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?

When I made granola I was shocked at how much fat and honey is in the recipe as you’re basically roasting the ingredients . I’d say Weetabix or shredded wheat is healthier as they are low sugar, fat and high in fibre.

Im old :) And poor

When we had good jobs in London and were cash rich and time poor, everything was ready made/ready to cook/takeaway or eating out

Then illness meant a complete lifestyle change, loss of earnings, time on hands, so now all meals are from scratch and Ive just learned to make what I can, better, cheaper and healthier then shop bought

Will I really be annoying and say I use the strained whey to make a protein loaf? lol A loaf of bread that tastes like sour dough, really high protein, absolutely delicious and only takes the time of a normal loaf to make :)

I've started having yogurt, chopped fruit, a handful of chopped pecans and pumpkin seeds, and a drizzle of honey, takes about 2 minutes to prepare, tastes like a pudding and you can shovel it down in about 5 minutes. I have greek yogurt so its got a bit of protein and keeps me quite full. I think its healthy, but I eat it because its delicious and easy

Stewed apple and Greek yogurt is gorgeous,

Yoghurt? Noooo! What goes best with stewed apple is cheap biscuits (ginger nuts are divine) or custard. Plus, stewed apple is pudding not breakfast.

Wanders off shaking head and muttering about newfangled ways...

Yes, a 1977 study quoted in the Lancet. Depletion and disruption of dietary fibre. Effects on satiety, plasma-glucose and serum insulin.

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

For one it's got rapeseed/canola oil which is apparently very bad for you. It's got 4 types of sweetener and the second largest ingredient is sugar. How much sugar is actually in it? Flavouring, what's that? who knows but they don't say what it is so it is probably something you don't want to be eating.

I didn’t say it was!!

It gets a high score on the Zoe app and I’m happy with that. Clever people are behind it.

Does natural yoghurt mean set without thickeners then? I have natural yoghurt and Greek style natural yoghurt in the fridge and are both just made with milk. I try and avoid flavoured/ fancy yoghurts. Kids have a sweet tooth so just drizzle a spoonful of honey over.

I like granola, I just buy whatever I fancy and add to it whatever I want. Sometimes it's full fat greek yoghurt, fat free, dried fruits, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit. Better than some cereal, worse than others but it tastes nice.

It doesn't keep me full for very long though but definitely fuller than toast or coco pops!

I also eat porridge made with milk, add in fruit, seeds, protein powder and a bit of honey or maple syrup (not the proper stuff 😱) Bit more filling than granola.

Eggs is also a go to, poached on brown sourdough with avacado and with or without prosciutto ham, smoked salmon, spinach. Keeps me fuller for longer than the above breakfasts.

If you like granola then eat it, don't eat too much.

That sounds utterly delicious tbh. Sadly I am time poor.

It depends what you are eating it with and what you'd be eating instead if you didn't eat the granola....

So if you're eating it with natural live yogurt and some seeds/ berries.and instead of a bowl of frosties... then it is 'healthy'. On the other hand if you're adding sugar and oat milk and would otherwise have been eating scrambled eggs with a of spinach and mushrooms then no, it's sugar filled junk and not 'healthy'

I agree: granola plus fruit keeps me fuller than most other breakfasts I'd choose. I usually have a mid morning snack after other breakfasts but don't usually need one with granola.

It’s a very very small study. Only 10 participants which does not give it any statistical power whatsoever to generalise the findings. Also, why 1977? We won’t, on a whole, consider evidence which is more than 10 years old unless it is bullet proof. What are the chances that this study was replicated on a much larger scale more recently and didn’t show the same outcomes… pretty high.
This cherry-picking of evidence is quite poor practice but very common in sensationalist books.

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

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.

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…

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.

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

We call granola broken biscuits. Maybe muesli would be better

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.