Happy Cinco de Mayo, kids! Let’s hit the bar… the cereal bar.

Quaker Oatmeal to Go is a breakfast cereal square that packs a nutritious punch. Not only is it heart healthy, but it’s high in fiber and is chock full of vitamins and minerals.

There’s just ooooone small problem: It tastes even healthier than it actually is. And not in a good way. Brown Sugar and Cinnamon flavor? I couldn’t really tell because all my tongue tasted was FIBER. You’re not really supposed to taste fiber. You’re just supposed to have it so that it keeps you regular.

So, what’s actually in this cereal to make it taste so… interesting? In the list of ingredients you’ll find whole grain rolled oats, oat flour, rice flour, corn flour, soy and soybeans, barley, wheat, and … ah, yes, oat bran! So, how does that break down nutrient-wise? Let’s take a look:

The box says 210 calories for a 1 bar/60g serving, but the website says 220 calories. Quaker… Quaker! Hello! Accurate calorie count, please! I bet this is another “how do we count fiber? I dunno, let’s just guess, fudge the calories, what does anyone care anyway? 210, 220, whatever it takes” kinda deal. (Yes, I did just make an obscure and incorrectly quoted reference to Mr. Mom. Such a great movie.)

High on fiber, questionable on taste. If you like gnawing on warm tree bark this will be your favorite on-the-go breakfast bar. Points for being healthy, portable, and heatable.

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information about Quaker Oatmeal to Go please visit their website.

WHERE ARE MY OATS?!?!?!

May the best cereal eater win!

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With the waning time of daylight hours signaling the beginning of the journey to the cold winter months for the northern hemisphere there are those of us who need something… different… in the morning. Quaker Apples and Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal is that something different.

When I was a child, my mother would make me oatmeal every morning from December through February. It was plain, bland, sludgy oatmeal. Because of this torturous experience, I disdained oatmeal for a decade. Luckily for the children of today, Quaker Apples and Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal is not my mother’s oatmeal. It is tasty, sweet, and its consistency may simply be determined by its length of cooking time. The downside is the initial amount of heat generated. A 90 second cooking time will require at least ten seconds of cool blowing for the cereal to be edible without a trip to the burn center.

So even though it loses a bowl for possibility to cause bodily harm and a bowl for dehydrated apple slices, that when hydrated just taste watery, it’s a pretty good quick and easy alternative that can be supplemented with additives of your choice such as raisins or brown sugar.

Out of curiosity, what’s your favorite oatmeal?

Cereal Wednesday Bowls:

For more information about the cereal please visit Quaker Oatmeal’s website.