Product Review: Kashi High Fibre Flakes & Granola Cereal
Day Five of the 100 Reps Challenge
20 calf raises
20 tricep kickbacks
Repeat this set 5 times (your choice: do them all at once or spread them across the day) for a total of 100 calf raises and 100 tricep kickbacks!
Fitness Tip: Hold a dumbbell or two at chest height while performing the calf raises for a more advanced exercise.
This week I received this in the mail:
The giveaway I won from Kelly at Grounded Fitness! It includes 11 boxes of cereal/granola, 2 boxes granola bars, 1 box pancake mix, 1 box variety pack instant oatmeal, 13 assorted granola bars, and 1 cloth bag. It’s all made with natural ingredients and real food, and these are organic products. Thank you Kelly! (You’ve probably already been there because we all know and love Kelly, but if you haven’t already done so then be sure to go on over and check out this week’s giveaway, everyone!)
Basically, we’re not buying any groceries for the next month except for milk to go with the cereal. The dried fruit in the granola will ward off scurvy, right? Right?!
I am super excited about all of this and I will be doing lots of reviews on these products as I try them! Today I have another review for you, though, on a product that wasn’t included in this care package. In regards to health I’m not super big on products such as cereal and bars etc, but taste is of course another matter entirely, and I do approve of the all-natural part of these products. Anyway, shortly before I received this package, a different cereal found its way into my pantry, so here’s what I think of a cereal from a product line you have very likely heard of and know much more about than I do:
Product Review: Kashi High Fibre Flakes & Granola Cereal
I like the packaging of this cereal. The photo on the front is very appealing, showing a bunch of differently shaped grains with varying textures. The back of the box is very informative as it briefly describes each of the seven grains in the cereal, and a cute little haiku is included near the bottom of the box! “A breath of fresh air/For growth and new beginnings/Kashi is for life”.
So much for the packaging, let’s move onto nutritional information. Ingredients: Wheat bran, granola (whole grain oats, whole grain wheat, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, crisp rice [rice flour, evaporated cane juice, malt extract, salt], evaporated cane juice syrup, expeller pressed canola oil, waxy maize starch, salt, honey, natural flavours, mixed tocopherols [natural vitamin E] added for freshness), evaporated cane juice syrup, yellow corn meal, con flour, seven grain and sesame flour (whole grain oats, hard red winter wheat, rye, brown rice, triticale, barley buckwheat, sesame seeds), corn bran, oat fibre, wheat bran, soy protein concentrate, expeller pressed canola oil, salt, natural flavours, annatto colour.
That is a long list. And although all of these are natural ingredients (although I’m uncertain about that last ingredient- colour? Usually that is not a good thing in any food product. I’ll have to look into that one; if anyone has any knowledge about it please do inform us about this particular ingredient!), various forms of sugar is listed at least half a dozen times. That’s a lot of added sugar! Granted, this is a cereal, and compared to other cereals, it’s pretty decent. That being said, I view cereal as something of a treat. Eating cereal every day isn’t what I would consider a particularly “healthy” thing to do. Healthier than many other options, yes. But not necessarily healthy.
The nutrition facts table shows 210 calories per cup (a little high), and 10g sugar (far too high), but also 7g fibre (very decent). The nutrition claims state “very high source of fibre” (check), “low fat” (not so impressive; cereal will be low fat unless there’s lots of nuts in there), “low saturated fat” (see note for “low fat”), “trans fat free” (not very impressive at all- everything should be trans fat free), “low sodium” (check), source of 10 essential nutrients (half check- why not go all the way and try to be a good or excellent source of some of those nutrients?), “no artificial sweetener” (why do we need to use artificial sweeteners when there’s so many other forms of sugar?). I think it’s ridiculous the way you can now find fibre in just about any food product, but at least it makes sense to find it in a product like cereal. All grains offer different nutritional benefits, as well, so I do like the variety of grains in this product.
I might seem overly critical in my judgment right off the top, but that’s because Kashi is always viewed as the angelic cousin in the grocery store. It seems to me that most people believe Kashi can do no wrong, so because I’ve heard so much about it I have high expectations. And from all the raving that Kashi gets from everyone (particularly as being a healthier choice), I do expect quite a lot from it, health-wise. So while I do agree that it’s got some things going for it, and that it is better by leaps and bounds than most other cereals (including many which have misleading health claims), I still would be reluctant to call this a health food and would certainly not eat it as often as I eat fruit/vegetables/milk/oats etc.
On to the taste!
This cereal tastes fantastic. And it is also very filling. A small amount, mixed in with some plain yogurt and frozen berries, makes an incredibly filling and decently well-rounded breakfast. I also experimented with having a full serving size with milk, which also tastes good but would only be necessary if you’re really hungry. Otherwise, a full bowlful is too much! I guess it’s all that good fibre in there. This really is a granola, but in cereal form, and I like that. It’s also incredibly crunchy and has very tasty clusters of oats (held together by all that honey, I suppose).
This cereal is expensive, but it tastes great and it contains all-natural ingredients*, so if I was having people over for breakfast I would get this again as a healthier option. I can also see getting this in the future for myself as a treat, because I really did enjoy it but I don’t think I can justify it as a healthy option to have every day.
Have you tried this cereal? What is your opinion of it? And what do you think of the entire Kashi line- are their products healthy or healthier?
