Raisins are dried grapes.  The good news is that raisins are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. They’re about 3.5% dietary fiber and 3% protein by weight.

The bad news is that a large portion of the calories in raisins comes from sugars.  By weight raisins range from about 67% to 72% sugars – mostly glucose and fructose.

Nutrition Info

A teeny mini box of raisins (.5 oz) has 42 calories, 0g fat, 11g carbs, and 0g protein.  This is the carb equivalent of about a little under 3 teaspoons of sugar.

A small box (1.5 oz) has 129 calories, 0g fat, 34g carbs, 1g protein.  This is the carb equivalent of around 8 and ½ teaspoons of sugar.

One serving of California raisins is ¼ cup and 130 calories and contains less than 2% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamins A and C and traces of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic, Vitamin B6, folate, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and 81mg of iron.

Think About This

Raisins have a lot of good things going for them – but they’re very high in sugar.

Think of it this way: one teaspoon of granulated sugar equals 4 grams of sugar; 4 teaspoons of granulated sugar is equal to 16 grams of sugar; 8 teaspoons of sugar is equal to about 32 grams of sugar.

If you’re grabbing handfuls of raisins from the container to eat as a snack – or dumping an equally large handful on your cereal — you may be adding a lot more sugar and calories than you realize.

The post How Many Teaspoons Of Sugar Are In Raisins? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Granola always sounds so healthy, filled with oats, grains and maybe nuts or dried fruit – stuff that can be really good for you – except for when it’s cooked in lots of oil or butter and is sweetened with a whole lot of sugar or some other form of sweetener. It also does not have a lot of protein.

The real kicker can be the serving size.  If you haul out your cereal bowl and just dump in granola you can be in  caloric nightmare land. You really need to check serving sizes with granola – the serving size varies with the brand and can be as small as ¼ cup – which can look paltry even in a teacup. There are lower fat versions of granola – although some low fat versions are not necessarily low in calories.  Some examples of granola nutrition:

• Kellogg’s Low Fat Granola Without Raisins; ½ cup:  209 calories; 2.8g fat; 43.7g carbs; 4.51g protein

• Bear Naked Maple Pecan Granola; ¼ cup: 130 calories; 4g fat; 22g carbs; 3g protein

• Kashi Summer Berry Granola; ½ cup: 210 calories; 6g fat; 37g carbs; 6g protein

I have trouble keeping granola in my house — because I really like it.  I find myself shoveling handfuls of it into my mouth straight from the box when I open the cupboard and it’s there, calling my name.  It does make a great topping for ice cream – in measured amounts — if you’re so inclined.

But, if you love your granola and want it for your cereal, just check the ingredients and the serving size.  Know what you’re getting and what you’re eating.

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I’m not a cold cereal lover, but I have been known to grab a handful or two of those sugar coated flakes when they are sitting in front of me (without milk – it destroys the crunch).

Because I haven’t had a box of Frosted Flakes in front of me for a long time and I like to think of myself as an informed adult, I picked up the cute little royal blue box with Tony the Tiger on the front to read the nutrition and ingredients labels.

What a shocker.  I knew that Kellogg’s Sugar Frosted Flakes of Corn was not nutritionally stellar – but what a shock to read the front of the box hype and then to look at the labels.

Sugar Frosted Flakes

The cereal, first introduced in 1952 as Sugar Frosted Flakes, is described as sweet and crunchy and “packed with 10 essential vitamins and good-for-you grains that give you the great-tasting energy you need.”  The tagline reads: “It’s what fuels you up so you can play, prep and be your very best.”

Take a peek at the nutrition label.  Notice the amount of protein and fiber (or, essentially, lack of).  How much sugar is there? Look at the ingredients label.What are the first five ingredients?

My youngest son once ate an astonishing double digit number of little boxes of Frosted Flakes, without milk, at summer sleep-away camp – a story first told to me by his brothers and validated by the counselors.  Can you imagine what his behavior must have been like that day on a massive sugar overload from breakfast cereal? No wonder the camp changed its breakfast policy – and its breakfast foods!

Is it time to change your breakfast?

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My Mom always made me eat a “good” breakfast – eggs, leftover hamburgers from the night before, some kind of hot cereal made with milk.  My Mom grew up on a working farm – and farmers had the right idea about the need to fuel themselves for the coming day (and to use whatever food was on hand). The habit of eating a healthy breakfast has stuck with me, but even though many of you know how important it is, you probably don’t always make it a priority or carve out enough time to do it.

The advice to eat a good breakfast has been around for centuries.  It’s clear how it affects your body’s biology, but now it’s being documented that eating a healthy breakfast — especially one high in protein – can leave you feeling fuller and less hungry throughout the day.

A Breakfast Study

Research published in the journal Obesity studied teens who either skipped breakfast or ate a 500 calorie breakfast of cereal and milk (with normal amounts of protein) or higher protein meals like Belgium waffles with added protein, syrup, and yogurt for three weeks.

