Monday, April 28, 2008

Malt-o-Meal Hot Cereal [SnackAttack]

And now for a brief message from our sponsors...

Just kidding, but I really should be getting paid by these groups for plugging their products. I might have to go mention all the free advertising they're getting here. ;)

For this week's SnackAttack we look to a product that's considered a meal, but then you look at how many calories it has per serving and realize you might have found the most filling snack imaginable.

Malt-o-Meal Hot Cereal - Chocolate flavor
Serving Size: 35 g (unprepared)
Calories: 130-160 (depending on how much sugar you add)

** I should definitely add a caveat - even though this is chocolate flavor, you do have to add a bit of sugar to get the sweetness just right. I usually add about 1.5 teaspoons to mine which adds an additional 25 calories to this dish. Worse, if you absolutely have to add milk to this cereal, the calories push it much more into the meal range.**

With that little warning out of the way, let me just say that I LOVE this stuff. I've eaten this every day for the last week as a snack during the day at work. I can definitely tell you that it gets me dirty looks after cooking it because it just smells good. And by far the best part is that once you've cooked it, it fills an entire bowl! It's huge!

It's warm, filling, tastes good, fills one more "grains" requirement from the food pyramid, and can be customized in just about any way imaginable. My latest is to turn it more into a meal by adding a half serving of peanut butter; gives a a nice shot of protein and fun flavor. Want an evening dessert that won't wipe out your good workout? Drop a few chocolate chips in and it makes a killer before-bed sweet, though look for a definite calorie pinch if you do.

If you can learn to eat it plain (which is really not that hard to do) it is definitely more of a snack. A great way to feel like you're eating something naughty and not having the guilt that goes with it. They have a maple brown sugar version too. I wonder if it's as good? Stay tuned and I may review it as well.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.


1 comment:

The Howell family said...

Have you ever tried the original flavor with a little bit of margarine and some maple syrup? I love it that way, also, if you use sugar free syrup, it isn't too bad on the calories. Love reading your blog, feel free to check ours out howellherd@blogspot.com Would love to hear from you. Heather Howell