I love cereal. I know I know, shammmmeee. Don't tell anyone ;) But the truth is I do- always have, since I was a kid. I remember growing up my stepmom limited me to 2 bowls of cereal a day because I would literally consume a whole box at a time. I love all cereals- Trix, Rice Crispies, Cheerios, Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Captain Crunch. To name a few of my favorites. It is definitely my guilty pleasure.
Of course I don't consume these on a regular basis now because, HELLO- it's all crap. Seriously, cereal is pretty much one of the unhealthiest things you can consume.. which is hilarious that it boasts itself as "Part of a complete and healthy breakfast" NO. Lies. It's literally mostly simple carbs, sugar, and with regular milk- dairy! Literally all poison to our bodies. Even with the "whole grain" and "gluten free" labels, the bad ingredients FAR outweigh the good.
Now I reserve this guilty treat for times I am at friends houses that have them in their pantries. They are cheat day material for sure.
A few months ago I was really craving cereal, and started thinking- this is 2017 there HAS to be a healthier cereal option. So I started doing research and was pleased to find Cheerios had come out with a "Cheerios Protein" Oooooooooh! I said to myself and headed straight to the store to grab some.
Being the label disecting crazy that I am these days I went straight for the nutrition facts, and to my disappointment- The treat I was so looking forward to turned out to be a cruel trick. Here is what I found:
On first glance the normal person would immediately see the large 11 Grams of protein per serving! Wow! Ok!
But no, look at the fine print underneath- "with milk." Seriously!? How is this even allowed, I was infuriated. It is such BS. BS advertising by BS brands trying to appeal to people that are actually starting to care about what they are consuming. Unfortunately, the average american is not going to read labels in depth, they just trust that food companies mean what they say. I was bummed, so I flipped the box to get in to depth.
Turns out this product:
1. Only has 7 grams of protein per serving
2. Has about the same amount of carbs, sodium, fiber, and MORE calories and sugar than the regular honey nut cheerios
3. The serving size is 1/2 more than normal cereal serving size!! Sooooo.... hence more protein
Example, here are the nutrition facts of the normal Honey Nut Cheerios:
And to be fair, let's knock down the Cheerios Protein serving size to match every other cereal serving size (insert eyeroll):
Cheerios Protein
Serving Size 3/4 Cup
Calories: 126
Fat: 1.5
Sodium: 168
Carbs: 24.5
Fiber: 2.5
Sugar: 10.2
Protein: 4
So the stats are actually pretty similar, except for with the protein version you get more calories, more sugar, for only 2 more grams of protein!!! 2!!! What?! Jeez.
This is not the first time I have caught these food companies in lies. It is wrong. It is infuriating. They are preying on people that do not know better. Biggest culprits in my experience have been yogurts, and "healthy" protein or snack bars. They boast lower calories, or lower fat, but add more sugar or sodium to counteract the flavor lacking. You have to research yourself. You have to be more accountable. You can not trust the big bright labels. They will trick you- that is their job. It is brilliant marketing. and it is BS.
So look a little closer. Read the fine print. Take charge. Choose REAL healthy foods and be on the lookout for imposters. Tricks, posing as treats.
Stay healthy my friends!
xo- KL
PS: If you do want a healthy cereal option.. (Tho I've come to the sad realization that there will ALWAYS be a healthier option to fuel your body) Then look for this one that I found and enjoy:
A little more calories and carbs, but 9 grams of fiber! and 11 grams of protein... like actually in the cereal... you don't have to add milk. Imagine that. For even more protein and to cut out the dairy I use the Silk Milk Nut protein (lower sugar) That adds 10 More grams of protein!!
Oh, and it's delicious. :)