500

cleremy jarkson wrote: »

But the nutella releases energy slowly with its nuts, the frosties have added calcium and the libbys orange c might be sugary but it has vitamin c

porridge just has smelly oats in it

With the amount of posting you've been doing in here I'm starting to wonder if you were serious with this.

Nutella's main ingredients are sugar and and vegetable oil, also the white bread from your earlier post should be in no ones diet.
Frosties are Corn Flakes (already well know for having way too much sugar and salt) with added sugar. Each bowl has about as much sugar as a bottle of coke.
Libbys isn't that bad, but there are better sources of Vitamin C than concentrated fruit drinks.

corkcomp

if you dont feed the troll, people he will eventually disappear :pac:

jobless

im a recent convert to porrdge too(never thought id see the day )....and have to admit it makes me feel a ton better and less hungry throughout the morning...

i'm curious about people that say they make it the night before and leave it in thr fridge... can you do this with milk added? and then microwave the next day?... whats the difference doing it this way?

i normally throw some youghurt in it to add some taste but am curious to hear what others add!

Pembily

jobless wrote: »

im a recent convert to porrdge too(never thought id see the day )....and have to admit it makes me feel a ton better and less hungry throughout the morning...

i'm curious about people that say they make it the night before and leave it in thr fridge... can you do this with milk added? and then microwave the next day?... whats the difference doing it this way?

i normally throw some youghurt in it to add some taste but am curious to hear what others add!

I use milk and porridge and due to living in an old unisulated house the kitchen is like a fridge and I always (unless the heat is working) leave it out and never a problem!!! Defo safe in the fridge!!! I am loving peanut butter in mine

Pembily

Ciaran500 wrote: »

With the amount of posting you've been doing in here I'm starting to wonder if you were serious with this.

Nutella's main ingredients are sugar and and vegetable oil, also the white bread from your earlier post should be in no ones diet.
Frosties are Corn Flakes (already well know for having way too much sugar and salt) with added sugar. Each bowl has about as much sugar as a bottle of coke.
Libbys isn't that bad, but there are better sources of Vitamin C than concentrated fruit drinks.

In his defence (yes realise he is trolling but want to make the point) the nutella ad does say its a great way to start the day and a great brekkie with calcium and protein that slowly relase the energy - so point is if you believe advertising you are buggered!!!!

rubadub

jobless wrote: »

i'm curious about people that say they make it the night before and leave it in thr fridge... can you do this with milk added? and then microwave the next day?... whats the difference doing it this way?

It is like people leaving pancake batter overnight in the fridge, the flour absorbs the liquid better resulting in smoother pancakes. With porridge I find it can explode or overflow the bowl in the microwave, if the oats are well hydrated before hand they seem to microwave better and more evenly. I would keep an eye on it in the microwave, I go full for 30s, stir, then go higher again, then when hot enough I might leave it on the lowest setting for a few mins and leave it be.

Dunno if the other lad is trolling or not, I have heard much odder things from mates of mine who were deadly serious -my mate would eat entire packs of "go-ahead biscuits" thinking they were like lettuce or something. Another poster knew a woman who thought the more lean cuisine meals she ate the thinner she would get. Ignorance is rife, especially with sleazy salesmen/marketers about.

Pembily

rubadub wrote: »

It is like people leaving pancake batter overnight in the fridge, the flour absorbs the liquid better resulting in smoother pancakes. With porridge I find it can explode or overflow the bowl in the microwave, if the oats are well hydrated before hand they seem to microwave better and more evenly. I would keep an eye on it in the microwave, I go full for 30s, stir, then go higher again, then when hot enough I might leave it on the lowest setting for a few mins and leave it be.

I left mine made in the fridge for 2 days - made Wednesday night for Thrusday but didn't go to college so had a fry :eek: and had the porridge today and I reackon it tastes way nicer (now I was very hungry) but think it was nicer and not sour or anything!!

rubadub wrote: »

Dunno if the other lad is trolling or not, I have heard much odder things from mates of mine who were deadly serious -my mate would eat entire packs of "go-ahead biscuits" thinking they were like lettuce or something. Another poster knew a woman who thought the more lean cuisine meals she ate the thinner she would get. Ignorance is rife, especially with sleazy salesmen/marketers about.

Ignorance to some of them is bliss!!!! Sure a dietitacian (sp?) with degrees and all put me eating white bread daily to improve my diet. Was into her about a stomach ulcer and she put me on white bread!!!! Said it was better than brown homemade soda... She had the degree, I was 17 so I belived her :mad: