Try-It Tuesdays - Quaker Morning Minis

This week's Try-It Tuesday is Quaker baked Morning Minis, a new breakfast product that is supposed to be a good source of fiber.

Now, I'll admit, I'm not much of a breakfast eater - typically shying away from traditional breakfast foods. But when my hubby brought in a box of Quaker's Morning Minis, I though I'd give them a try.

The flavor we choose was Peanut Butter and Oats. According to the front of the package, the product is "Chewy bite-sized Cookies." Hmmm ... cookies for breakfast; what would my mother say? There are 6 pouches per box and each pouch contains the following nutritional information:

--Calories 140
--Total fat 4.5 gram (2g saturated fat; 1 gram each polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats)
--Cholesterol 0mg
--Sodium 110 mg
--Total carbohydrate 24 gm
--Dietary fiber 3 gm
--Sugars 7gm


All in all, this does not add up to a very healthy breakfast. Combine this information with the first 5 ingredients, and nutritionist all over the world are moaning outloud:

--Whole grain rolled oats (good)
--Whole wheat flour (good)
--Glycerin (bad)
--Sugar (bad)
--High fructose corn syrup (bad)

Granted, the first two ingredients are the bulk of the fiber in this product; but the next 3 ingredients are pure sugar.

Okay, so on nutrtion alone, this doesn't appear to be a very healthy breakfast, but they are individually wrapped and easy to take on the go, so maybe the taste is worth the extra added sugar. Sometimes quick and easy can outweigh nutritional factors.

Popping the first bite-sized "cookie" into my mouth, I started to chew ... and chew ... and chew. It tasted like I was eating cardboard that had been dipped in sugar. The taste was bland and course and not at all to my liking. Thinking it was just me, my hubby tried a cookie and although his reaction was slightly better than mine, we decided for the price and the low nutritional value, along with the bland taste, Morning Minis will no longer be on our grocery list.

I think I'm sticking to dry Cheerios or fresh oatmeal to meet my breakfast quota.

Fighting Manic Monday with Breakfast

I have never been a breakfast person. I don't normally like "breakfast" foods - eggs, bacon, sausage or cereal, so this is the meal I usually skip. As a retired Registered Nurse, I realize the importance of starting each day with breakfast, but for me, Coca-Cola was always my breakfast buddy.

However, since I have quit drinking Cokes, I'm finding myself hungrier and hungrier each morning. My body seems to be in withdrawals from its sugary diet of Coke and is now telling me it craves real sustanance.

This past week I decided I needed to set a better example for my 16 year old daughter, so I have been having a bowl of oatmeal each morning before work. At first I could barely get more than a few bites in before my body rebelled. But this morning, I was able to wolf down my bowl without a moments hesitation!

Not only is oatmeal a good part of anyone's diet, but it is giving me more energy to get through the morning hours. Typically I was starved by the time I would get home for lunch. Now, I can take my time fixing my noon meal and I don't eat like a crazed wolf.

So, if you're not a breakfast eater, take advice from a breakfast eating convert - breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It will give you energy to face the day, prevent you from overeating late in the day, and will help to lower your cholesterol.