Tuesday, March 27, 2012

BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW SERIES OF REVIEWS! Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch Cereal Kicks Off My Breakfast Cereal Reviews!


The Good: Exceptionally nutritious, Tastes good, Affordable
The Bad: Could be a bit tastier (i.e. sweeter)
The Basics: I start reviewing breakfast cereals with my consideration of Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal, which is an exceptionally healthy, generally flavorful cereal.


It seems, with being on a health kick at the moment, my wife and I are cereal rich in our home right now. As I look to continue writing useful and interesting food reviews, I decided that it was a good time to add a new category to my reviews! So, with Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal, I am now making a dedicated effort to review breakfast cereals. Let me know what you think!

I selected Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal while shopping recently because one of my health goals has involved eating more dietary fiber for heart health. I’ve been having a bear of a time consuming enough dietary fiber while keeping my sodium down. With nine grams of dietary fiber and only 140 mg of sodium, Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal met my needs. Plus, I found it locally on sale on clearance for half price. Healthy and only $2.38 a box?! How could I turn that down? I could not! But, given that I did find it on clearance, I suspect that Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal might not be on the market much longer!

Basics

Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal is a fairly new whole grain oat cereal that seems designed to compete with Cheerios and cash in on the current Antioxidant health craze. The Fiber Plus Antioxidants cereal comes in several different varieties, of which Cinnamon Oat Crunch appears to be one of the most basic flavors.

The standard box of Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal is 11.5 oz. That represents approximately ten servings and I managed to get a full ten servings out of both boxes I bought on clearance. The actual Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal resembles Cheerios as each one is a little oat ring approximately 1/2" in diameter and 3/16” thick. The Cinnamon Oat Crunch flavor of Fiber Plus Antioxidants features rings that are lightly dusted in cinnamon. Some are definitely more dusted than others as some are very pale, almost almond colored, and others are reddish-brown.

Ease Of Preparation

Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch 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 Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal, pour out 3/4 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 3/4 cup of Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal in a sitting!

For the purposes of my reviews, and my regular consumption, I only use skim milk (fat free) milk when reviewing Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal.

Taste

Opening the box, Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch smells delightfully like cinnamon. This prepares the consumer for a flavorful cereal that should taste richly like cinnamon.

On its own, the Cinnamon Oat Crunch has a predictably grainy taste to it. This tastes like a grain product, much like toast, with a light cinnamon flavor to it. The cinnamon flavor in Cinnamon Oat Crunch comes out much more completely as an aftertaste. This also has the effect of leaving a very dry taste in the mouth of the consumer. While it is not unpleasant, it does make Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch a cereal that begs for milk.

With milk, the full flavor of the cinnamon is released. While the cereal does not suddenly become sweeter, the grain flavor is cut into and the taste of dry, pleasantly spicy cinnamon comes out. As the cereal softens in the milk, the cinnamon flavor comes out more as it is carried throughout the flavor. Even nicely submerged in milk, Cinnamon Oat Crunch is a cereal that leaves the mouth a little dry.

Nutrition

Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal is exceptionally nutritious on its own and with skim milk! Made primarily of whole grain oat flower, sugar and soluble corn fiber, there is nothing unpronounceable in Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal. Given that there is a separate listing of vitamins and minerals, I suspect that Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal is one of those cereals where the nutrients are then sprayed onto the cereal, making it important to drink the milk with this cereal in order to get all of the nutritional benefits out of it.

A single serving of Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal is 32 grams, 3/4 cup. In that serving, there are 110 calories, with only ten of those calories coming from fat. There is no saturated fat in this cereal, which is nice, nor is there any cholesterol. With only 140 mg of sodium and 9 grams of dietary fiber, this is an excellent dietary choice for those striving to improve heart health without increasing their sodium consumption in any significant fashion. With three grams of protein and 45mg potassium, Cinnamon Oat Crunch is a veritable vitamin. On its own, this cereal has 100% of the RDA of Vitamin E and significant percentages of at least nine other vitamins and minerals.

Storage/Cleanup

Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch 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 Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal we purchased on March 1, 2012 had an expiration date of June 18, 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 Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch 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

Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal might be a little dry, but it is exceptionally healthy and does taste better than most healthy cereals on the market. That makes it easily worth recommending.

For other components of breakfast, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Kellogg’s Pumpkin Pie limited edition Pop Tarts
Dole 100% Juice Orange Peach Mango
Yoplait Parfait Grasshopper Pie Lowfat Yogurt

8/10

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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