Now that I'm back in the commuting/job track, I've been looking for new strategies with this WOE. I have way less time to cook all of a sudden. When I saw Morning Start cereal at Albertsons, I decided to get a box (Blueberry Bounty) to pack in baggies and take for on-the-road breakfasts (eaten dry, like chips).

Then, today, at good ol' Trader Joe's, I saw a new low carb cereal called Hi-Lo made by Nutritious Living. I bought a box of that, too.

Tonight, I did a side-by-side taste test to compare the two.

Cost:
Atkins, $5.99
Hi-Lo, $1.99

Net carbs:
Atkins, 4 g.
Hi-Lo, 5g.

Serving size:
Atkink, 2/3 cup (30 g) for 100 calories
Hi-Lo, 1/2 cup (30 g) for 90 calories

Texture:
Atkins, crunchy, crisp, medium weight
Hi-Lo, crunchy, crispy, and a slightly heavier weight (takes a bit longer to chew).

Fiber: both have 6 g. fiber

Taste: Atkins, quite sweet, blueberry flavor
Hi-Lo, very slightly sweet maple flavor

On the sweetness front, Atkins Morning Start is not quite as sweet as frosted flakes, but it's like a sweetened cereal. Hi-Lo is more like a Wheaties or Product 19 type of cereal.

Both cereals have similar ingredients: soy, wheat gluten, corn bran, rice flour, etc., and both are fortified with vitamin E. Akins also has maltodextrin and sucralos. Even though it's barely sweet, Hi-Lo has an ingredient termed, "dried cane juice" - is that a new way of saying sugar? Neither product has anything that looks like a transfat in the ingredients listing.

Neither product passes the Hidden Carb Calculator test. That is to say, calculating the calories based on grams of fat, carbs, and protein doesn't add up to match the total calories. Either product might have an extra half gram of fat and/or carb than shown on the label.

Over all, I'd say both cereals are really quite good - surprisingly so.

Personally, I prefer less sweet cereals (pre-LC, the only cereal I ate was Product-19, Quaker Oat Chex, or shredded wheat). And, of course, the price of the Hi-Lo is very nice compared to the Atkins product.

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
174/132/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

I agree with your findings, Teelbee.

I buy Hi-Lo, too, and like it. I have tried Keto and Atkins cereals, and like them, too, but Hi-Lo is much cheaper.

I just bought Hi-Lo with strawberries (freeze-dried berries in the cereal), and it's great. If you like strawberries, try this one.

BTW, I used Susan's VCO chocolate recipe and added Hi-Lo to it, and made something similar to a Crunch bar. A nice little treat.

Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy.
And cooking done with care is an act of love.
- Craig Claiborne

Hey Teel, thanks for the heads up. Maybe I'll see if my TJ's carries that.

Can you make flaxomeal ahead of time and add boiled water to about a half cup. Would you even have time for that? While I was working, I would make a bunch up ahead of time and add the water while making my coffee. I could gulp it down pretty fast and get out the door. I also made my lunch ahead of time and had that ready to grab on the way out (that is when I GOT a lunch break) When I didn't get a lunch break, I packed an Atkins shake in my thermo bag with an ice pack. I could at least "drink" my lunch at my station. I have never found that the shakes stall me. In fact, on those days, I would get a whooooooosh.



Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/146/135
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

Trina, I'm in NY as well, where do you find the Hi-Lo? I saw it on a website and wondered what it was all about. Thanks Teelbee for the review. It's always good to know this stuff in the event I might want to buy some. Breakfast bores me. I can't eat eggs which I would love to be able to eat.

Karen

I like the atkins almond crunch. I did try a box of the Hi Lo, didn't think it had a 'flavor". Too late now, it went in the trash last week. Besides the fact that the Hi Lo didn't taste good, it appeared to knock me out of ketosis.

261/231/?
(recently re-joined)

Thanks for the info Teelbee. I will have to get to TJ and buy a box. I miss eating cereal in the morning, or afternoon, or even at night.

Shay
205/183/150
Atkins since 8/29/03
~Too blessed to be stressed~

Karen,
I get Hi-Lo in my favorite local HFS, which is Mother Earth's Warehouse, (Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park and Kingston) and in Hannaford supermarket, in their natural food section. That's where I found the one with strawberries. I have found it on occasion in Stop-N-Shop, but not always. If you have one near you, you might ask if they would get it for you. Sometimes they will stock something if they feel it will sell.

HTH,

Trina

Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy.
And cooking done with care is an act of love.
- Craig Claiborne