The Good: Fairly nutritious, Does not taste bad
The Bad: Not the most distinctive taste, Nothing superlative
The Basics: Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar flavor cereal is not delicious, but not bad tasting, making for an average healthy cereal just worth recommending.
The summer without my wife is turning into a lot of me eating cereal. Let’s clarify that; my increased consumption of cereal is because my wife is the sole chef in our family. Indeed, from our very first weekend together, I worked hard to impress her with my cooking skills. But, with her gone, I am working more hours and, frankly, I don’t usually want to waste the time cooking. Between that and my newfound Cereal Review series, I figured I would stock up and review many cereals this summer. Today, it is Quaker Oatmeal Squares with just a hint of Brown Sugar.
This follows on the heels of my trying the Honey Nut Oatmeal Squares (reviewed here!) and as a result, I had pretty low expectations for this cereal. Fortunately, I enjoyed the Brown Sugar Oatmeal Squares . . . at least as much as I believe it is possible to. This is a very bland, though very nutritious, cereal.
Basics
Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal is staple cereal from Quaker with baked square pieces of oats and flour. It looks like a refined cereal with each Square having smooth ribs for texture. Each Oatmeal Square is approximately 3/4” by 3/4” wide and long and 3/8” thick. The light brown Oatmeal Squares are fairly uniform in their appearance.
The standard box of Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal is 14.5 oz. That represents approximately seven servings and I was able to get a full seven servings with the box I picked up. This cereal is comprised of just the square cereal bits themselves, with nothing else in them.
Ease Of Preparation
Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal is a breakfast cereal, so this is one of the low-impact breakfast options as far as preparation goes! Simply open the box of Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal, pour out a single cup (I’ve taken to using a measuring cup) and add 1/2 cup of milk to it. I have discovered, as part of getting healthy, that one of the biggest challenges one might have with breakfast cereal is actually eating the serving size recommended by the manufacturer. Given that I have been monitoring my intake for several weeks now, I am now able to enjoy only one cup of Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal in a sitting and to be fair to Quaker, this is a pretty filling serving of cereal!
For the purposes of my reviews, and my regular consumption, I only use skim milk (fat free) milk with cereal.
Taste
Opening the box, Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar have no discernable aroma. When I opened the box, I could not tell if I was smelling the cereal or the cardboard box it was in! Seriously, that is how subtle the scent of the Brown Sugar Oatmeal Squares is! Even in the bowl there not enough of a scent from this cereal to honestly define it.
On the tongue, the Brown Sugar Oatmeal Square cereal is delightfully sweet! While the squares are usually dry – for taste as well as texture – I was surprised when I objectively tested them that they did taste remarkably sweet on the outside. The flavor is like the most bare aftertaste of brown sugar, but it is there!
With milk, the sweet flavor of the brown sugar is washed off. This leaves a cereal that may lose some of its firmness to the milk, but it also seems to lose its sweet flavor. The result is a very dry, oaty cereal that does not taste like more than the grain it is.
Nutrition
Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal is fairly nutritious on its own and with skim milk! Made primarily of whole grain oat flour, whole wheat flour and brown sugar, the Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar ingredient list degenerates into a chemistry equation at the bottom of the ingredients list. This cereal has a lot of preservatives in it.
A single serving of Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal is 56 grams, 1 cup. In that serving, there are 210 calories, with 25 calories coming from fat. There are only .5 grams of saturated fat in this cereal, but there is no cholesterol. With 190 mg of sodium and 5 grams of dietary fiber, this is not a bad dietary choice for those striving to improve heart health. With six grams of protein and 200mg potassium, Brown Sugar Oat Squares has some decent nutritional elements other cereals do not. On its own, this cereal has significant percentages of thirteen vitamins and minerals, most notably 90% RDA of Iron and a full day’s worth of Folic Acid!
Storage/Cleanup
Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar is a cereal, so as long as it is kept sealed in its box, it ought to remain fresh for quite some time. The box of Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal I purchased on June 5, 2012 had an expiration date of November 12, 2012. Obviously, when you are done pouring the cereal from the box, fold down the plastic inner wrap to help maintain the cereal’s freshness.
Cleaning up after Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal is simple as well. Simply brush away crumbs left by it and you are done! It is that simple! This is a cereal that does not even discolor the milk added to it!
Overall
Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar cereal is very healthy and despite the bland taste, it is easier to recommend than criticize!
For other Quaker products, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Cinnamon Life cereal
Life Maple & Brown Sugar
Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
6/10
For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the food reviews I have written!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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