564332 Mon Oct 13 01:09:34 -0700 2008 24 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4100391 Please help me find an overnight snack. As a nursing mom up at all hours of the night, I've found that I'm consuming a helluva lot of cereal. And without joining the HFCS debate that's already raging on Chowhound, I'll just say that all the cereals I used to eat regularly--honey bunches of oats, honey nut cheerios, special k, rice crispies--taste *exactly* like each other once you've had enough of them. So what's out there in the world of slightly sweet cereals without HFCS? Kashi go lean crunch tastes like sweetened styrofoam, as does the erewhon rice twice that i picked up at WF. Puffins cinnamon has a nice flavor, but what on earth is that industrial strength glue in it that makes it never ever ever lose its crunch? I guess some sog, eventually, is a desirable thing in cereal. My favorite so far has been Cascadian Farms Hearty Morning, but the "crunchy bran strands" remind me and my partner of rabbit droppings (and they're not crunchy, they're foamy, and gross). If the cereal were free of those pellets, it'd be much yummier. Are there other Cascadian Farms cereals others would recommend? Oh, and fake fruit flavors are an absolute no-no. If you have tips on making your own Meusli, please start a thread on Home Cooking and let us know. (Whether or not we can pull of making some with our infant is another story). Mon Oct 13 01:09:34 -0700 2008 15695 rose water 1 4100395 I knew rworange had covered this at some point, but couldn't find it before: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/385118 I've stayed away from the Peace cereals a lot of people recommended in the thread above, because I was concerned that they'd have fake fruit flavors--do they? Mon Oct 13 01:16:56 -0700 2008 4100391 15695 rose water 2 4100406 Can't help with the Peace cereals but I *adore* Kashi's Cinnamon Harvest. It's sweet, cinnamon-y and crunchy. http://www.kashi.com/products/organic_promise_cereal_cinnamon_harvest I hope more people start buying it so I don't have to worry about it being discontinued!! Mon Oct 13 01:49:13 -0700 2008 4100395 17540 RoxyGrl 3 4105562 Kashi's Cinnamon Harvest is my favorite too! I could eat it every day (drowned in light vanilla soy milk), if it wasn't $4 a box. Wed Oct 15 07:04:10 -0700 2008 4100406 228042 sadiefox 4 4109282 Cinnamon Harvest is like crack to me! I get mine at Costco in a double-pack, but otherwise, yeah, it's pricey. I also really like "Good for You" muesli. http://www.ingebretsens.com/images/prodimage_2708.jpg Thu Oct 16 14:20:57 -0700 2008 4105562 16363 mogo 1 4100409 I would recommend bircher muesli - you can either buy it or make it yourself. If you make it yourself you can be certain it doesn't contain HFCS. In fact I think that in 'traditional' recipes the only sweetener is grated apple. anyway it is absolutely delicious and really filling and you can always adjust the recipe to make it a bit more exciting, for instance I like to add a touch of vanilla extract (or essence whatever floats your boat) or, honey and cinnamon or, blueberry and vanilla. Mon Oct 13 02:01:08 -0700 2008 4100391 225103 irisav 1 4100559 I may be the only one that likes this, but Wheetabix is a favorite. They are circular cereal disks that get smushy in milk. They are also great crumbled on yogurt. I dont have a box now so I cant look at the ingrediants but I would be very surprised if it had HFCS. Mon Oct 13 06:06:27 -0700 2008 4100391 158016 cassoulady 2 4100570 If you use just a bit of milk - half way up a biscuit - you can get both the mushy and crisp textures. The Barbara's version does list 'dehydrated cane juice' and malt extract (also a flavoring in grape nuts). I don't know if the UK versions have this light sweetening or not. Mon Oct 13 06:13:59 -0700 2008 4100559 12139 paulj 1 4100564 i've been loving fiber one honey clusters lately...so yummy and 51% of your recommended daily fiber intake in one bowl... Mon Oct 13 06:09:58 -0700 2008 4100391 56183 soypower 2 4100727 I love Optimum Power. It has a good balance of nutrients, protein, and has a nice sweet crunch. Pretty much anything by Nature's Path is good and organic. http://www.naturespath.com/products/optimum__1 Mon Oct 13 07:27:04 -0700 2008 4100564 166921 gmk1322 3 4107591 i'm finishing a bowl of nature's path "heritage o's" and they taste, well... fibery and virtuous Wed Oct 15 21:19:21 -0700 2008 4100727 15695 rose water 1 4100747 I love the regular Go Lean (not the crunch... too much sugar in it). Also love Kashi's Good Friends. Many years ago, when I was pregnant and then a new mother, I lived on plain spoon-sized shredded wheat, straight from the box Mon Oct 13 07:34:49 -0700 2008 4100391 120195 jjw 1 4100792 I like Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls, actually. Just sweet enough without having a ton of sugar and not so lacking that its not edible without adding sugar (like, say, plain Cheerios). This is not really a shredded wheat type cereal. More like, I dunno, Chex maybe, though it's