Review of Nature's Path Organic Kamut Puffs

If you follow this blog you know that I've been on a quest for a sugar-free organic cold cereal for the past several months.

So when I found this product on the supermarket shelf, I was really hopeful. Could this finally be the one?

The price is not exactly cheap (considering it has only 170g), but since I've been on this quest for so long, I've decided to give this one a try.


I initially tried it raw (without my non-dairy milk) and it tasted very sweet. It is very airy and fluffy. I found the taste and texture to be very similar to those puffcorns that I used to eat when I was a kid.

However, after having a few puffs I noticed a little bit of a bitter flavour at the end. That's no problem for me since I've learned to like bitter flavours (especially after I learned about - and experienced - how good they are for me. More on this on a future post...)

Since they were similar to puffcorns, I wanted to see if I could eat them raw (without my non-dairy milk), but after a while it just felt too dry (like most cold cereals).

So I went ahead and poured my rice milk on it. I felt like a little kid when I heard the puffs cracking just like rice crispies (for an in-depth explanation of why puffed cereals make this sound, check this page).

I also added the rice milk to see if the taste would change. But it didn't get any sweeter (or less bitter) with rice milk. However, the puffs became very moist (like it happens to rice crispies).
If you like sweet flavours you will definitely want to add some honey or maple syrup to this cereal. I like (and need) bitter flavours, so this is ok for me

I liked that the package is eco-friendly. I've been trying to be a more conscious consumer when it comes to packaging, so this brand has really made it easy for me.
My only issue with the package is that I wish it was bigger. That way I could pay less per weight and use less packaging (even if it the plastic is eco-friendly, I'd still rather use less of it).

As you might remember from a previous post, I've had issues before with cereal not being as filling as expected. So I was very curious about this one.
I poured 1 serving as directed in the package (1 cup) but I did not feel full at all. I'm used to eating oatmeal and whole wheat bread, so this felt very light. Even though I wanted something light that day, this was too light and I had to eat a slice of bread (after I finished the cereal) to feel satisfied.

I also liked this cereal because its organic. Trying to find cereal that is organic and refined-sugar-free at the same time is very challenging. This one is definitely a find, but only for a very light breakfast.

After I first tried this cereal, I've also found myself snacking on it. I think the idea of using it as a snack came from the realisation that it tastes like puffcorns. It was a helpful snack when I wanted something small to tidy me up while I prepared food (I'm so focused on work sometimes that I only remember to cook when I'm already pretty hungry).

In conclusion: if you can afford it, I highly recommend this cereal. It is a good choice if you are looking for a very light organic refine-sugar-free breakfast cereal, or if you are going to eat other things with it (fruit, eggs, etc). I will also recommend this as a snack, especially for kids, if you want a healthy alternative to puffcorns. I will keep on buying this until I find something better.

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PS: use promo code 3HSUMMER18 on this link to get $10 off $40, on lots of organic foods and snacks.

Review of Walmart's Organic Quick Oats

I have talked before about how much I enjoy store-brand organic foods. And this one is no different. Wallmart has been slowly but surely adding organic foods to their store brand, and my budget has been loving that!

Currently, this is the cheapest organic refined-sugar-free oatmeal I can find. And because of that, it has become my go-to hot breakfast cereal. The only time I don't buy it is when I don't have time to go all the way to Walmart (it's a bit far from my home) so I end up buying the PC one (which is slightly more expensive).

I have mentioned before (when reviewing other brands of oats) what I eat with these, so I won't repeat myself here. The one comment I can make is that these oats all taste pretty much the same (and part of me suspects they all come from the same producer anyway), so it really comes down to a price choice.

I have no complaints or issues with this product. I'll keep on buying this again until I find something better.

Review of Alpen's No Sugar Added Muesli Cereal

I am always on the look for refined-sugar-free cereal, so I was really happy to find this product.

It wasn't too expensive but it wasn't super cheap either. The taste was great! But then I looked at the package and realised something: it is not organic!

