Lindsey Heim

An observation in Volumetrics...

Well, after the gym tonight I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things. If anyone has been to the Madison West Wal-Mart they know that it is an old, crusty, dirty store that was probably built back in the late 80s. It has a very 'retro' Wal-Mart feel to it, and although many would despise the store for many or all obvious reasons, I feel somewhat drawn to its strikingly familiar and simple 'no-frills' approach. I like the weird people who shop there, I like the grumpy employees, the crazy old man cart greeter, and the 'new' subway that replaced the McDs so that Wal-Mart would not get sued for enabling people to take the classic approach of killing themselves with Big Macs- they can now choose to kill themselves with questionable processed meats and carcinogens. I digress... (I HATE cold cuts)

I got distracted by the expanded grocery section and made the impulse decision to get some cereal. I am not a 'regular' cereal eater, but on occasion, I like to buy a box, and eat it. Cereal is just one of those on occasion different foods to get. I was looking at the Kashi cereals, I think simply because I am a Kashi frozen waffle junkie. Those little hockey pucks of goodnes are heavenly, and at just 140 kcal for 2 waffles, my tummy won't be rumbling in patients ears until about 10:30am.

So, in my usual, nerdy fashion, I start perusing the labels for the kcal info and serving size. Then I get distracted: there it was, a box of Lucky Charms!!! Now, I haven't eaten this stuff since I think middle school. I LOVED lucky charms in middle school! I looked at the kcals: 110 kcal for 1c of Lucky Charms!!!!!!! This is almost HALF of what the Kashi stuff is thowing down for sometimes 3/4c!!!!!

So, I look at more of the cereals that would be 'frowned' upon from a micronutrient standpoint:
Hannah Montana cereal- 110 kcal/ 1c
High School Musical cereal- 120 kcal/ 1c
Cap'n Crunch 109 kcal/ 3/4 c
Fruit Loops 118 kcal/ 1 c

Now, lets compare:
Kashi Go Lean crunch 190 kcal/ 1 c
Kashi Autumn Wheat 190 kcal/ 1c
Weight Watchers Flakes and Fiber 180 kcal/ 1c
Kashi Oat flakes with Blueberry 200 kcal/1c

As far as i am concered, all cereals are just a big bowl of simple CHO. Grains aren't a source of much of anything- I don't care how 'whole grain' they are.

Bottom line:
I'll take the sugary cereals, and call them health food! They really ARE magically delicious!!!!