Granola is healthier than most other cereals

If you are buying it in a plastic bag or cardboard box at the supermarket and it keeps a long time its probably no better than any other packaged cereal, regardless of sugar etc.

The best thing you can do is use raw ingredients and make things at home for yourself.

Sorry, who does? Who's "he"?

The cat’s father@Floatlikeafeather2 . Or, just possibly, Mr Gas0de, as mentioned in previous posts.
Being neither a hamster nor a horse, I have no views on granola v porridge, but am rather amused at the new bogeyman of UPF. Eat the whole apple, even the core, plus any associated wasps, and you’re grand. Stew it, and it’s downhill all the way to debility, diabetes, degeneracy and general DOOM.

It’s all junk, eat eggs instead!

That's a bit of a misunderstanding... The point about upf is that it directly causes the overconsumption of fat, salt and sugar because of the way it's made, because it has artificially low levels of vitamins, minerals and fibre. In addition the highly processed nature of it means our bodies don't know what they are getting.

Most people will self limit their intake of fatty and salty foods if non upf. Anyway we need plenty of fat and salt in our diets especially if active as we are supposed to be. Even sugar is not that palatable on its own or added to a non upf food.

If your diet is high in upf you are probably deficient in micronutrients even though you may be consuming excess calories. That causes more overconsumption and obesity.

Thread closed.

What does 'no added sugar' mean though? Raisins are high in sugar, and most granolas contain something like honey or maple syrup as a binding agent. While technically these don't count as 'added sugar' they are very high in fructose, which comes to pretty much the same thing.

We make our own museli - much cheaper and only takes a few mins to make masses of it. I buy 3kg bag of oats, Linwoods crushed seed and nuts with apple, ready brek (because it’s fortified with nutrients), and raisins. I often make into porridge and add freshly grated apple or chopped up banana

Thankyou for recommending this.

If I remember correctly, no chewing so easy to eat as soft. It comes under the category, UPF is pre-chewed.

That's not in any definition of UPF I've ever seen! Apple you've stewed yourself isn't even processed, never mind ultra-processed. You have cooked it using only raw, completely natural ingredients.

Sorry, who does? Who's "he"? Anyway I do the same - I buy the most basic muesli (I have an issue with peanuts, coconut banana chips etc being in my breakfast) and add more of what I like most. But I wouldn't then go and roll it all in refined sugar. That's my issue with granola. Having said that, I am, at this very moment, eating and thoroughly enjoying a bowl of cornflakes. 🤣

I would classify it as sugar cereal - it probably more nutritious than cornflakes etc
I would classify a health break as non-added sugar.

When will this nonsense stop? NOTHING is bad for you, not in moderation. You can eat ANYthing you like - in moderation. This bad food/good food bollocks needs binning! And whatever you have for breakfast will be burned up during the day anyway.

Also, granola will fill you up better than bloody cornflakes!

I am surprised that three quarters of voters think YABU @Aliceisagooddog

Actually should I be surprised though? This is Mumsnet. The home of the teeny tinies and the massive salads.

You're both wrong! Porridge - that's the food of the Gods. I eat it religiously every evening with blueberries.

I usually have main meal at lunchtime & just a couple of ryvita slices around 5pm so I’m always hungry for breakfast. Plus I go to the gym before work 3 times a week & don’t fancy working out on an empty stomach.

Admittedly I’m single, child free & WFH so I can plan my meals around what works for me - I know it’s not that simple for everyone.

My take on the stewed apple debate ( same as the mashed banana debate ) is that all fruits are high in sugar and some high in teeth destroying acids , but the fibre content and vitamins also included balance this. But only when eating the fruit whole

Cooking or mashing reduces the volume of the fruit so its easy to eat 2 or 3 times the amount , hence a lot more sugar going into you then you think. Sure a apple stewed has the same sugar as a whole apple but one apple wouldnt make more then 1 tablespoon full stewed - and who really stops at just one?

No it's nothing to do with the amount of fat or salt or sugar. Upf is to do with the level of processing

Granola is full of carbs that quickly become sugar once you consume it.

I'm a recovering granola addict so I'm sure if this.

I spend a couple of minutes every night putting some plain oats, frozen fruit (bought fresh & mixed up), nuts & seeds in a box & mixing it with Greek yogurt, then putting it in the fridge. Then I slice a banana into it in the morning, sprinkle cinnamon & eat it.

Easy, cheap & healthy.

Not practical for a lot of people to wait until they're really hungry to eat breakfast if they're then at work at that point. I work in a school, I need (and want) to have my breakfast in the morning before I leave for work.

We call granola broken biscuits. Maybe muesli would be better

Agreed. Still gives pause for thought. I don't think this is a sensationalist book, tbf but it has made me think.

It depends on how you eat it. Greek yoghurt with a small handful of good-quality granola and some fresh fruit e.g. berries or a chopped apple, maybe a few chopped nuts, makes a good, well-balanced breakfast IMO.

The high sugar content of granola is often partly due to the dried fruit in it, so if you are making your own and then adding dried fruit it will also be high in sugar.

The seed heavy rather than dried fruit heavy ones are much lower in sugar. M&S do a lovely seedy/nutty granola which feels healthier than some supermarket alternatives. We have it with Greek yoghurt, fresh berries, chia and flax and nut butters. It’s very filling and you need only a small amount of granola. I like to make my own occasionally but it is more delicious when made with more honey. Sigh…

When I looked at articles on it (admittedly not many) they seemed to say that they were unhealthy because they were a quick, easy way to consume too much fat, sugar and/or salt and that some processing was good (pasteurising milk and many other examples) and some might be bad (sweeteners). They did seem to suggest it was mainly the fat, sugar and salt content though.

Have a child who follows a very low sugar diet (medical reasons). They have Shredded Wheat occasionally but we mainly stick to porridge.