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%

Nutrition Data Comparison
The most noticeable difference in these two cereal options is the amount of calories in fat. For an equal serving size, the Bear Naked All-Natural Granola has 420 calories and 21 grams of fat (4.5 saturated), whereas the Cocoa Krispies cereal has 120 calories and 1 gram of fat (0.5) saturated. Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies, while having a reputation as a "sugary cereal", has less sugar than the supposedly healthy granola. Additionally, the Cocoa Krispies cereal is fortified with vitamins, providing 25% of the daily recommended allowance of Vitamin C. Meanwhile, the fruit and nut granola does not provide any vitamin C, even though it contains fruit. Consumers are therefore getting more vitamins, but less sugar, fat and calories from the Cocoa Krispies.

Ingredient Comparison
The Bear Naked granola is advertised as being "all natural". The active ingredients are: whole grain oats, honey, expeller pressed canola oil, almonds, raisins, sweetened dried cranberries, coconut, walnuts, pecans, maple syrup, oat bran and others. The active ingredients for Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies are: rice, sugar, cocoa, semi-sweet chocolate, salt, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, calcium carbonate, malt flavoring, artificial flavor and others that I cannot even pronounce.

A comparison of these ingredients reveals that the Cocoa Krispies contain many unnatural ingredients that have proven to be unhealthy, particularly the hydrogenated vegetable oil. However, the first three ingredients (rice, sugar and cocoa) aren't unnatural.

A true health-nut would probably forego both cereals and have some low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese with a piece of fruit.

Taste and Satisfaction Comparison
I personally prefer the taste of granola to that of most "sugary" cereals. Perhaps this is because the granola actually contains more sugar, and significantly more fat! It's also important to note that the granola is more satisfying than the Cocoa Krispies. 3/4 cup of granola would probably keep me energized all morning, whereas I would probably be hungry an hour or so after the Cocoa Krispies.

My personal recommendation would be to avoid both cereals as breakfast options. The granola would be suitable as a topper (about a tablespoon's worth) on low-fat or fat-free yogurt, but eating a bowl's worth every day might do some damage to your waistline over time.