A Healthy Start to Our Life…I Mean, Day

It’s safe to say that none of you think of Endless Simmer as your first place to turn for healthy eating news. Heck, even our breakfasts usually include potato chips, pizza and beer. But we have a dirty little secret. In just a few days the combined age of Endless Simmer’s two editors will be 60. Yes, we’re both in, or nearly in, our 30s and starting to worry about things like high cholesterol and the idea of maybe not eating bacon 100 times a year. I know, I’m not happy about it either.

Case in point: for the past four years—ever since I moved back to NYC—I have eaten a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast approximately five times a week. I might actually be under-exaggerating. I just don’t get tired of them. I don’t know what made me do it—probably that 30^th birthday looming on my calendar—but I recently decided to look up how many calories are in a big ‘ol New York bagel and schmear. I won’t tell you all the gory details, but let’s just say it isn’t pretty. So, for the first time since I was a teenager, I’ve switched back to cereal for breakfast. This is not a problem per se–I love cereal and I always have some around as a snack. But that’s just it—I think of cereal as a snack, not a meal. Rice Krispies are fantastic, but I can eat three bowls of them and still be hungry for lunch at 10:15.

So when Kellogg’s recently asked us to try out their new FiberPlus Cereal—a request I might have scoffed at a few years ago—I decided to go for it.  I’ve been on the market for a healthy breakfast that will sate me in one serving, so I figured I’d give it a try.

There are two kinds of FiberPlus. Cinnamon Oat Crunch is basically Honey Nut Cheerios—one of my favorites—except loaded with whole grains, fiber, antioxidants, and all that good-for-you stuff. Berry Yogurt Crunch is the same concept, except more like a healthy version of Honey Bunches of Oats. Both of them are tasty—especially the Cinnamon Oat Crunch—but here’s the more exciting part: they fill you up. One bowl of either one and I’m actually full until after noon, which I’ve been told by many people is the time you’re traditionally allowed to eat a second meal.

Finding a breakfast cereal that is tasty, healthy and filling is no easy task. Most either have as many calories as candy (yep, that’s why they taste like candy), fill you up only a little bit more than oxygen, or taste like they are literally just shredded wheat (sorry Shredded Wheat, but it’s true). FIberPlus somehow manages to pull off the trifecta and accomplish all three: tasty, healthy and filling. No small feat. Both cereals are likely be added to my breakfast rotation.

This post is sponsored by Kellogg’s FiberPlus.