Which Cereal is Lowest in Calories?

[redneckgaijin]

So, what with my trying to lose weight, I've been looking for the lowest-calorie option for Things That Go Crunch (That Aren't Celery). Chips, in pretty much any form, are out- the oil they're fried in loads 'em up with calories. Rice cakes... hate the taste of the plain ones, the flavored ones don't save any calories at all, and I end up hungrier after eating them than before anyway. Popcorn seemed like a good option- I eat the lite-butter variety anyway, since I can't stand it absolutely plain- but at somewhere vaguely around 300 calories per microwaved bag, I'd still like something better.

So I had Wheat Chex (my favorite of the Chexes) on the shelf, and I thought, Well, this is healthy, right? Probably low-calorie, since it's made out of what tastes like chaff anyhow. I looked at the nutrition info box...

One serving, 3/4 of a cup, 160 calories.

WOW.

I compared it with the Corn and Rice Chex my grandmother bought to make mix out of. Serving size on both is larger- one full cup- but calories are 120 for Corn, 100 for Rice.

WTF?

And then, last week, I did some spot-checking on the shelves at Wal-Mart.

Shredded Wheat- 180 calories for two biscuits.
Quaker Oatmeal Squares - 210 calories.
Fruit Loops- 120 calories.
Cookie Crisp- 110 calories.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

So, I'm starting a project- and I need help from as many of you as I can get (in the USA, anyhow- I'm not likely to go to, say, Cologne in Germany for breakfast food). You see, I can't afford to buy one of every major cereal in Wal-Mart or HEB or wherever, and the stores look dimly indeed at someone who enters the store with notepad and pen in hand, examining boxes and writing things down.

What I'm asking is this: go to wherever you keep whatever name-brand cereal you have and look at the nutrition box. The info I need for this project is the cereal name, the serving size in cups (usually 1/2, 3/4 or 1 cup), the serving size weight in grams (g), and the calorie count for that size. NOTE: the calorie count WITHOUT milk. Not only is this project focused on the cereal alone, but I eat my cereal dry anyway.

What I'm going to do with that information is put it into Excel, then adjust it twice.

First, I'm going to change the serving size to something more resembling how much cereal actually gets eaten at one time. The small styrofoam bowls we use here are 12 oz., or 1 1/2 cups, and that will be my adjusted serving size by volume.

Then, I'll adjust the serving weight to a uniform standard- either 40g or 50g, depending on how the numbers come in- and see which cereal has the highest or lowest calorie count by mass.

I'll publish results on LJ in the form of a link to an Excel spreadsheet, once I've got enough cereal info to make it worth posting.

Here's the boxes I have in the house right now. (Sadly, the Wheat Chex box was emptied and thrown out last week.)

CORN CHEX - serving size 1 cup, serving weight 31g, 120 calories
RICE CHEX - serving size 1 cup, serving weight 27g, 100 calories
HONEY NUT CHEERIOS* - serving size 3/4 cup, serving weight 30g, 120 calories
CAP'N CRUNCH - serving size 3/4 cup, serving weight 27g, 110 calories

* generic knockoff- would prefer updated data

So- your assistance, please? (And if this exploration of deceptive serving sizes and gaming the nutrition disclosure laws intrigues you, pass the word!)

Comments

[lolleeroberts.livejournal.com]

Here you go. Nutritional information on a variety of ready to eat cereals.

Also just a note - puffed wheat and rice cereals are going to be your lowest calorie count for this. Approximately 90 calories for 1.5 cups. They do tend to have much the same properties as puffed rice cakes, though. Not much flavor or staying power.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but it appears these labels don't include serving volume in cups- only the weight in grams. For my purposes, it's not helpful.

Remember, nobody eats based on how much their food weighs; we eat either based on what we're served, or if we serve ourselves by how much fills up the bowl, plate or glass. For practical purposes the serving-by-volume measurement is meaningful for actual application; serving-by-weight is practically useless, and I include it only for comparisons.

