Quaker Weight Control Instant Oatmeal
Quaker Instant Oatmeal should be a pretty familar product to most people – even if they skip it (like I typically do) in favor of the plain, old fashioned variety. The “Weight Control” line has a similar look and feel to the company’s single-serving, flavored oatmeals, but have added soluble fiber and protein (from whey protein isolate), and contain less than 1 gram of sugar per serving.
Manufacturer’s Description: Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal is a delicious way to help you lose weight. Research shows that people who ate Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal as part of a reduced calorie diet with moderate exercise lost weight.
With 7 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and whole grain oats, Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal can help you feel satisfied.
Product Label:
|
Serving Size 1 Packet (45g) Calories 160 Calories from Fat 25 Total Fat 3g Saturated Fat 0.5g Polyunsaturated Fat 1g Monounsaturated Fat 1g Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg |
Sodium 310mg Potassium 150mg Total Carbohydrate 29g Dietary Fiber 6g Soluble Fiber 4g Sugars 1g Protein 7g Vitamin A 20% Vitamin C 0% |
Calcium 10% Iron 20% Thiamin 20% Riboflavin 20% Niacin 20% Vitamin B6 20% Folic Acid 20% Phosphorus 15% Magnesium 10% |
|
Ingredients: WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE, MALTODEXTRIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SALT, OAT FLOUR, CALCIUM CARBONATE, GUAR GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SOY LECITHEN, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, SUCRALOSE, NIACINAMIDE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID |
||
Comments: I purchased the 3 flavor “variety pack” – which contains the Maple Brown Sugar, Cinnamon and Banana Bread flavors. It was simple enough to fix: I blended one packet with 3/4 c. water, and nuked it on “high” for 1 1/2 minutes.
The first thing that hit me when I dug into the “Maple & Brown Sugar” flavor was the faux maple flavor – it virtually screamed “artificial.” I don’t blame Quaker specifically for this, however. The reality is that “maple” is just one of those flavors that’s been tough to duplicate successfully (“Log Cabin” and other pancake syrups don’t taste anything like genuine maple syrup, IMHO). Ditto the sweetening: which I felt was overdone. I ended up dousing mine with some milk, to turn down the volume.
The oatmeal (plus milk) was reasonably filling, though. The added fiber and protein almost certainly help with that. The 6 grams of fiber in one serving represents close to one-quarter of the minimum recommended amount per day, so it’s a fairly significant amount. As “diet” cereals go, I’d put it ahead of “Special K” and similar boxed, “ready-to-eat” fare.
A word about the touted research study, however: as can be seen from the details, this was one of those studies I described on the blog, where the “deck” was stacked in favor of the conclusion the researchers wished to draw. In this case, subjects on a 500 calorie deficit/exercise program were compared to controls who did only the exercise. Not surprisingly, the folks who cut their cals lost a modest amount of weight, while the controls didn’t. The fact that the test group also ate a serving of oatmeal each day is secondary to the fact that they reduced total calories in the process (and may have made other healthy dietary changes as well). Eating oatmeal certainly isn’t a bad idea on a diet (unless you’re severely limiting carbs), and consuming the Quaker product is one way to do that…but then again, simply adding a scoop of protein powder to some regular ol’ oatmeal will accomplish the exact same thing (and provide even more protein in the bargain).
[usrlist “Taste:3.0” “Quality:3.0” “Efficacy:3.5” “Value:3.0″ avg=”true”]
