Review: Nature's Path Cereals*
With two school-aged boys in our family of five, breakfast on school mornings can be a bit hectic. Our default go-to meal is often toast or, when we have some, cold cereal. Our boys love cereal, but so many of the cold cereal options in the stores leave me feeling a bit.. uh.. cold. They're full of refined sugars, fillers, artificial colours and flavorings, and really don't offer a lot else. Wait, they're fortified, which I guess is supposed to make it all okay. Sorry, but I don't want to feed my boys crap just because it's fortified. Vitamins and minerals aside, it's still over-processed garbage! Enter Nature's Path. Nature's Path has a full line of cereals for kids under the EnviroKidz label, as well as a more expansive line of whole family cereals. They are organic, full of great ingredients, are comparatively low in sodium and fat, and have labels I can read without a degree in advanced sciences. I've been a fan of their products for a number of years -- buying the jumbo boxes of Optimum Zen cereal from time to time at Costco.
The kind folks at Nature's Path sent us a few boxes of their other cereals to try out: Leapin' Lemurs Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Optimum Blueberry & Cinnamon, and Flax Plus Maple Pecan Crunch. I knew right away that Boy#2 was going to love Leapin' Lemurs -- he's a peanut butter fanatic! That one didn't last long. ;) He gave it a big 2 thumbs up. I only tried a bit, but thought it was a pretty yummy balance between sweet and savory.
Everyone here liked the Optimum Blueberry & Cinnamon. It tasted eerily like the Optimum Zen we used to get -- which is good to know, as I was disappointed when it disappeared from the store shelves. I like that it's high in iron (20% RDA per 1 cup serving!) and high in fiber (28% RDA!). It's also low in fat.
Boy#1 and I particularly loved the Flax Plus Maple Pecan Crunch. It was more savory than sweet, and toasted rolled oats and pecans adding a great crunch to each bite. The hint of maple added a touch of sweetness without overpowering the other ingredients. It is also high in iron (15% RDA per 3/4 cup serving) and fiber (20% RDA).
To be honest, I'm more inclined to purchase their regular line of cereal over their EnviroKidz line -- I prefer the ingredients and the more adult textures and flavours, and the fiber and iron content is higher in the "grown up" cereals. My kids like the regular line just as much as the kids' line and I want to encourage that. The biggest downsides of this cereal are the small boxes (though you can buy some cereals in larger sizes at Costco, etc) and the comparatively high price. These cereals aren't inexpensive, but it is important to keep in mind that organic cereals with less-processed ingredients do tend to cost more at the checkout.
Overall, we were very pleased with these cereals! Thanks, Nature's Path! :)
*Disclosure: I received these products in exchange for a review on this blog. I have, however, been using their products with satisfaction for several years!