*will still have to check up on that annatto colour, though! I must point out that the box says “all-natural” as opposed to “all natural”, which also gives me reason to be suspicious of th
is particular ingredient. “All-natural” implies it includes (but may not be limited to) natural ingredients, whereas “all natural” certainly would suggest encompassing all ingredients- that all of the ingredients are natural. Marketing can be a very sneaky thing!
I think the Kashi line of cereals are pretty good!
Great review!!
Boy, you were up early! You must have posted this right after I did yesterday’s set! I added you to my blogroll, by the way… great stuff!
We don’t get Kashi here (not that I’m aware of anyway!) so I can’t offer an opinion but WOW on your basket of goodies! I love cereal but very rarely have it, like you say, it’s a treat! I’m a firm fan of mixing a little with fruit and yoghurt for a healthier breakfast. I do find if I just have cereal and milk I’m hungry again in half an hour!
TA x
I like Kashi stuff but barring their original Kashi hot cereal (the literal whole grains that you have to boil for like an hour), I think their stuff falls into the “healthIER” category for me. Brown rice syrup is still sugar.
I have always been scared of Kashi products, probably because back in the day that is the only cereal we had at our house (my parents) and it looked like rabbit food pellets to me?! That said…I need to probably venture out and try their stuff. 🙂
I think many of the Kashi products are actually healthiER, but I adore them all!
I am so jealous of your gift basket. I want that for Christmas!!
Dr. J- there are so many Kashi products I want to try, not going to lie. They all look so tasty!
Amy- that’s what happens when I eat pizza at 1am… lol.
TA- I find the same thing with cereal and milk. I always end up eating 2 bowls. And LOVE the yogurt with fruit for breakfast- normally I don’t like adding anything else to it at all but I must say that the Kashi added in did add something nice.
Charlotte- it still amazes me just how many different names there are for sugar.
Holly- hehe I love that you thought of them as rabbit food pellets. I guess they DO kind of look like that…
Ashley- It’s ENORMOUS! Heart the giveaways:)
I think Kashi is okay, but not all they’re hyped up to be.
I’d probably just make a big batch of granola and add in fruit/yogurt as needed. If I were feeling particularly bake-y I’d include some toasted oats too (and thus have a lower sugar version)
Don’t know why I’m not a bigger Kashi fan in terms of cereal/bars/cookies. But I do like their pizzas sometimes.
I’m a little late, but love the challenge you are doing. 🙂
Thanks for the reviews too. I generally like most of the Kashi stuff.
I’ve eaten some Kashi products and quite enjoyed them, but I’ve not tried their cereal.
I’m addicted to cereal for breakfast now. But I mix All-Bran and granola. Gotta get lots of fiber (history of colon cancer in my family)
Now, missy, I want to thank you for posting the Fiddle Diddle recipe. I also want you to come here and wrestle it away from me before it’s too late! It’s really, really good! I’m not accustomed to eating much sugar, but this Fiddle Diddle is so scrumptious……:)
Okay, off to do chores now, and play leap-frog with calves or something, due to this sugar-high!!
Tricia- must be honest, I’m really not a big granola person. If it wasn’t for someone else choosing granola (or getting it for free!), I probably wouldn’t eat it.
Crabby- I’ve only ever tried their cereal (this kind and one other kind). Must look into this pizza business:)
Running Knitter- thanks!
Bag Lady- am so glad you like the fiddle diddles! I’m sure you now understand why I ate so much cookie dough that one weekend. ALL OF MY MOTHER’S COOKIE RECIPES ARE THAT GOOD. It’s terrible, it really is. I’m going to be baking all these delicious things (or she is… hehe) and then will have a subsequent month-long sugar high. Woohoo! (there’s a reason I chose December for this challenge:P)
Wow, love it!
Delicious, and very jealous!
I’m so jealous of your prize basket! I agree – Kashi like people to think that they are SO healthy and natural, but in reality… not so much.
I did the calf exercise…oh the burn! I am a Kashi fan myself. Have a fantastic weekend!
HOLY SH*T! I didnt realize they were going to send you that much stuff or else I would have made up a name and said i was the winner!!
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
That gift bag is INSANE. And I love all of the kashi cereals. 🙂
I can barely do 20 tricep kickbacks with 5lbs. I’m working on intensifying my workouts, and that would be a great challenge. Thanks for visiting my site.
I’ve had some of Kashi’s high fiber cereal and it tasted really great!
I love Kashi cereals! Thanks for the review! What a wonderful surprise!!!
What an awesome prize pack!!
I’m obsessed with Kashi everything. I think my fav cereal is the Heart to Heart kind.
I have not tried that specific cereal, but I do enjoy their products as a healthier alternative to junk food. A great example of this is their crunchy granola bars. Tasty little buggers, but they still have tons of sugar and not much nutritional value. Still, if I am going to eat something like that, I would pick kashi over Nature Valley, which has HFCS.
Yay! I got the same package, how freaking amazing?! Oh, and to clear up the “annato color” confusion, annato color comes from the dried fruit of the Bixa Orella Tree- they extract the color from the seeds to create a yellow hue naturally 🙂 But I do agree, some cereals are better warranted as a topping, or snack!
Great blog, just found ya
-Caroline
Catherine- I love how that cereal is shaped like little hearts. At some point I think I’ll try it for that sole purpose hehe.
Hangrypants- excellent point and I’d agree that it IS the better option… just not necessarily a “healthy” option!
Caroline- thanks for reading! Also thanks heaps for the annatto colour info; I’ve been having a tough time tracking it down. LOVE the care package:D