Contributed By Maria Waldron, Author of "A Life To Bragg About"
Normally I'm not a big fan of cereal. I prefer protein pancakes, oatmeal, eggs or some other variation of a sweet meal in the morning. But I'm not completely opposed to pouring myself a bowl of cereal when I'm in a hurry in the morning and don't feel like whipping up another bowl of oatmeal. There is only so much oatmeal a girl can take.
So when the natural foods company Attune contacted me and offered to send me some of their healthy cereals to review, I couldn't pass this opportunity up. I've used their products in the past and have had great success with using their products in recipes. In addition, as corny as it may sound, their products just speak to me. Their products boast no GMO's, low in sugar, simple, whole ingredients that even my 3 month old can pronounce (he's a genius baby, FYI), and they also offer gluten free products as well.
What stood out to me the most was how low in sugar everything was. A lot of self proclaimed health brands market their products as healthy but when you take a gander at their nutrition label, you're pretty much left in shock with how much sugar is used to cover up that "healthy" flavor that turns a lot of people off. What I liked about Attune was that they used just enough to slightly sweeten their cereals, and left nature up to the rest.
The first cereal I tried was the Cocoa Crispy Rice cereal. Being the chocolate lover that I am, I used to love Kellog's Cocoa Krispies until I realized how much crap is put in to that...crap. But this stuff is amazing.
It's made with only 8 easily pronounceable ingredients:
Organic brown rice, Organic evaporated cane juice, Organic brown rice syrup, Organic cocoa powder (processed with alkali), Natural flavors, Organic caramel color, Sea salt, Organic cocoa butter
...and somehow manages to taste out of this world AMAZING. Seriously, this stuff is no joke in the flavor department. It also kept me full when I topped my greek yogurt with it and I love knowing that it's actually not that bad for you.
So if Attune were to ask me in one word how I feel about this stuff? LOVE. I may have had 2 or 3 bowls in one sitting because it was that good. I couldn't help myself :D
So when the natural foods company Attune contacted me and offered to send me some of their healthy cereals to review, I couldn't pass this opportunity up. I've used their products in the past and have had great success with using their products in recipes. In addition, as corny as it may sound, their products just speak to me. Their products boast no GMO's, low in sugar, simple, whole ingredients that even my 3 month old can pronounce (he's a genius baby, FYI), and they also offer gluten free products as well.
What stood out to me the most was how low in sugar everything was. A lot of self proclaimed health brands market their products as healthy but when you take a gander at their nutrition label, you're pretty much left in shock with how much sugar is used to cover up that "healthy" flavor that turns a lot of people off. What I liked about Attune was that they used just enough to slightly sweeten their cereals, and left nature up to the rest.
The first cereal I tried was the Cocoa Crispy Rice cereal. Being the chocolate lover that I am, I used to love Kellog's Cocoa Krispies until I realized how much crap is put in to that...crap. But this stuff is amazing.
It's made with only 8 easily pronounceable ingredients:
Organic brown rice, Organic evaporated cane juice, Organic brown rice syrup, Organic cocoa powder (processed with alkali), Natural flavors, Organic caramel color, Sea salt, Organic cocoa butter
...and somehow manages to taste out of this world AMAZING. Seriously, this stuff is no joke in the flavor department. It also kept me full when I topped my greek yogurt with it and I love knowing that it's actually not that bad for you.
So if Attune were to ask me in one word how I feel about this stuff? LOVE. I may have had 2 or 3 bowls in one sitting because it was that good. I couldn't help myself :D
The next product I tried were the Dark Chocolate Probiotic bars. If you could take my love for the Cocoa Crispy cereal and multiply it by whatever measure of number is higher than centillion, that would be my answer for how I feel about this bar. Yeah. That much.
It tastes like the Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies that everyone goes ga-ga for but SO much better. And look what's in it:
Dark chocolate coating (chocolate, evaporated cane juice, cocoa powder, inulin, calcium carbonate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin [an emulsifier], vanilla), *6.1 billion Probiotic cultures (Bifidobacterium lactis HN019, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, Lactobacillus casei LC-11)
Again, it's made up of simple, whole ingredients - the way things should be made.
And if you're wondering about the benefits of probiotics, they're simply microorganisms that resemble the healthy bacteria in our bodies. Key benefits of ingesting probiotics include enhancing the immune system, reducing symptoms of lactose intolerance, enables the ability to absorb nutrients more efficiently, and probiotics inhibit the body from the growth of harmful bacteria and viruses.
Simply put, probiotics rock. And it's even more awesome for us breastfeeding moms. Since it helps enhance our immune systems, the benefits are transferred to our babies via our milk. As a result, our babies digestive and immune system are able to function better so symptoms of gas, colic and other digestive problems are reduced significantly.
As for the last product I tried, I'll be honest and say that it wasn't my favorite. But I understand it's hard to live up to the Cocoa Crispy Cereal and the Dark Chocolate Probitoic Bars. I tried the Uncle Sam Honey Almond cereal and while it wasn't bad, it didn't exactly stand out to me. As I mentioned earlier, they use just enough sugar to slightly sweeten their products and that's exactly what it tasted like with this. Either I need to train my taste buds not to crave super sweet things (yeah right) or this cereal could have used just a tad bit more honey.
However, I did like that this cereal was comprised of whole, natural ingredients and that it was low in sugar and carbs. I also liked that it had flax seeds since we all know that I'm all about those awesome little seeds.
I hope you enjoyed this article about how to live healthier on a frugal budget and maximize your performance!
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