Wednesday 25 July 2012

Cereal - Your Low Fat Chocolate Fix?

Pin It Now!

You may laugh, but the Frenchman insists that the best things in life are foods that he loved as a kid.  This is apparently so good, that he is not willing to share his box of gold.  It's actually been labelled as 'precious' and so this unopened box of chocolatey cereal stares at me untouched.


All this fuss over a box of sugary cereal got me thinking.  Do you remember your days as a student when you snacked on cereal after a long day of lectures?  Similarly, this would make a really good snack when a chocolate craving hits, don't you think?


I've had a look at the nutrition panel and this is 4.8% fat (under 10%), high in sugar at 37% (over 15%) but surprisingly has a decent fibre content at 5.9%.  A 30g portion with semi-skimmed milk will set you back 178kcal.  This is probably similar to Coco Pops, except that Coco Pops Original is composed of 2% fat, 35% sugar and 2% fibre.  To check this out yourself see Kellogs Coco Pops.

I am not saying snack on chocolate cereal.  Or am I?  What I am saying is, compared to a 50g bar of chocolate which will set you back over 250kcal, you are likely to gain a wider range of vitamins, minerals and fibre if you do end up indulging in chocolate flavoured cereal instead.


Other snacks to comfort a sweet tooth are fruit of course.  A deliciously juicy wedge of melon or strawberries are not only nutritious but taste great too.  When this really does not suffice and you feel like banging your head against a wall unless you are drip fed chocolate, then consider making yourself a low fat chocolate drink.  Use cocoa powder, a teaspoon of sugar and skimmed milk.


If all this fails, then a small portion of cereal just might have to be your chocolate fix.  Just make sure that it's not part of a daily affair and that you are not replacing healthy snacks such as fruit with cereal.  Always eat your fruit and reassess your 'death by chocolate' mood again in 20 minutes.  You may feel sunny and quite content..


Enjoy this gorgeous hot weather and don't forget to tell me how you feed your chocolate craving.