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Belvita: A New Breakfast Biscuit From Nabisco

March 20, 2012   70 Comments

Have you noticed these at the end of the aisle as you cruise the outer edge of the supermarket? They are hard to miss.

Belvita Breakfast Biscuit Review

belVita is a new kind of breakfast offering from Nabisco/Kraft and I have received many requests for a review. For example this question came from B.:

I have decided to be more healthier and make an effort to set a good example for my son. Because I have a son, I'm always on the go - I recently saw a commercial for breakfast biscuits called belVita.

I have only bought one box and have been bringing it for the ride to work. They are very delicious but I feel like it might be too good to be true. Can you do a review on this product and explain the nutritional side a little bit more?

First of all, I hear you on wanting to be a good example. And, when you are running around - this can be super difficult.

I know many people who are eating their breakfast on the ride to work to save time and that is why belVita seems like such a good option. But, I do think you should trust your instincts on this because I believe they are too good to be true.

The front of the box promises "nutritious sustained energy" and they are "specially baked to release energy regularly and continuously in your body". Wow, that is amazing! Who wouldn't want that? B., I bought a box too!

A clue to what these actually are is on the box! Check out this photo from a low corner:

cookieaisle

Ahem, the cookie aisle? What? Seems like these should be in the nutritious breakfast aisle. Here is the nutrition information for a package (4 bars = one serving):

230 calories, 8 g fat, 36 g carbohydrates, 13 g, sugar, 3 g protein, 3 g fiber, 170 mg sodium, 6 Points+

INGREDIENTS: WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, ENRICHED FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID], SUGAR, HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL, WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, WHOLE GRAIN RYE FLOUR, DRIED APPLES, BAKING SODA, DISODIUM PYROPHOSPHATE, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, DATEM, CARAMEL COLOR, CINNAMON, NATURAL FLAVOR, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE (IRON), NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1). CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.

What is good about them is that they have 20g of whole grain per serving - which is great for a breakfast bar. What is a problem is the amount of sugar - which is about 3 teaspoons per serving.

Picture spooning THREE teaspoons of sugar into your mouth in the morning. Of course, the sweetness is what makes them taste good.

I decided to get out the old "Healthy or Crappy Cereal Test" to help us evaluate whether we should be eating belVita biscuits for breakfast. In my opinion it is very close to a packaged cereal in that it is a baked whole grain breakfast option.

Healthy or Crappy Cereal Test

1. Is the first ingredient whole grain? Yes! The first ingredient is whole grain wheat flour.
2. Is there 5 grams or less of sugar per serving? No! There is 13 grams of sugar per serving (yikes).
3. One serving must provides at least 4 grams of fiber. You can remember this one with Four Fiber. No! It has 3 grams of fiber.

BUZZZZZZZZ. So, the belVita bars FAILED the test.

Since I wrote this post I have written a more recent one entitled The Opposite of a Healthy Breakfast.

Check out a great list of healthy breakfast snacks and make a better choice. It isn’t hard!

Please share your "GRAB AND GO" healthy breakfast ideas,

Other posts you might like:

Healthy Breakfast Snacks

Healthy Breakfast Snacks

Breakfast is the meal that can throw you off course for an entire day – but not if you eat these healthy breakfast snacks....

Belvita Review

The Opposite of a Healthy Breakfast: Belvita

Would anyone suggest that eating a pack of Oreos is a healthy breakfast?...

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 70 )

I love LaraBars! The sugar content is a little high, but it's almost all natural sugar from dates. There are so few ingredients that I sometime make my own knock off versions at home- the bars get expensive. Do you endorse these too, snack girl? Also- an apple and a handful of pistachios works for me :-)

I'm a Weight Watchers leader, so I'm always on the 'look out' for new foods. I looked at these in the COOKIE aisle, saw the PointsPlus™ value.....and kept right on walking. A banana and container of yogurt works for me when I'm in a hurry. :-)

I love your articles, I'll be sure not to buy them!!! I never buy those type of things, I like to make my one, at least I can pronounce the ingredients in my cookies! have a great day and thanks for the review, it's good to know!!

