Bear Naked Granola Versus Cocoa Krispies Cereal

Granola has a reputation for being a super-healthy "power food"-- packed with energy and nutrition for a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, children's cereals such as Cocoa Krispies, Froot Loops, and Frosted Flakes are perceived as extremely sugary with little to no nutritional value. A health conscious person would obviously choose granola cereal over Cocoa Krispies to start the day off right. But is granola really that much better for you? And are Cocoa Krispies really that unhealthy?

Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies
Cocoa Krispies comes off as sounding very sugary and unhealthy. It's marketed toward children who typically do not care about the health benefits of their cereal. They just want something that tastes good, and maybe has a free toy in the box. According to the nutrition label, the serving size for Cocoa Krispies is 3/4 cup. To follow is the nutrition information for 3/4 a cup of this cereal:

Calories: 120
Total Fat: 1g
Saturated Fat: 0.5g
Total Carbohydrate: 27g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 14g
Protein: 1g
Vitamin A: 10%
Vitamin C: 25%
Calcium: 4%
Iron: 25%

Bear Naked All-Natural Granola: Fruit and Nut
"All-Natural" and "Fruit and Nut" make this cereal seem like a very healthy choice. Examining the nutrition label reveals otherwise. The serving size is listed as 1/4 cup. It's difficult to imagine that most people would only eat a quarter of a cup as their serving size, but that's what the label recommends. Since the serving size and nutrition data for Cocoa Krispies is three times as much as the granola, I have multiplied everything on the Bear Naked granola nutrition label by three for a true side-by-side comparison. Bare Naked All-Natural Granola, the fruit and nut flavor, has the following nutrition data, for 3/4 cup.

Calories: 420
Total Fat: 21g
Saturated Fat: 4.5g
Total Carbohydrate: 48g
Dietary Fiber: 9g
Sugars: 15g
Protein: 9g
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0% (that's odd-- considering this granola advertises itself as containing fruit)
Calcium: 0%
Iron: 18%

Cocoa Krispies are typically viewed as unhealthy. However, when compared to granola, the chocolate cereal doesn't seem all that bad!

Credit: Kellogg

Copyright: Kellogg