As I stood there trying to decide which one to pour into my bowl the other morning, I realized I hadn't done a "product comparison" in a while!
A one cup serving of Lucky Charms weighs in at 142 calories, with 1g of fat, 29g of carbs, and 2g of protein. It contains 7% of your dietary fiber needs, as well as 14% of your calcium and 36% of your iron. It's also a very good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Iron, Zinc and Manganese. The only "bad" thing is that a large portion of the cereal's calories come from sugar... not surprising with all those magically delicious marshmallows!
On the other hand, a one cup serving of Raisin Bran packs 190 calories, with 1g of fat, 46g of carbs, and 5g of protein. It contains 26% of your dietary fiber needs, 3% of your calcium, and 42% of your iron. It's also a good source of Folate and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Iron and Manganese. Again, the only "bad" thing mentioned was that a large portion of its calories came from sugars (this surprised me a little more... guess they're counting all sugars and not just the refined ones that the raisins are coated in)!
Hmmmm... both cereals fall in the "nutritious but calorie dense" quadrant, but Raisin Bran is right on the "nutritious and filling" line (with a "fullness factor" of 2.1 vs. 1.6). On the other hand, Lucky Charms has a higher "optimum health" score (4 vs. 3.25) and is apparently more nutritious (3.9 vs. 3.2)... WHAT?!? I'm guessing this is because Lucky Charms is heavily fortified, mainly because I have a hard time believing that marshmallows are a good substitute for fruit. All the same, I no longer feel quite as "unhealthy" for choosing Lucky Charms. And, I believe I might be on to something with "my Raisin Bran" (aka Frosted Flakes with raisins... they're even grrrrrrreater)!
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