I make my own Larabars like the commenter above....chocolatecoveredkatie.com has a great and easy recipe. I pop 2 of these right before a workout. I also like to make a smoothie before I head out in the morning....it's easy, it's portable, and I get everything I need in it! The only downside is cleaning out the cup after being in the car all day! :P

Sadness. I actually had a cookie in my mouth while checking my email. Thank you for the review - and I reminder that I have to do better at checking labels and not just believing the packaging. :(

Wow, great review! I like your Healthy or Crappy Cereal Test. I'll be using that one!

I'm so glad I didn't fall for the hype either. Just the work cookie made me wonder, especially when it said they gave you all morning energy. I thought sugar right away. I'd much rather do some good ole chewing rather than slamming a cookie in my mouth. The cereal, cheese stick and an apple is much more appealing, plus an apple a day keeps the Dr away.

I love your Healthy or Crappy Cereal Test -- I've never heard of that before. Thanks for another great post!

http://collegecookingandironchefamerica.blogspot.com/

Well, guess I'll be giving away the box on my desk!

I love your Healthy or Crappy Cereal Test. I saw these bars just this weekend at the store. Glad I didn't buy them.

I love the Kashi Honey Almond Flax chewy granola bars and I am very happy to report they pass the Healthy or Crappy Test!!

Thanks for the article! If I'm in a hurry and have to eat in the car, I make a smoothie or baked oatmeal. I make the yummy recipe from this site almost weekly and keep it in the fridge. It's a tasty and satisfying snack or meal.

Bummed since I just purchased these the other week. I was suffering from morning sickness so the carbs helped me feel better. I'll keep them around as a snack, but they definitely won't replace my cereal in the morning.

If the SECOND ingredient is enriched flour, then how are these "100% Whole Grain" as snackgirl wrote as the good news about these? I'm sure they are "mostly" whole grain but not 100%. Do these have whole grain council stamp on them? If so, how many actual grams of whole grain are present?

@Jason - thanks for catching my mistake - it seems that my eyes get a bit blurry when I look at these boxes. There are 20 g of whole grain per serving and they do have a whole grain council stamp - but they are not 100% whole grain. Thanks again!

I love LaraBars. I have been trying them 3-4 breakfasts per week,a different bar each time. I am AMAZED at what these folks can do with dates, some nuts, other fruits (or juice)and salt! So far my faves are Cherry Pie and Key Lime Pie. I had the Peanut Butter and Jelly this morning and it tasted and smelled like the sandwich! These are natural ingredients with nothing you cannot pronounce. The carbs/sugars are from fruit and the fat from nuts. And one bar can sustain me comfortably til lunch (~4 hrs +).

Snack Girl, I'm curious if you can comment on this as stats can sometimes confuse me. A serving of my plain, low-fat yogurt (which I thought was a great option over the sweetened kind) has 12 grams of sugar which is about the same as this breakfast bar = 3 tsp. So, would non-fat, plain yogurt also be a bad choice for breakfast or are the sugars in the yogurt different from this breakfast bar? The also just noticed that the yogurt actually has more sugars than my favorite sweetened cereal? I'm so confused.

Hey Snack Girl! Here in Latin America Belvita lent its name to Nabisco's Hony (no, it's not a typo) Bran and Kraker Bran crackers. I always buy the Kraker ones, because the Hony are waaayy too sweet - the Kraker have 120 calories and 1 gram of sugar, while the Hony have 10 more calories, and...7 grams of sugar! (and I'm not sure that includes the "Hony"). Greetings from Venezuela!

I have found that it is much easier to do protein shakes when I am on the run in the morning. Arbonne's shakes are 160 calories with 20 grams of protein along with 20 other essential vitamins.

I saw a woman giving away free samples, opposite the cookie island. Being a mindful WW lifetimeer, I pulled out my calculator and was shocked. The woman said "too many pts?"Certainly were. I'll never buy this product.

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