Breakfast cereal sugar/fat content.........I'm gobsmacked!!

[neil_merseyside]

Cereal is possibly the worst breakfast you can have, nutritionally speaking.
Have you ever weighed out what they consider to be a portion? I did, it was about a third of a typical bowl full in our house.

This is why I'm the shape I am (or was) I could easily do a quarter of a box of muesli, around 1000 calories without the milk!
I actually struggle to find something filling to start the day, eggs are better than porridge for me, but I'd love to find something filling that is calorie light as I'm such a pig.

 

[Over The Hill]

Cereal is possibly the worst breakfast you can have, nutritionally speaking.
Have you ever weighed out what they consider to be a portion? I did, it was about a third of a typical bowl full in our house.

Can you suggest something better then?
I think you will struggle.

It is pointless going by the portion amounts - just look at everything per 100g. That way you easily see the percentage fat and sugar in everything.

There are lots of bad breakfast foods for sale. The cereal itself is fine, it is just the fat and sugar added to it that is the problem. Easy answer is to not buy the ones full of fat and sugar.

 

[biggs682]

its a minefield for sure

 

[ColinJ]

Can you suggest something better then?
I think you will struggle.

Oats-even-simpler, AKA basic porridge!

 

[MisterStan]

The cereal itself is fine, it is just the fat and sugar added to it that is the problem. Easy answer is to not buy the ones full of fat and sugar.

As mentioned upthread, don't get hung up on the fat content.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Blimey Dave7, where have you been hiding for the last loads of years.

Try this one,
30g dried fruit
Calories 92 Sodium 0 mg
Total Fat 0 g Potassium 0 mg
Saturated 0 g Total Carbs 0 g
Polyunsaturated 0 g Dietary Fiber 0 g
Monounsaturated 0 g
Sugars 20 g
Trans 0 g Protein 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Vitamin A 0% Calcium 0%
Vitamin C 0% Iron 0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Search our food database by name:

Of course dried fruit has a high sugar content. Fruit contains sugar! It does not mean that sugar has been added to the dried fruit. It may have been, but it does not mean it has. I'm more concerned about the fact your dried fruit apparently has no fibre in it - what are you eating?

But you are better of with something like dates because they have plenty of other nutrients in them as well.

Dates (Phoenix dactylifera), medjool, Nutritive Value per 100 g.
(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

Principle Nutrient Value Percentage of RDA
Energy 277 Kcal 14%
Carbohydrates 74.97 g 58%
Protein 1.81g 3%
Total Fat 0.15 g <1%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Dietary Fibre 6.7 g 18%
Vitamins
Folates 15 µg 4%
Niacin 1.610 mg 10%
Pantothenic acid 0.805 mg 16%
Pyridoxine 0.249 mg 19%
Riboflavin 0.060 mg 4.5%
Thiamin 0.050 mg 4%
Vitamin A 149 IU 5%
Vitamin C 0 mg 0%
Vitamin K 2.7 µg 2%
Electrolytes
Sodium 1 mg 0%
Potassium 696 mg 16%
Minerals
Calcium 64 mg 6.5%
Copper 0.362 mg 40%
Iron 0.90 mg 11%
Magnesium 54 mg 13%
Manganese 0.296 mg 13%
Phosphorus 62 mg 9%
Zinc 0.44 mg 4%

 

[Over The Hill]

Oats-even-simpler, AKA basic porridge!

Isn't that just cereal though? The post I responded to seemed to be knocking cereal as bad but I could not think of a better breakfast.

Porridge is a bit of an odd one. It seems quite different to other cereals in that you have a tiny amount of oats and a great load of milk. I know many people say it lasts all morning but I always seem hungry an hour later but last 'til lunch with muesli or other cereals.
Also fine that it is low in fat and sugar but then most people add sugar and make it with milk that can have fat in. So you end up mostly eating thickened milk with sugar in.

 

[Over The Hill]

As mentioned upthread, don't get hung up on the fat content.

I do watch the amount of fat in everything I eat and fine just doing that is enough to maintain my weight (I do get fat if I am not careful).
Fat is just so loaded with calories I think just by eating the same quantity of food overall but watching the fat (and sugar) content it is quite easy to trim off about 20% of the calories in a typical diet, which is more that lots of diets with a whole lot of effort do.

Also, after doing this I have found that I really now do not like foods with too much fat in them.
My rule of thumb is below 5% fat and it is fine to eat, over 5% I either avoid it, have a low fat option, eat less of that thing or don't have it very often. So butter or spreads - I just do not have them. Mayo and other stuff I eat less of or have low fat. Pate has to be proper and so I have that but less often.

 

[vickster]

Aren't low fat options like with yogurts more likely to have a higher sugar content to make them 'taste better' (i.e. of something). Be interesting to compare a hellmans light with the normal - fat vs sugar

With porridge, I have a reasonable amount of oats and a mix of skimmed milk and water

 

[Fab Foodie]

Food has to be full of something ....

Carbs - Sugars, Starches, Dextrins, Fibre (soluble and insoluble)
Protein
Fat
Minerals and Vitamins
Water
Additives - flavours, colours, thickeners, sweetners, stabilisers etc etc.

If you take 10% of something out, you have to replace it with something else and that's not always going to be 'healthy/desirable' or cost effective. There are many ways to achieve similar goals depending on target consumer.
Also, the dose defines the poison - high sugar foods are often fine for the active cyclists but bad for the couch potato.

 

[Dave7]

Aren't low fat options like with yogurts more likely to have a higher sugar content to make them 'taste better' (i.e. of something). Be interesting to compare a hellmans light with the normal - fat vs sugar

With porridge, I have a reasonable amount of oats and a mix of skimmed milk and water

Generally when shopping we look for 4% fat and max 8% sugar. We buy the Aldi fat free yoghurt which has a 'reasonable' amount of sugar. However sometimes I/we make the error of assuming certain things are healthy--------hence this thread, as I assumed bran flakes & Oats-so-Simple would be healthy.

 

[vickster]

I look at the calorie content more so Usually aligned to fat / sugar although not always

Porridge + skimmed milk + water for my breakfast mostly, but occasionally Cheerios which I know are awful but hey

The best thing really apparently is to avoid processed food whatever that may look like

 

[Dave7]

Oats-even-simpler, AKA basic porridge!

The problem with porridge is that it takes 3 days to clean the pan/bowl after making it

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

The problem with porridge is that it takes 3 days to clean the pan/bowl after making it

you leave some behind? no one told me I was meant to do that!

 

[screenman]

SatNav, I am certainly not eating dried fruit, it was just a label I saw.