Granola is healthier than most other cereals

[Aliceisagooddog]

Ongoing argument with dh. He thinks granola is bad because its high sugar. I think it's not as bad as cornflakes etc because it's much less processed, you can actually see what it's made of.
Who's being unreasonable?

I can't eat oats. I'm fond of malted wheat flakes, which I think come in between you and DH? Tastier than cornflakes and they're whole grain, but less exciting than granola.

If I remember correctly, no chewing so easy to eat as soft. It comes under the category, UPF is pre-chewed. Apparently apple juice and apple puree cause the blood sugar and insulin levels to spike higher than eating a whole apple, then fall to a lower level than they had been so people were still hungry. A whole apple makes blood sugar rise slowly, then return to previous level with no crash and people feel fuller after.

How is chopped apple and a few sultanas 3 of your 5 a day? An apple is one of your five a day, a tablespoon of sultanas is another portion so if you make with both that’s 2 portions but where is the third portion coming from?

Presumably a mistake...

But yes, agreed that they wouldn't be full portions regardless.

The more I think about it the more I agree with this! Oats and other things, bound together with something sticky and probably sweet, baked, packaged. It's far too sweet for me. I don't not have a sweet tooth but fortunately for what's left of my waistline this is one kind of food that just doesn't appeal. I'd rather have something savoury.

Anyway, on the back of this thread I've had a re-think about the granola I get for Mr Gasp and he will be getting a lower sugar one from now on. He likes to have oats and nuts. The other ingredients are just there to make it palatable.

That does matter, btw. It's no good providing healthy food if it's so dull or outright nasty that nobody eats it. A little sugar or honey or dried fruit added to something that's otherwise good for you is fine if it is means it gets eaten, and in the context of a full day or week of eating a little sugar is really not a problem.

I personally can't get worked about small amounts of UPF ingredients, either.

Ultra processed food is pretty much what it says in the tin ... Food that is highly processed and has odd/unpronounceable/unidentifiable ingredients.

If you stew and apple at home, that's just cooked apple. You'd have to eat it in a few days.

Buy a shelf stable apple puree pouch it probably has ascorbic acid, has been heat treated, that kind of thing. It might even have added flavouring or preservatives etc.

Can we just get clear that UPF stands for ultra-processed food, not just processed food? It's a term that's been invented for manufactured food that contains ingredients you'd never find in a normal domestic kitchen, e.g. emulsifiers, or for food that's been processed in a way that couldn't be done in a domestic kitchen and that's considered harmful because of what it does to the gut and other bits of the body. The ultra means the processing is extreme and unnatural.

Stewed apple is not by any stretch of the imagination UPF. It's made by cooking apples, with or without sugar or other sweetener, cinnamon and so on. I agree it's not as good as eating a raw apple because of the lack of chewing and it won't have as much fibre, but there's nothing wrong with eating stewed apple at all.

I make my own 0% fat yoghurt which is so thick you can stand a knife in it and all it contains is skimmed milk and live culture.

It comes out thick and then I strain it through muslin to remove as much as the whey as possible. Its a long process as the fermentation is 8 hours and the straining can be up to 6 hours, but its worth it. Its so thick to be spreadable. I use it for all sorts, bases of dips and pate, as the creamy component to a curry, and love it with muesli and berries or dolloped on fresh fruit

Lol, I’d rather have scary sugary cereal than animal breastmilk

Granola is high in sugar and ultra processed, as are cornflakes. Better off making porridge or your own granola.
Not much bought cereal is healthy except for:
shredded wheat
some mueslis with no sugar like Dorset cereals
some single ingredient cereals like rude health does (spelt flakes or oat puffs)

Exactly, proper Greek yoghurt holds together because of the way it's stained- it's the Greek style yogurts that are misleading as there are just produced the same as other yoghurt and often have other things added.

I was just quoting the book. P172. Yes, stewed apple you make yourself is probably just processed as opposed to UPF and I make stewed apple frequently as a way of preserving my friends apple glut.
All I meant was, the effect of processing I found surprising in this context, food for thought (horrible pun, sorry)

I was just quoting the book. P172. Yes, stewed apple you make yourself is probably just processed as opposed to UPF and I make stewed apple frequently as a way of preserving my friends apple glut.
All I meant was, the effect of processing I found surprising in this context.

I thought Greek style just meant not made in Greece, a bit like champagne has to come from France. I have Aldi Greek style 0% and the ingredient list is just milk! I think what you want is natural yoghurt, Greek or not.

It's absolutely full of sugar! That's why it's so delicious.

I don't buy it any more because I used to eat it in handfuls straight from the box.

Not always. Greek style is often just plain yoghurt with thickeners added...

Homemade granola is way cheaper. You can make it in 10 minutes.

Oats, seeds and nuts in a baking tray ( line it with baking paper preferably)

Gently warm honey or maple syrup or date syrup with coconut oil or cold pressed rapeseed oil in a pan. Pour over the Oats. Mix up and put in the oven for around half an hour at 180. Turn it every 10 minutes.

When cold add dried fruit.

Download the YUKA app and scan the barcode. I seen it on here the other day it works on a green light system.

Why not just have muesli - all the same stuff, without the added sugar? The dried fruit surely adds enough sweetness.

Make it yourself fine , buy it probably fully of crap processed sugars

How is a granola a UPF? Most granolas are just grains, nuts and seeds and maybe a raisin or too, slightly roasted stuck together with a sugar syrup.

I get this one- it's high in sugar but there's nothing ultra processed about it- it has no E numbers, emulsifiers etc. https://www.ocado.com/products/m-s-raisin-almond-honey-granola-601817011

No they aren’t, most granolas have many added ingredients that can’t be found in people’s kitchens.

Everyone tying in knots over upf stewed apple and sugary granola...

both are better for you than a Mars bar ... Or a pack of jaffa cakes - just make the best choices you can from what you've got. Small steps...

I understand it's the texture that appeals here, as a change from muesli, which is the standard breakfast food. He adds all sorts of things to a basic packet of muesli to make it more interesting and more nutritious (by his standards).

granola isn't a brand, its a whole bunch of recipes. Some massively healthy, some massively not. M and S used to do a chocolate one that was to die for but you probably would if you had eaten it regularly.