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What NOT To Have For Breakfast

May 19, 2010   28 Comments

Snack Girl has begun to receive many products and books for review on the website. If I don't like something, I usually just don't mention it - why be negative? There is so much negativity in the world!

Kashi GoLean Review

BUT, this one I had to write about, because it made me sad. I received a packaged of Kashi GoLean Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble in the mail and I thought, "Hey, cool, I already like their Kashi Roasted Vegetable Pizza and I kinda like their Kashi Crackers."

Let's start with the Healthy or Crappy Cereal test (sugar cereal):

  • Is the first ingredient whole grain? Yes! Whole grain oats.
  • Is sugar the second ingredient? Here is where the problem starts - yes - evaporated cane juice crystals (AKA sugar) is the second ingredient.
  • Is there at least 4 grams of fiber in one serving? A whopping 8 grams of fiber is listed on the box!

When I opened the box, they smelled like Fruity Pebbles. My children absolutely loved them and demanded that I buy more. So, what is my problem?

The sugar is my problem. The ingredient list is CHOCK full of sugar. Not only do you have "evaporated cane juice crystals" as the second ingredient, but you also have brown rice syrup and evaporated cane juice (listed twice more as sugar for the berries). So that means that sugar was listed FOUR TIMES in the ingredient list.

Perhaps SUGAR should be listed before whole grain oats as the first ingredient!!

Food manufacturers try to trick the label readers by hiding not only the word "sugar" but also the amounts by using different types of sugars. The names for sugar include:
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Dextrose
Corn Syrup
Honey
Sucrose
Glucose
Lactose
Maltodextrin
Molasses
Maple Syrup

But, you don't really have to know all these names. Just taste it - does it tastes really sweet? Then, there is a lot of sugar in it - no matter what the box tells you.

Why am I concerned about sugar in my breakfast cereal? Eating a lot of sugar to start you day inevitably leads to a "crash" around 10 AM where you feel exhausted and hungry.

Now, you need a snack to keep you going. If you had eaten something with complex carbohydrates and protein such as Overnight Pancakes , Soft Boiled Egg, Overnight Oatmeal, or DIY Cereal, you will last the morning and have more energy!

What to do if you love this cereal? Well, I would buy some Cheerios or other sugar-free cereal and mix it with the sugary stuff not unlike what I suggested in Cut Soda Consumption in Half. Slowly cut back on the sugar cereal until your tastes buds recognize it as WAY too sweet.

This product was received for review consideration. No other compensation was provided.

Have you ever tried Kashi GoLean Crisp?

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28 Comments:

I have found that not all Kashi products are equal. Like you, I enjoy the pizzas, but that's pretty much it. Their so called "healthy food" fails my personal test more often than not.

Great post! So very true. The regular Go Lean is about the only one without a ton of sugar. I'll add my own sugar...aka blueberries or raspberries :)

I am becoming more and more disappointed with cereal - having decided that Kellogg are the *devil*, what with their adding fake fibre and marketing sugary junk at children, I headed for a box of supermarket own-brand all-bran, and found that it had 11g of sugar per serving!!

I've given up on cereal. Well, not really, but so ar I haven't found a healthy cereal i actually like. Cheerios are great if I dump a tablespoon (or 2) of sugar on top. And I haven't found any Kashi products I thought were edible. I am a failure when it comes to health food.

I've had to compromise with a granola that has great whole grain ingredients but more sugar than ideal. Then I use that as a crunchy filler for my lowfat yogurt. But if I'm just sitting down to breakfast cereal I'll take Sugar Frosted Flakes or Capt'n Cruch with Crunch Berries every time. So I avoid breakfast cereal as much as I can... that way lies madness for me!

I have to admit that i've started to not eat cereal as much because it really gives me cravings for more carbs and it just does not satisfy me.

I love Nature's Path Flax Plus with Raisins and Pumpkin Seed!

I'll look for that one on Friday Sandra. Hope springs eternal that I'll find a healthy cereal I like!

I make homemade granola...has 1/3 cup of honey for 15 servings! I add raisins and that's it...has oats, all bran, soynuts, wheat germ, and unsweetened coconut...so yummy and so filling!

Oh no! I just bought a couple of boxes of this exact cereal for my cereal-crazy family (I can sort of take it or leave it). I used to buy things like Special K and Crispix thinking they were healthy, but have moved towards things with more whole grains. I've been pretty much just buying Kashi or Cascadian Farm cereals lately. I've been applying the Cereal Test, but I totally blew it with the sugar content. )c:

I like Kashi in general (Pizza, Red Curry Chicken, Creamy Truly Vanilla), but this cereal has *WAY* to much cereal.