I hate when supermarkets do this. I hate that they put non-organic cereal right next to organic ones. If you are distracted or in a hurry you end up buying something only to find out that it was not what you wanted (I've made this mistake also when shopping for pasta).
I already shop exclusively in the "natural products" aisle so that I don't have to worry too much about unhealthy food getting into my cart. It's so frustrating to find you've been "duped". If it's not organic it is probably not good for you, so in my opinion it shouldn't even be in the "healthy foods" aisle.

Anyway, rant over. I never made this mistake again: I've seen this product many times in the supermarket but have never bough it again. I would be more than happy to buy an organic version of this any time.

Once again the quest for refined-sugar-free cold cereal continues!

Review of Nature's Path Organic Corn Flakes

Those who have been following this blog know that I stopped buying Natures' Path cereals several months ago because they changed the ingredients in the only cereal on their product line that didn't have sugar. 

Well, I have good news. I was looking at their packages once again at the supermarket, and found out that this particular product does not have sugar. It is sweetened with fruit juice, just like the old Whole O's used to be.

So I decided to try it.

My first observation was that it tasted very bland, much more bland than the Kelloggs' Corn Flakes I used to have as a kid. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm sure Kelloggs' Corn Flakes is full of artificial flavours to make the taste more intense.

My other impression was that, despite the fact that it was sweetened, it still tasted significantly more bitter than Kelloggs' Corn Flakes (which probably has some sugar or other artificial flavour to make it taste sweet). I wasn't expecting this Nature's Path cereal to be sweet, but I didn't expect it to be that bitter ether.






When I put almond milk on it, it still tasted a bit bitter, but not as much. After a few weeks of having this cereal though, I got used to the flavour and didn't find it bitter anymore.

But the main reason why I bought this cereal was because I wanted something that was a bit lighter than oatmeal, so I didn't feel so full in the morning - especially since I like to work out a few hours after breakfast. At first it seemed strange how less filling that oatmeal this cereal was, but after a while I got used to it. I don't think this cereal proposes to be as filling as oatmeal anyway.

Of course the other reasons I bought this are because it is organic, and has simple ingredients. I also love that it has this eco-friendly pack. And since the bigger pack makes it more cost-effective than the box, it is a win-win: win for me who pays less for the cereal and win for the planet.

I just have one note of caution about this cereal. Like I mentioned, at first I thought it was bitter and then it started tasting sweet - after a few weeks I couldn't even have this on a daily basis because of how sweet it tasted. Even though it is sweetened with fruit juice, it is still a processed sweet. And its much better for you to get as unprocessed sweets as possible (like dried fruit or regular fruit).

I haven't bought this cereal that often anymore because of how sweet it states (as the weather cools, I have to avoid sweets even more due to my yin kidney body type). I might continue buying this (but much more sporadically) if I don't see any better options at the supermarket.

Do I recommend this cereal? If you can't find any other alternatives, sure. This seems to be the "lesser evil" of cold cereals. But if you can eat bread (without any sugar added of course) or anything else that doesn't have sugar, that is always the better option.

PS: use code 3HFALL and this link to get $10 off organic cereals and lots of other healthy foods.

Review of PC Organics' Quick Oats

I have mentioned on previous posts how happy I am that major grocery stores (like Walmart and Loblaws) now have a lot of organic foods under their own brand (President's Choice, in this case). It makes organics so much more affordable.

And this product is another great example of that. The taste, like many other organic products, is great. I also love that it is much more affordable than my previously favourite quick oats.

I usually have this with soymilk and sometimes blueberries or raspberries. I also occasionally add hemp seeds to give a different flavour and get a serving of protein in. And very rarely, when the sweet crave is strong, I put a bit of maple syrup or honey on top.

The other reason I love this oats so much is because it doesn't have any refined sugar. It's still very hard to find organic breakfast cereal without refined sugar, so this is one of my go-to breakfast meals.