been ages since I had Chex. Or maybe Life. But it's not the same as either of those, just trying to get at what's similar in texture. Soaks up milk so will get soggy unless you eat fast, but these are not too bad even if soggy. I don't understand the Puffins issue. In my experience the issue is there's no in between, but they will get very soggy if left a while. They're not particularly good soggy, and they are very crunchy when not soggy. I do get the peanut butter ones occasionally. One thing I noticed after buying higher fiber cereals is that many of the insanely high fiber varieties have quite a bit of sugar in just to get them palatable. You wouldn't find them overly sweet. Kashi Good Friends, for example, 9g of sugar in a 1 cup serving. That's about the same as reduced sugar Froot Loops. ;-) (Note: watch the serving sizes when comparing this stuff; I've seen everything from 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cups be a "serving" of cereal. What most people put into a bowl is probably more like 2 cups anyway. ;-) Mon Oct 13 07:57:39 -0700 2008 4100391 40162 CrazyOne 1 4100842 Will you write a bit more about what you mean in terms of "fake fruit flavors?" In the Peace cereals, for instance, the only fruit ingredients are actual freeze dried fruits (in the handful of cereals I looked at the ingredients for anyhow). Is there a particular sort of taste you're thinking of, can you give an example? I eat a fair bit of cereal, but don't want to go offering up stuff you wouldn't like at all. Thanks! Mon Oct 13 08:17:09 -0700 2008 4100391 80141 ccbweb 2 4105414 hmm, not a huge fan of the freeze dried stuff, but maybe i'm only thinking of the mass produced cereals, which may inject them with extra synthetic froot flavor. dried fruit is ok. Wed Oct 15 05:22:41 -0700 2008 4100842 15695 rose water 3 4105598 Gotcha. I have to agree, I'm not fond of freeze dried fruits either (although many people swear by the freeze dried mango at Trader Joe's). I guess I've never thought of them as "fake" since they're the actual thing. Froot Loops, those are fake fruit flavors. Bear Naked granola makes a good cereal, in my mind. They make a few flavors and they're all quite good. http://www.bearnaked.com Wed Oct 15 07:21:21 -0700 2008 4105414 80141 ccbweb 1 4101113 I love Kashi vive lately. It is so good with yogurt. I used to be a total sugar cereal addict, but have learned to cut way back. However, if I fall off the good eating wagon, it is usually with frosted mini wheats. Mon Oct 13 10:02:59 -0700 2008 4100391 192643 sunangelmb 1 4102572 Kashi Go Lean and the Crunch variety both mess with my stomach. I cannot eat them if I plan to go to work or leave the house for any length of time. I did find, however, that I can sub Kashi for rice crispies and make healthier marshmallow treats! Trader Joe's has a cereal with dried cranberries that is really good and no HFCS. I cannot remember the name but plan to pick it up on my next visit. Mon Oct 13 21:17:13 -0700 2008 4100391 76025 mojoeater 1 4102582 Health Valley makes an absolutely lovely organic amaranth flakes cereal (by that name, I think). It's high fiber, relatively high protein (3g / serving) and sweetened with molasses, cane juice, and grape juice. It has a pleasant nutty, earthy taste. The Health Valley oat flakes aren't bad, either. (Congrats on the baby, btw -- I didn't know!) Mon Oct 13 21:34:04 -0700 2008 4100391 64215 cimui 2 4105418 great to know the amaranth flakes cereal is good. it's in our cabinets, and we'll get to it next. thanks for the kind wishes--it's why you won't see me around the manhattan board for a while! Wed Oct 15 05:23:47 -0700 2008 4102582 15695 rose water 1 4102621 Cinnamon Life would be my choice, or Quaker Oatmeal squares. Both I believe are non-HFCS. Mon Oct 13 22:06:56 -0700 2008 4100391 11583 ipsedixit 1 4102650 im an odd fan of all bran extra fiber, but that's just me. i think Fiber One is a good cereal, but it does have artificial sweetener in case that bothers you. also, i like Trader Joe's Hi-Lo cereal; i used to mix it into Total with a little sweetener, when i could still eat it. Mon Oct 13 22:53:33 -0700 2008 4100391 15572 Emme 2 4108108 I like the all bran extra fiber and the Hi-Lo as well. I can mix either one with yogurt and it is really yummy. Thu Oct 16 07:11:37 -0700 2008 4102650 134710 taboo 1 4104685 have you tried the peanut butter puffins? i find them very addictive for some reason. and they are not like the others on your list. i think they are not as aggressively crunchy as the cinnamon. i've never used a recipe for muesli, but i make it often - i found this website that discusses variations on making it: http://www.greenfootsteps.com/muesli-recipe.html that's pretty much how i do it. i always use whole milk yogurt and add grated apples. i like it with chopped dates and currants in it. i find it keeps well for up to three days, mixed up. Tue Oct 14 17:57:20 -0700 2008 4100391 14499 pigtails 1 4108094 Cling peaches, puffed rice, warm milk. Thu Oct 16 07:06:26 -0700 2008 4100391 12123 Cathy