At the end of each week, the teens filled out appetite and satiety questionnaires, and had a brain scan before lunch that used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify brain activation responses.

The researchers focused on teens because 60% of them skip breakfast and breakfast skipping is strongly associated with unhealthy snacking, overeating (especially at night), weight gain, and obesity.

What They Found

The results showed that eating breakfast led to increased fullness and less hunger throughout the morning.  The fMRI showed that before lunch there was also reduced brain activity in regions that control food motivation and reward.

Eating breakfast reduced brain signals that lead to reward driven eating behavior when they’re active.  The higher protein breakfast produced greater feelings of satiety and changes in reward driven eating behavior than the normal protein milk and cereal meal.

Since skipping breakfast is associated with more snacking and food cravings, breakfast — especially one that is rich in protein — could be an effective strategy in controlling appetite and preventing overeating.

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All blueberries, especially the tiny wild ones, are loaded with antioxidants and phytochemicals that may play a role in reducing risk for some diseases.

Fantastic nutrition, too.  One cup has 84.4 calories, no fat, 21 grams of carbs (4 g fiber, 15g sugars) and 1 g of protein and 24% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C.

They’re a good tasting, good looking super food. That’s why manufacturers add them to lots of cereal and baked goods (or at least imply that they do).

So, what’s the problem? Here it is: a bunch of food products that have labels or lovely pictures that suggest that they contain real blueberries really contain types of fake blueberries (not plastic, but not whole fruit either).

Blueberry Crunchlets

In an investigation, the nonprofit Consumer Wellness Center found fake “blueberries” that were actually a mix of sugar, corn syrup, starch, hydrogenated oil, artificial flavors and food dyes blue No. 2 and red No. 40 that were made to look like blueberries. Manufacturers like Kellogg’s, Betty Crocker, and General Mills, use them in bagels, cereals, bread, and muffins. Some products mix real blueberries with fakes.

For instance, Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats Blueberry Muffin variety has blueberry flavored “crunchlets,” not blueberries and General Mills’ Total Blueberry Pomegranate cereal contains no blueberries and no pomegranates.

What Are Crunchlets?

Here’s the ingredient list and description, from their website, for Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini-Wheats® Blueberry Muffin:

It is described as “Naturally and artificially flavored lightly sweetened whole grain wheat cereal, blueberry muffin.”

Ingredients:  Whole Grain Wheat, Sugar, Blueberry Flavored Crunchlets (sugar, corn cereal, soybean oil, modified cornstarch, water, natural and artificial flavor, glycerin, corn syrup, red #40 lake, blue #2 lake), Natural and Artificial Blueberry Flavor, Sorbitol, Gelatin, Reduced Iron, Niacinamide, Blue #2 lake, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Red #40, Folic Acid, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin B12.  To maintain quality, BHT has been added to packaging.

What’s A Consumer To Do?

Your best option is to buy real blueberries and put them on your cereal.

But, what if you crave blueberries in January in the Northeast with multiple feet of snow on the ground and you don’t want to pay a fortune for berries shipped from thousands of miles away?

If you’re thinking of buying cereal or baked goods that claim to have blueberries in them, read the ingredients list on the box to see if the product contains any real fruit.

Items with fake blueberries will have red No. 40, blue No. 2 or other artificial colors listed on the label.  Read carefully, artificial colors and dyes may also be used for components other than blueberries, too.

There are some products with honest to goodness blueberries in them.   Just look carefully.

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Cereal, Cereal, And More Cereal

Wow!  160 bowls of cereal a year, give or take, is the average American intake.  The most popular:  General Mills’ Cheerios, claiming  12.6% of the breakfast cereal market share.

How To Pick A Good Cereal

• Step #1: check the ingredients and nutrition panel carefully. The very first ingredient should be a whole grain.  Scan through the label for the words “partially hydrogenated.”  If you find them put the box back on the shelf.  You don’t want trans fats in your cereal.

• Step #2:  Look for cereals that have 13 grams or less of sugar per serving.  Check for added sugars  — you want none or next to none.  Raisins, dried and freeze-dried fruit  add quite a few grams of sugar to the listing on the nutrition panel where they aren’t distinguished from added sugars. Check the list of ingredients instead.

• Step #3:  Check the amount of fiber (you want a lot).  The daily recommendation is 25 grams of fiber a day so it’s important to pick cereals that contain at least 3 grams per serving. A better choice are those with 5 grams of fiber or higher.

• Step #4: If you are counting calories, choose cereals that ideally will have less than 120 calories a serving.

What About Fruit In The Cereal?

A bunch of cereals have real freeze-dried berries, apples, and bananas added in. That’s generally a good thing.   If the freeze dried fruit makes the switch from sugar laden cereal to a more nutritious high fiber low sugar cereal easier, then go for it.

So Are There Nuts In Honey Nut Cheerios And Strawberries In Special K Red Berries?

