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?

Sugar spike apparently, then a sugar crash, doesn't happen with a whole apple. (Please don't shoot the messenger, just quoting).

No different to buying them flavoured porridge sachets. They have oats in but are full of sugar as well. I like muesli but the bought one's are full of sugar. So I make my own instead.

Depends which granola and which cereals and how much you're eating. Neither are particularly healthy though, lots of sugar.

Look at the ingredients list on your example

Oat Flakes (65%), Sugar, Raisins (7%) (Raisins, Cottonseed Oil, Sunflower Oil), Glucose Syrup, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower/Rapeseed), Almonds (2%), Roasted Sliced Almonds, Honey, Sunflower Seeds, Flavouring, Caramelised Sugar, Antioxidant: Tocopherol-Rich Extract

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What the fuck is Tocopherol-Rich extract?
What is the "flavouring"?
It has cottonseed oil in the raisins?
Glucose syrup is upf.

Had it just been oats, sugar, raisins, almonds, honey and sunflower seeds, then fine. But it's the addition of the crap!

Op surely it's not beyond you to read the nutritional info/ ingredients list on both options and compare them???

I also make my own granola - no sugar, honey or oil

10–12 pitted (200g) medjool dates
1/2 cup (110g) water
1/4–1/2 cup (65-130g) almond butter or peanut butter ( I use the one thats just ground nut, no added oil )
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups (250g) rolled oats
1/2 cup (65g) hemp seeds
1/2 cup (75g) pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup (65g) flax seeds
( I just buy a bag of mixed from Tescos )

Preheat the oven to 300F.
In a high speed blender, combine the medjool dates, water, almond or peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
Blend until smooth and thick. If it’s a little chunky that’s okay, but do not add more water.
n a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and seeds.
Add the date mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix until evenly coated.
Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper. Spread out the granola evenly between the pans.
Bake for 20 minutes at 300F. Stir moving the outside bits to the inside and vice versa.
Bake for another 20-25 minutes checking and stirring every 10 minutes so the edges don’t burn. It should be golden and dry/crisp when done.
Remove from the oven and cool for at least 15 minutes. It will get crispier as it cools.
Stores for ages in an airtight container

I do this in the airfryer

But that's the point...is a sugary overly processed cereal better than a mars bar?

I eat it with added fresh fruit because I like it. I feel like it's reasonably healthy, certainly no more unhealthy than what I might choose otherwise. 🤷‍♀️ I'm not counting calories or watching my weight though.

Might as well be eating a store-bought cake.

As others have said, it depends on the granola. Some are full of sugar and oil.

I now make my own. Very quick and easy and you can control the type and amount of sweetener you use. I normally use agave nectar, date syrup or maple syrup plus lots of fruit.

Exactly what I have every day, but I make my own granola. It’s cheap as chips to make in bulk and you can control the sugar. Good recipe in HFW’s Good Comfort.

Home made granola with reduced sugar is a better option. You can add some nuts to make it more nutritious and interesting.

The people making their own everything from scratch: I cannot relate.

“Not as good” is not the same as “not healthy at all”. Again, what do we mean by “healthy” here is unclear. Are we talking about vitamins, fibre, calories? Would stewed Apple be hypothetically healthier than, say, a slice of cake? And if yes, then we can hardly claim it’s not “healthy at all”.
It is easy to start demonising foods. The truth is, there is no good or bad foods. There are foods that are more nutritionally dense/balanced than others and that’s about it.

‘Natural’ flavourings are anything but and UPF

Stewed apple and Greek yogurt is gorgeous, beaten only by Stewed rhubarb! 😋

I also make my own - stir up some olive oil or coconut oil, honey or maple syrup and a dash of peanut butter. It's pretty flexible.
Then mix with oats and whatever you like. Last match I think I added coconut chips, dates and my usual bad of mixed seeds from Lidl. And a sprinkle of sea salt. Bake in oven. Easy.

I don't make everything from scratch, but my teen daughter makes granola (it takes about 5 min to mix) because she is very picky about what she does and doesn't like, and it saves buying one and her picking out half the ingredients!!

Are there any studies quoted in that book to support this hypothesis? If not, this is just author’s opinion.

The studies that purported to demonstrate the importance of breakfast were funded by cereal companies to sell us made up food.

Eat real food or don’t bother until you’re actually hungry enough to want to eat real food.

It’s bonkers that we have special breakfast food, designed to overcome the natural aversion to preparing and consuming food early in the morning. We’ve been brainwashed into being afraid of being hungry, tossing around phrases like “I’m starving, I’m absolutely famished, I’m weak with hunger” if a meal is an hour late. As if we are going to drop dead before we can get the spoon in our mouths if we don’t time our meals to avoid ever feeling hungry.

'If you really want something healthy, mix plain porridge oats with chopped apple and / or a few sultanas. It takes less than a minute to prepare.

Three of your 5 a day by 8am. Loads of fibre. Very little sugar.'

Loads of fibre. Very little sugar. Totally joyless.

I thought ultra processed food was bad because of the quantity of salt, sugar and/or fat it sometimes contained. Simply that, not some other mystery ingredient. If that is the case then people saying that despite its high sugar content granola is better because it isn’t a UPF doesn’t make much sense. Maybe I’m wrong though.

I make my own granola. I don't claim its exactly healthy, but it is delicious.

The word “healthy” is the problem. It doesn’t mean much til u define you healthy.

Fat content
sugar
fibre
calories

I would swap granola for low sugar muesli and enjoy the calories saved for another meal.

No it's about level of processing, which often is indicated by weird stuff on the label (guar gum, preservatives, etc.) Stuff can be non-UPF and still high in all that stuff.