Flakes, Squares and Granola
Posted by Dorothy Krupnick August 28, 2014Since we are going to be on the subject of granolas: I like to have a basic low fat granola type recipe on hand like a Muesli with dried fruit and seeds. Drying fruit like pears in an oven for 2-3 hours at 250 degrees allows pears to increase natural sugars and is wonderful added to a oat blend muesli. Take 3 pears peel and cut, slice into thin slices and place on a rack over a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours. Cool at room temperature overnight and store in a plastic container for 2-3 days and add them to the cereal when ready. Here is the recipe:
- 3 cups of quick cook or rolled oats
- 3 teaspoons of sunflower seeds or pepitas
- 3 teaspoons of chopped walnuts
- 3 teaspoons of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 tablespoons of dried currants, raisins or cranberries
- 1 teaspoon of dried lemon peel
- one sliced dried pear
Mix together in an airtight container. Serves 2.
As the cereal aisle is getting bigger, the boxes are getting smaller. There are so many product choices for breakfast cereal so I thought I would choose the ones which are a great choice for your family. These picks are low in sodium and sugars but long on taste.
So get your milk ready or soy and lets explore quickly a few labels which I think are worth noting. First, remember where sugar is on the label. We like fourth position. The dietary sugars are the added sugar to the product. Total carbohydrate means the starch in the product like the grain itself.
Quaker Oats seems to get an applause for low sugars and low sodium . In the squares category, looking at your serving size is the first step. In thiscase, 1 cup which is a good serving. is 210 calories per cup , 5 gms of fiber with 9 gms of sugar. Sugar is the 4th ingredient (we like that) with 190 mg of sodium. A good nutritional deal!
Mix together in an airtight container.
I was really impressed with another oldie but goodie- LIFE cereal. At 120 calories per 1 cup, 160 mg of sodium, 6 gms of sugar . The fiber was low at 2 grams of fiber but adding some bran or oatmeal to the cereal will boost fiber. Keeping sugar low at our first meal is always a healthier approach.
Next on the list is Cheerios. We will start with the un-sweet version. Coming in at 190 Kcals with milk and 1 gram of sugar you cannot beat this cereal for healthy eating . Realize you can add fruit and some raisins and still be a great choice for diabetic at 2/3 cup serving. A great pantry staple, this cereal will not raise blood sugars as mush with higher fiber and less sugar. Heart Healthy as they say on the box and very low fat.
Now for granolas for they come in all shapes and sizes. We will start with a favorite of mine which is Post Great Grains.
A granola with less fat, I like the whole line of Post’s great grains. 250 kcals for 1 cup with 8 gms of sugar per cup . There is a higher fat content inGranola. Granola has nutsin the mix which are good monounsaturated fats and contribute to the calories. In Great Grains we have 6 gms of fat or aproximately 50 kcals from fat per serving. This is a good deal.
Nature Valley Pumpkin and Flax granola has a low sodium content of 45 mg per serving, lower fat content than most granolas, and 10 grams of sugar per 3/4cup serving. Once again, calories will be higher with granola at 240 kcals per 3/4 cup , 300 calories with milk.
I was impressed with the taste and content of Honey Bunches of Oats product. At 170 kcals with milk with 20 kcals from fat, 135 mgs of sodium and 6 gms of sugar per serving. I would nominate this cereal as a very good product hitting all bases.
FlakesRaisin Bran
This is a carbohydrate and sugar landmine and we need to determine the pick for healthy eating as well as providing enough for that last spoonful of cereal in the bowl! So I went with the health food store products now readily available in all supermarkets. Uncle Sam cup serving at 190 calories , sodium is low at 120 mg, and dietary sugars 8 gms with 6 grams of protein. This is a tasty cereal with the sugar coming from the raisins and a subtle sweetness from the flakes. A low sugar, sodium and low fat product.
Lastly, this would not be a fair review without including the BIG Three in Raisin Brans. We must restrict the serving size to keep sugar intake lower- sorry! So Kellogg’s Raisin Bran with an abundance of raisins (they are not kidding -there are two scoops per serving!) as a 6 oz serving ( one box serving) adds up to 140 calories, 150 mg of sodium and 13 gms of sugar. So I hope you will try these cereals and love to hear your thoughts!
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