Kashi If You Can

I was pretty entertained the other day when I stumbled across a post on Chowhound that described most Kashi cereals as being designed by a "stern, ascetic, pucker-mouthed wraith" who produces "rabbit-food-like items". Funny? Yes. And also, sadly, true.

Now, the post was actually complimenting the Kashi cereal that seems to be the exception to the rule--their Autumn Wheat cereal, which I will say, is quite lovely and good, although a little on the sweet side for me. On the strength of that cereal, I thought I'd try one of their Go Lean Crunch cereals this week. Its major appeal? High protein content, which is a must in our house (A. and I tend to exercise pretty obsessively).

What I failed to pay attention to, although I should have, was the staggeringly high sugar content in these supposedly healthy cereals. A whopping 13 grams--that's almost as much as there is in Cocoa Puffs! (Interestingly, Cocoa Puffs also has about half the fat of the Kashi cereal I grabbed--1.5 grams vs. 3 grams). As A. said as soon as he took his first bite, "It's like eating caramel corn." For breakfast. With milk. Ick. I don't care where that sugar is coming from, sugar is sugar, and I don't know how lean you're going to be sucking down 13 grams of it every morning for breakfast.

I'm not normally the type to judge a cereal based on aesthetics (I do, after all, eat Shredded Wheat 'n' Bran on a regular basis), but the Go Lean cereal really did look a bit sad. And yes, it does look like rabbit food. Or the sweet feed we used to give to the horses (which is coated in molasses and tastes almost exactly like this cereal. I think I've just figured out where they got this idea from).

Needless to say, I won't be dipping back into the Kashi well. Yes, the protein content is high, but so is everything else. I think I'll stick with my nice, boring Shredded Wheat topped with a few blueberries, thanks!