Amazingly, yes to the strawberries and no to the nuts.

For a one cup serving, Special K Red Berries has 120 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

Ingredients:  rice, whole grain wheat, sugar, wheat bran, freeze-dried strawberries, high fructose corn syrup, soluble wheat fiber, salt, malt flavoring,  ascorbic acid, reduced iron, alpha tocopherol, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamin hydrochloride, riboflavin, vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, Vitamin B12.

A 3/4 cup serving of Honey Nut Cheerios has 110 calories, 2 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

Ingredients:  whole grain oats (oncludes the oat bran), sugar, modified corn starch, honey, brown sugar syrup, corn bran, salt, corn syrup, oat fiber, corn syrup solids, tripotassium phosphate, canol and/or rice bran oil, guar gum, natural almond flavor, vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) added to preserve freshness. Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Zinc and Iron, Sodium Ascorbate, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid,Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3.

Do you see nuts listed? No.  There aren’t any actual nuts.  There is “natural almond flavor.”  What’s that you ask?   It’s benzaldehyde which is usually derived from peach and apricot pits.

What’s A Good Cereal Choice For Breakfast?

There are a number of choices that fit the bill.  A good one is Kashi Go Lean (original).  A serving size is one cup with 140 calories, 10 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugars, and 13 grams of protein.

Ingredients:  Soy grits, Kashi seven whole grains & sesame (hard red wheat, brown rice, whole grain oats, triticale, barley, rye, buckwheat, sesame seeds), evaporated cane juice syrup, corn meal, corn flour, soy protein, wheat bran, oat fiber, corn bran, honey, evaporated cane juice, natural flavors, calcium carbonate, salt, annatto color.

Remember that adding milk ups the protein content of your breakfast. Full, 2%, and 1% milk adds fat, too, so try to stick with non-fat milk in your cereal bowl.

The post Are There Really Strawberries In Special K Red Berries And Nuts In Honey Nut Cheerios? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

My husband loves his “red berry” cereal.  Not just any red berry cereal – but Special K Red Berries.  Plain old Special K, blueberry almond, or any other array of color and flavor just won’t do.

Red Berry Facts

The ingredients in Special K Red Berries :

Rice, Whole grain wheat, Sugar, Wheat bran, Freeze-dried strawberries, High fructose corn syrup, Soluble wheat fiber, Salt, Malt Flavoring, Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), Reduced iron, Alpha tocopherol, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamin hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin A palmitate, Folic acid, Vitamin B12

A one cup serving size has:

• 110 calories (150 calories with ½ cup of fat free milk)

• 0 grams of fat

• 0 grams cholesterol

• 190 mg sodium

• 27 grams Total carbohydrate

• 3 grams fiber

• 2 grams protein

Good, Bad, Or Indifferent?

Over 50 years ago Kellogg produced Special K as an alternative to Corn Flakes.  It is often marketed as Kellogg’s cereal for weight loss because it is made from rice and wheat.

110 calories isn’t bad for a one cup serving of Red Berries.  Just remember that most of us eat more than one cup. At three grams of fiber (over 10% of the recommended daily value), the package can say:  “A good source of fiber.”

By weight, most of the cereal is rice (the first ingredient listed).  Whole grain wheat is second. The added fiber comes from the wheat bran and the soluble wheat fiber.  Sugar is the third ingredient, freeze dried strawberries the fifth, and  high corn fructose corn syrup the sixth.  The two sugars and the berries add up to nine grams of sugar in each cup – the equivalent of a little more than two teaspoons of sugar.  The sodium accounts for 8% of the recommended daily amount.

A Good Breakfast Choice?

How does the breakfast of red berry cereal with fortified skim milk stack up?

It’s all about choices. Eating nothing followed by black coffee and a bagel or pastry sometime during the morning ranks in the negative zone way below good. Having a breakfast that has some protein and fiber and not too much sugar gets the body and brain geared up for the day.

Even though there could be a superior breakfast choice, this is a lot better that the breakfast of a whole lot of nothingness that my husband ate when his only fuel was what was in the gas tank in the car followed by numerous cups of black coffee, no sugar, in his office.  My guess is that the coffee kept company with conference room bagels, snack room cake, and some snagged desktop candy.

In the ranking of good, better, and best – I’d have to give it a good minus.  Adding fresh fruit makes it a good choice.  A better choice would be mixing a cereal with more fiber and protein and less sugar with Special K Red Berries, topped with some fresh fruit.

SocialDieter Tip:

Look for breakfast cereals with:

• Whole grains  like “whole wheat” or “wheat bran,” not just “wheat.”

• At least 3 grams of protein per serving.

• No less than a four-to-one total carbohydrate-to-sugar ratio. This means if the “total carbohydrate” line says 24 grams, the “sugars” should be 6 grams or less, indicating that most of the carbs come from the grain and fibers, not from added sugars.

• Follow the “five and five” rule:  less than 5 grams of sugar and at least 5 grams of fiber.

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