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

Go to the manufacturers website, and you'll find this -- it's the nutrition box that you would see in the store (in this case, rice crispies).

http://www2.kelloggs.com/ServeImage.aspx?BID=64029&MD5=ecced25da52087b05930e83e2d24257f

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

This site definitely doesn't have all cereals, but it might be a starting point to find some without having to plod from manufacturer site to manufacturer site.

http://www.coheso.com/nutridata/General_Mills_Cheerios/Multi_Grain_Cheerios/item_details.html

[lolleeroberts.livejournal.com]

All the ones I looked at included both volume and weight. However I see that suzilem gave you some other resources so I will simply point out that this information is readily available with a little web surfing, even at dial up speeds.

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

that www.nutritiondata.com site that your link links to is pretty cool.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Here's the core issue: digestible carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram. So one ounce (28g) of carbohydrate-based munchies will be about 110 calories, regardless of whether it's Sugar Bombs or Unsweetened Wheat Flakes. Fried will make it go higher, of course, by adding fat at 9 calories per gram to the mix, but you have a floor of 110 per ounce unless they mix in some indigestible stuff. High-fiber cereals can reduce the calories (fiber doesn't get digested by humans), but a lot of it adds fats or proteins to improve the taste and texture.

The key, though, in seeking good munchies is not so much counting calories as looking at the complexity of the carbohydrates. Simple sugars tend to spike your blood glucose and lead to a rush of insulin, which just leaves you hungrier sooner. Complex carbs are slower to digest, as are proteins (also 4 calories per gram), which keeps you from being as hungry as soon.

In other words, Wheat Chex are better for you as a snack than Cookie Crisp not because the calories are lower (in fact, they're higher), but because they're slower to digest and won't leave you craving another bowl in an hour.

You might try something aggressively fiber-y and sweeten it with Splenda or something.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Actually I only get a craving for Calvinated cereal infrequently; Wheat Chex and the like satisfies me otherwise. (Caveat: I've never liked Corn Flakes, for some reason.)

I'm familiar with the issues on sugars v. starches v. complex carbs, but for practical purposes it's all academic; it all ends up as the same kind of fat if it isn't burned off. The main difference is that sugars, being digested faster, get stored as fat faster.

And my main problem isn't feeling full, per se- it's having something low-calorie that I can stand to put in my mouth and chew when I have a non-hunger urge to eat something. Celery doesn't cut it, because it's only tolerable loaded up with high-calorie dip or dressing. I'm trying salad with low-fat dressing, but my gut is beginning to complain of all the roughage.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, as I found three years ago during my big dietary upheaval, there really isn't ANYTHING you can just sit and munch idly that's calorie-free, once you eliminate celery and its ilk. I pretty much had to give up grazing entirely, and only snack with intent and forethought, only enough to blunt the hunger or avoid the low blood sugar wobblies.

If you don't want to give up idle munching, your best bet is to find the fluffiest puffed grain product you can, to get the most volume for the mass. That's one of the reasons Rice Chex is lower in calories per cup than Wheat Chex...they're a lot puffier.

You might also try chewing gum, especially the newer "long lasting flavor" types. Keeps your mouth occupied at least, and that's more of an issue with grazing than actual hunger is.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Chewing gum helps sometimes, but it's deeply unsatisfying.

And so far, puffy is the way to go... thanks to the links provided above, I've got a good bit of data on Kellogg's and General Mills cereals...

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I'm a big advocate of plain ol' Cheerios. Low cal, very little sugar, very good source of fiber, whole grain, tasty and filling.

[peachtales.livejournal.com]

Still my favorite cereal as well!

[scarfman]

Oh wow, someone else who eats their cereal dry! I thought I was the only one.

All we have in the house right now is an empty box of non-namebrand crunchberries, but I shall try to remember to gather data for you.