Although if you look at Uncle Sam Cereal, it also is high in calories, but has virtually no sugar! What gives?!

http://www.usmillsinc.com/usmills/search.php?brand=5

I've found that when I was weighing myself everyday (just to keep track) and I WAS doing so well with exercise & eating...If I had a bowl of cereal...BAMM! the next day weight would always be 1 or 2 pound higher! PLUS, cereal always left me wanting more, AND tired...Bummmer. My body was trying to tell me something! Most recently, I have been doing a bit of food elimination, (aka no wheat, no milk, no eggs, no cheese) for a possible food allergy (already have a nut allergy and that was one reason no cereal for me)...and in just 2 weeks, with no extra exercise (actually none) I lost 10 pounds! Something about that! My diet right now only includes meat, veggies and fruit.

thanks for your blog!

I'd recommend Fiber One (only 60 calories and 14 grams of fiber)...add all the fruit (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, bananas) that you want. It will fill you up and it's so sweet (no added sugar) that you'll think you're having a dessert.

By the way, it makes for a great snack too. And, it reduces your desire for ice cream because it's so sweet.

Nope, I do not work for Fiber One. I lost 30 pounds by eating it for breakfast every day.

Ken Leebow

http://www.thepissedoffdiet.com

Since I'm new to all this my question is are Raisin bran and Kix a healthy choice?

I had to completely quit eating cereal - it's virtually impossible to eat one serving, and if you eat more than one, it's like 500 calories. Just not worth it - if I'm eating 500 extra calories, it's gonna be chocolate!

Great write-up on analyzing whether a cereal is healthy or not. Hopefully, people will be able to take what you've written here and assess other cereals in the same vein.

This is good. I'm gonna post it on my FB biz page tomorrow. I almost got taken by the new L'Oreal shampoos that are "sulfate-free" until you look at the label and see that they just substituted a bunch of other bad chemicals. I feel the same way sometimes about organics. Just because it's organic crap doesn't mean is isn't still crap or processed, etc. Thanks for digging deeper.

I have this cereral but found it really hard to chew, it is just hard! I like to throw a handful of it in yogurt and eat it, plus the yougurt softens it up some. I did not realize it had so much sugar though! Something to know! Thanks again

Kashi used to be a small, independent healthier brand until it was bought out by corporate interests who are now diluting the quality and capitalizing on the brand name to sell more processed junk.

I like the regular Kashi cereal. With plain yogurt and real berries. I tried that stuff and it was way too sugary for me.

Great tips! For more ideas on how you can take charge of your own health care, check out Whatstherealcost.org.

Uncle Sam's my favorite and has zero added sugar. Now, if I could only find the kind with the berries in it at my local supermarket:(

I agree, the Kashi Go Lean Crisp is shockingly sweet. Generally, my husband and I eat it as a snack when we are really craving something sweet. We reduce 1/4 cup and replacing it with raw walnuts or almonds. The nuts help cut down on the too sweet flavor, and even though they pack some calories and fat, they are also filling and nutrient dense.

Okay people its got what 12 grams of sugar? ahhhh scary. There is 80+ in a soda, and yogurt can contain in the 40's. But oh no! 12 grams mixed with high fiber and protein to keep it hauling through the body. I am disappointed with this review.

This is my favorite kind of cereal:

http://www.barbarasbakery.com/

:)

I eat GoLean CRUNCH every morning for breakfast...I'm afraid the verdict will be the exact same: sugar city. But i just love it so much!

Unfortunately, I agree there's a bit to much sugar in this stuff, but it IS good. (Funny I just ate it for breakfast before seeing this post) It's silly, some of their other cereals are on the bland side and could use a hint of sugar. Figures!

Tried the cereral called Fibre 1. Has NO sugar added and NO salt to boot, and of course is high in fibre. As it is a bit bland, I add fresh blueberries, rasperries etc. Also, you can add it to some plain yougert for some "crunch"...so not all cereals are bad :)

My husband and I rarely bought sugar doused cold cereal when our boys were growing up. Once in a while Kix or Sugar Pops, but mainly corn flakes, cheerios, and Rice Krispies. So many cereals have HFCS. For breakfast I usually eat protein such as eggs and fruit and/or veggies in an omelet or tofu scramble. The older I get, the less I can tolerate processed sugar. And there is diabetes and heart disease in my family which makes me less inclined to eat these products.

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