Gluten-Free, Whole Grain Cinnamon Chex Cereal

As cinnamon has always been a favorite, I was intrigued when I spotted one of the latest offerings from the General Mills family of cereals...Cinnamon Chex. I was able to buy a 13.5 oz. box at a local grocery store for just over $3.

The Product

Cinnamon Chex cereal is packaged in a light -brown, cardboard box which holds the cereal packaged in a plastic pouch. The nutrition information is prominently displayed at the top of the front of the box against a blue background: " Calories: 120, Saturated Fat: 0g, Sodium: 190mg, Sugars 8g, Calcium 100mg, Iron 8mg"

Each checkerboard cutout type square of cereal is about 3/4" x 3/4". Some of the squares are a plain beige color, while others are in varying degrees brown as they are the squares covered in cinnamon.

As my husband is diabetic, I try to be very careful in reading nutrition labels. For 3/4 cup of cereal, the exchange, based upon Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes, is 1.5 starches. Not bad at all as my husband could eat a bit more of this for breakfast, should he so choose.

Ingredients

Whole grain rice, corn meal, sugar, fructose, corn starch, canola oil, rice flour, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar syrup, yellow corn flour, soy lecithin, color (yellow 6 lake, blue 2 lake), peanut flour, nonfat milk, vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) and BHT added to preserve freshness. (information printed on product packaging)

Warning: for those with food allergies, please note that this product contains soy, peanut and milk ingredients.

My conclusions

Upon pouring a bowl of this cereal, I am immediately greeted with the inviting scent of cinnamon. It's clear that real cinnamon, rather than cinnamon flavoring, is an ingredient. The squares are small enough for a child to eat, and large enough for an adult to get plenty on their spoon.

I eat this cereal with a bit of 1% milk. The squares are crunchy without being too hard. Often, if a cereal is too thick it will hurt the upper part of my mouth, but I haven't had an issue with this. While the milk does quickly permeate the cereal as each square contains several square cutouts, this cereal does not become soggy quickly. I do not eat quickly, and even as I reach the bottom of the bowl, the cereal does maintain a bit of crunch.

If you like the taste of true cinnamon, there's quite a good chance you'll love this cereal. The taste of real cinnamon comes through solidly, and the sweetness is just right. There is no need to add sugar or artificial sweetener to this cereal.

One downfall of this product for me is that it contains no dietary fiber, despite whole grain rice being the first ingredient listed. I was disappointed as I was hoping to get some of my daily fiber content from this cereal. As it's best to spread out your fiber intake throughout the day, I'll usually also eat a piece of fruit for breakfast along with this cereal.

Despite containing no fiber, I will purchase this cereal again. It's a sweet treat for my diabetic husband, and I love that it contains a great deal of cinnamon taste. This cereal fills me up without leaving me with a heavy feeling in my stomach.

I definitely recommend giving this cereal a try.