This had become my go-to quick oats until I discovered another one (stay tuned for the post!). I would still recommend this, though, and I occasionally still buy it when it's on sale, or I won't have time to go pick up the other one.

Review of One Degree's Organic Quick Oats

When I first saw these for sale (in 2014), I was super excited. I had been moving all my food to organics and pure oats (without flavours or refined sugar) were one of the few things that I had not been able to find an organic equivalent.

This tastes delicious. It's so much better than the Quaker Oats I used to buy. In this product you can taste the real oats. As with all organic foods, the taste is just so much stronger than their non-organic equivalent.

And it works just as well as Quaker's in terms of preparation. I usually just put my oats in a bowl with 1 cup of non-dairy milk and microwave for 1:45 min. It's the perfect quick breakfast for a busy morning routine.

Of course this was (and still is) a very expensive product. I only bought it because it was on sale at Whole Foods. But the minute I tried it (as with all other organic foods) there was no going back. So I kept on waiting for it to go on sale to buy it again.

Unfortunately for them, I have found other organic oats that are just as good but much cheaper (stay tuned for future posts about these other brands). I would still highly recommend this product, though, if you can find it on sale.

Review of Jordans' Organic Muesli

A few weeks ago I talked about my disappointment with the PC Organic cereals. I also mentioned that I had a new candidate in mind for my daily breakfast cereal. And this is it: Jordans' Organic Muesli.

I've been wanting to try it since then, but I've been waiting for a sale, because the price is quite high. And last week I finally got a good deal ($3.99). (you can find it for sale at Well.ca in Canada)

The reason why I had this cereal in mind is simply because it is the only cereal (other than the PC ones) that I can find that is organic and has no sugar. The current state of the breakfast cereal industry is pathetic. They are failing miserably to satisfy the really conscious consumer like me.

After this slight rant, let's move on to the review:

This cereal smelled amazing as soon as I opened the package. I had it with almond milk and it tasted delicious. It tasted like real food (no chemical taste).

the plain cereal and with almond milk

I also loved that it has hazelnuts (which reminds me of nutella, and brings me happy memories without the sugar and other terrible ingredients they add to it).

The downside is that it is quite sweet, because of all the dried fruit and coconut shaves they add. So I will probably not have this cereal in the winter.

For the price I got, this is much cheaper than the PC Organics, because I only needed 1 serving to feel full and well-nourished.

Conclusion: I think I found my new cereal!

Re-Review of President's Choice Ancient Grains Cereal

A few months ago, I reviewed this cereal by singing its praises. I'd been eating it daily for breakfast for several months (if not years) and loving the crunchy, filling wholesome flavour.

However, a month or so after I published that review, I started noticing that one serving (half a cup) was not satisfying me anymore.I thought maybe it was because I'd been doing more exercises, so my body was asking for more calories.

Then, in the last 2 months, I've noticed that the cereal has gotten lighter, in colour, taste and weight. It does not have that heavy, whole grain taste anymore. I've also noticed that the colour of the cereal itself has progressively gone from a dark brown to light brown. The flock of cereal has also gotten lighter (I can feel that just by holding it between my fingers). The texture has also changed to be much smoother and not full of grains like before. They've made that change slowly and progressively, I think in the hopes that people who eat it every day like me wouldn't notice, but I did.

I'm almost sure they've also decreased the weight in the box (from 475 to 375). I don't have any pictures or old boxes, so I can't state that as a fact.

And the same ingredient and box weight alteration has happened to the other flavour which I would occasionally eat: "7 reasons".

I am quite disappointed. I hate having to re-review products because they changed ingredients for the worst, but it seems to be the trend in the cereal industry (see my other re-review of my previous daily cereal). I'm sad to have to say goodbye to this cereal, which has been my favourite for so long, but there it is.

