I have six siblings, and when we were young, my mother economized by making our snacks.
One of our favorites was fried Cheerios (sounds weird, I know). She would take a big skillet, throw in a dollop of butter and melt it over medium heat and then pour in the Cheerios and cook until golden brown.
Sprinkle on some salt and serve.
So, when I saw new Cheerios Snack Mix, a “good source of whole grain and baked, not fried,” I was ready for a test. I was less enthusiastic when I tasted it and even less impressed when I read the nutrition facts. This snack has a salty and sweet taste — in addition to plain old Cheerios it contains wheat and corn Chex cereals, pretzel twists and mini-snack crackers. It is basically Chex mix with Cheerios.
Each 8-ounce bag contains seven servings at 120 calories per serving, but I could have easily eaten three servings as a snack and packed in almost 400 calories. Each serving contains 3.5 grams of fat and half a gram of saturated fat.
A serving has only 1 gram of fiber, but 2 grams of sugar and 330 milligrams of sodium — the same amount of sodium in a medium order of fast-food fries.
The only nutrient of significance is iron — one serving meets 30 percent of your daily need — but that is because grains are enriched with iron, but the form of iron is not well-absorbed.
Save your money and your calories and leave this food on the shelf. For 120 calories and a lot more nutrients you could eat:
• 1 small apple with 2 teaspoons peanut butter
• 3 ounces of baby carrots with 1 tablespoon ranch dressing
• 15 roasted almonds
• A piece of string cheese and 4 rye crackers
• 1/2 cup Cheerios with 2/3 cup skim milk
• 6 ounces of fruited yogurt
• 3 ounces of water-packed tuna and 1 teaspoon of low-fat mayonnaise
Chris Rosenbloom is a registered dietitian and professor of nutrition in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Georgia State University.
