after dinner sneeze

t says: I was at Trader Joe’s yesterday, my least favorite grocery store in the world (although that’s another story …). I found some Puffins cereal. I had had some before and wasn’t blown away, but I was later told that I picked the wrong flavor. Silly me. They should have said it on the box: “this flavor isn’t as good as peanut butter – go for that instead”. In any case, because peanut butter was “where it’s at”, I picked up a box. It’s … ok. But I figured that it’s at the very least healthier than better-tasting cereals … right? Maybe.

Puffins on the left, Apple Jacks on the right

Apple Jacks have lots of vitamins and minerals. Puffins do not. Puffins have more fat and calories, whereas Apple Jacks have more sugar (12 g per cup vs. 8 g per cup). Also, keep in mind that the Apple Jacks have a 1 cup serving size, while Puffins are 0.75 cups per serving – although by weight, they are more similar than not, probably because Puffins are really dense.

Are you surprised that maybe Puffins aren’t the super-cereal you thought? After all, it is often touted as being better for you that sugary kids cereals, because Puffins may be made of “good stuff”, thus lacking a lot of the processed “things” that are in Apple Jacks … including the fortification. Which should people eat? In my completely unprofessional opinion … that depends! If you don’t eat the healthiest selection of foods that would be able to cover all of those missing vitamins and minerals that you’d miss if you chose Puffins, then I’d go for Apple Jacks. If your daily diet is flawless … fine … enjoy those insipid puffs and the ability to look cool while you shop for cereal in that “organic” section of the grocery store. Personally, I was raised exclusively on sugary cereals, and I’m fine [kinda]! At the very least, Apple Jacks are better for you than those “Great for Breakfast” Tasty-kakes (Tasty-kakes are in fact never good for breakfast … actually, I think Tasty-kake stopped putting that phrase on their donuts and coffee cakes).

What’s the point … ? I don’t know. I did it for the drama …