The Food Gurus

My breakfast is most frequently some cold cereal or another but, usually, it is little more than a sweetened multivitamin. In order to promote healthier eating and weight loss, I have been in search of a healthier selection that actually tastes good and that I could eat on a regular basis (see this review and this one). Great Value (Wal-Mart's store brand) Toasted Oat Cereal looks just like the sweeter competition but the similarity ends there. It has just 1g of sugar! I wonder, though, where that gram is as it tastes decidedly unsweetened. In fact, it is an awful lot like the zero sugar Alpha-Bits. I am not saying it is bad, but that I am seeing a pattern that all very low sugar cereals tend to taste about the same (shredded wheat is a bit of an exception). The cereal is definitely edible but certainly bland. I suspect that adding some fruit could make the difference but, since I am often in a big hurry, I probably won't actually do it very often. Nutritionally, the cereal is pretty good with high fiber, whole grain oat flour, low sugar, a bunch of vitamins, and zero saturated and trans fats. I will probably reserve eating this cereal for days when I really want to be good or keep my calories down. If I am looking for flavor, I will probably look elsewhere.

The Facts:
Serving Size: 1 Cup
Servings per Container: 14
Calories: 110
Fat: 1.5g (15 calories)
Sodium: 240mg
Potassium: 90mg
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 3g
Vitamin A: 10%
Vitamin B6: 25%
Vitamin B12: 25%
Vitamin C: 10%
Vitamin D: 10%
Calcium: 10%
Iron: 50%
Thiamine: 25%
Riboflavin: 25%
Niacin: 25%
Folic Acid: 50%
Phosphorus: 15%
Magnesium: 8%
Zinc: 25%
Copper: 4%
Weight Watchers Points^®: 2

Ratings: (all rankings out of 5)
Overall: 2
Taste: 2
Satisfying/filling: 3
Healthy: 5
Performance (for athletes): 4
Diet Appropriate: 4
Category: Breakfast food/cold cereals