So I will finish the boxes I have at home, and will start buying another cereal from now on. I see no point in continuing to eat something that doesn't fill me.  When you've been eating only whole grains like me for 3 years, anything short of that (from light brown to completely white bread) feels tasteless and empty - it's like eating air.

Moreover, if I have to eat twice as much for the cereal to fill me, then its price has effectively doubled for me. So I've decided to try something else which I've found might be more nutritious and affordable. Stay tuned to find out what it is!

Review of Great Value's Organic Corn Flakes

For those who don't know, this is a brand owned by Walmart.

I decided to give this one a try because a) it has no sugar, b) I love trying new things and c) I want to encourage Walmart to keep on making affordable organic food. I'm hoping it will help people (who think they can't afford organic) get into organics.

Overall the cereal is ok. I think it's a good transition for those who already eat normal corn flakes. It tastes just like the non-organic corn flakes.

But if you are spoiled like me and have been eating only whole grains for 2 years, I'm pretty confident you will find this cereal tasteless.

Ever since I switched to whole grains, whenever I eat white bread it tastes like I'm eating air - because of the lack of fibers and nutritional value. So after eating President's Choice' Ancient Grains for over a year, this one tastes like paper. (In fact, looking at the Nutrition Facts on both boxes, the PC cereal has 3 times more fiber than the GV one!)

It is cheaper than the PC, though. So if you are tight on budget or want to try switching to organic, this could be a good option.

Personally, I won't buy it again. For me, the nutritional value of the PC cereal is worth the extra money.

Review of PC Organic's Ancient Grains

This cereal has quickly become one of my favourites.

After I found out that Whole O's now has refined sugar in the ingredients, I went looking for a replacement for my daily cereal.

And I was pleasantly surprised to find this one. In fact, I've been pleasantly surprised to find a lot of organic products from the PC brand. It's made organic food much more affordable.

The fact that the cereal only has whole grains and - more importantly - no refined sugar, was what made me try it.
And after I tried, I loved it!
I have been buying and eating this for months now.


I haven't found any other organic cold cereal that doesn't have refined sugar for sale, so this (and the 7 Reasons flavour) are the only cold cereals I currently buy.

I wish PC would make other organic cereals without sugar. They have a lot of other organic cereals but they unfortunately all have sugar (or its euphemisms). But I'm glad that there are at least 2 that don't have sugar. It's better than nothing.

I am becoming a big fan of PC Organics products.

Re-review of Whole O's Cereal

On my initial review of this product I mentioned that it didn't have refined sugar. It was the reason why I sang its praises and why I kept buying this cereal - until recently.

One of these days, I was looking at the bigger package of this product (the one that comes in a plastic bag) and I noticed that it had refined sugar. I thought it was odd that the big container had refined sugar and the small one didn't. So I grabbed the box from the shelf and checked the ingredient list - and there it was: sugar (disguised as "granulated sugar cane juice").

So I never bought this product again. It's sad to see that this company sold itself out (to the pressures of sugar producers? or to the pressures of uneducated consumers who are addicted to sugar?) and decided to add refined sugar to this product. This was the only product that I still bought from them (all the other ones already had sugar in the recipe). Now I have no reason to buy anything from them. Goodbye, Nature's Path.

Review of Whole O's Cereal

One of they key components of my diet is the complete lack of refined sugar.
My experience has taught me that finding regular cereal without sugar is almost impossible.
So I was glad to find this cereal for more or less the same price as regular cereal (such as multi grain cheerios).

The multi-grain cheerios doesn't have refined sugar either, but other reason why I avoid it is because it has canola oil (more in that on another post).
Also when I look at the ingredient list for Whole O's, it is simple and without chemical words.

This Whole O's has become my "go to" cold cereal. I buy it whenever it is on sale. I love it because it's sweet but not too much (I think its because of the natural sugar).

I highly recommend it.

Update on January 2016: since I wrote this review (in February of 2015), this product has changed the ingredients list and now contains refined sugar. So I do not recommend it anymore. See the full re-review here.