Test Date: November 2010
Tester: Michele
All products for this test purchased at Fred Meyer, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods.
MICHELE'S OPINION: Wow, I'm surprised about the outcome of this test (as I munch on Malt-O Meal's product....)! Since in an earlier test I chose the General Mills Original flavor Cheerios as a winner, I sort of assumed the same would go for this test. But the more options I tested the more that the market leader tasted a bit too sweet with fake ingredients. And for the natural stuff, if I have to recommend one over the others, I would say probably the 365 product would be best. Read on for more details....
Price comparison for 12oz of cereal (store first, then brand)
$5.76 Whole Foods Cascadian Farms
$5.63 Whole Foods Barbara's
$3.65 Whole Foods 365
$3.41 Whole Foods Three Sisters
$2.50 Fred Meyer General Mills
$2.21 Trader Joe's
$1.99 Fred Meyer brand
$1.89 Fred Meyer Malt-O-Meal
1. Malt-O-Meal Honey Nut Scooters (Purchased at Fred Meyer and available on Amazon Fresh; per Malt-O-Meal website, this product is also available at some QFC, Safeway, Rite-Aid, and Albertsons locations): Nice sweetness level, relatively natural tasting with a wheat/grain finish.
2. General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios (Purchased at Fred Meyer and available on Amazon Fresh; available widely): This is a pretty sweet product, this also has a 'slick' or 'glossy' consistency, like the o's have been brushed with some kind of coating.
3. Fred Meyer Honey Nut Toasted Oats (Only available at Fred Meyer): This product has a light consistency and great crunch and is less sweet than the others.
4. Trader Joe's Honey Nut O's (Only available at Trader Joe's):
This product has a relatively dense crunch and also has that brushed on coating taste of the General Mills Cheerios. It has a medium sweetness with a bit of a sugary finish.
5. Barbara's hole n' oats (Purchased at Whole Foods; per Barbara's website, this type of cereal is also available at some PCC, Fred Meyer, QFC, and Trader Joe's locations): This product has a dense crunch and is larger than the other o's. Its sweetness is different than the other products; I can tell that it's fruit juice sweetened rather than with brown sugar.
6. 365 Organic Honey & Nut Morning O's (Only available at Whole Foods): This product also has that shiny hue and a relatively dense crunch. It has a light fruit sweetness.
7. Cascadian Farm Organic honey nut O's (Purchased at Whole Foods and available on Amazon Fresh; per Cascadian Farm's website, this product is also available at some QFC, Safeway, and Fred Meyer locations): Initially a pretty sweet product, I can definitely taste that it is fruit juice sweetened (seems mostly like apple flavor), and the remaining flavors seem unfortunately processed.
8. Three Sisters Honey Oaties (This product sold exclusively at Whole Foods):
Great, full consistency, good crunch, tastes naturally sweetened (with honey), probably one of the sweetest products of the test, but doesn't taste too powerfully sweet. Other flavors include natural wheat and grain.
NUTRITIONAL NOTES: (serving size: 28-30 grams) Similar to the original flavor o's test, these products all have very close levels of calories (110-120), fat (1-2grams), and protein (2-3grams) per serving. However, unlike the original flavored o's sodium content comparison, which was all over the board, all of these products, except for Barbara's, have between 160 and 210 mg of sodium per serving (Barbara's has 80mg).
TASTE WINNER: For the best balance of sweetness and grain, go for the Malt-O Meal product. For less sweetness, the Fred Meyer (Kroger) brand were good. For a sweeter product, the Three Sisters are a delicious alternative. Trader Joe's Honey Nut O's are also good, and taste more natural than the General Mills Cheerios.
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