Okay. These are all terrible choices for breakfast. However, they are also the types of food that my hungry teenager will actively hunt down and munch as a meal.
It drives me nuts so I'm hoping someday he'll look at this post and figure out that none of them are great when it comes to nutritional value. Again, I'm only looking at macronutrients right now (protein, carbs, and fat). I'm comparing to a 2000cal diet, 50% carb, 25% protein, and 25% fat. Of course, I always look at price too because people think of these as cheap easy foods but I like to see if they really are inexpensive for the calories you get.
1. Trix : $2.99 for 303g box
32g Serving : 130 calories
| Carb | Fat | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| 27g | 1.5g | 2g |
2.Potato Chips : $0.99 for 200g bag
50g Serving : 260 calories
| Carb | Protein | Fat |
|---|---|---|
| 28g | 3g | 16g |
3. Gingerbread Cookies : $2.49 for 240g box
40g Serving : 170 Calories
| Carb | Protein | Fat |
|---|---|---|
| 27g | 3g | 6g |
....
Now its hard to compare because they aren't standardized to a 2000 calories diet and each one has a different serving size. So, I'm going to do a little math to compare them based on 2000 calorie diet.
Trix: 303g/32g ==> 9.46 Servings @ 130 cal ==> 1230cal/box
...and 2000cal/day / 1230 cal/box *2.99/box = $4.86
$4.86 for a day's calories from Trix
Chips: 200g/50g==>4 Servings @ 260cal==> 1040 cal/bag
...and 2000cal/day / 1040 cal/bag * 0.99/bag = $1.90
1.90 for a day's calories from Chips
Cookies: 240g/40g ==>6 Servings @ 170cal ==> 1020 cal/box
...and 2000cal/day / 1020 cal/box * 2.49/bag = $4.88
4.88 for a day's calories from Cookies
.........
But how do they compare when it comes to macronutrients?
| Nutrient | Cereal | Chips | Cookies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carb | 83 | 42 | 62 |
| Fat | 10 | 54 | 31 |
| Protein | 6 | 4 | 7 |
My analysis:
None of them would have enough protein to make me happy or keep hunger away
The cookies had the most protein at 7% but as I'd want a 25% ratio they are all pretty dismal that way.
The cereal is fortified with vitamins but a good multivitamin will give a much higher amount of vitamin for a relatively cheap cost.
The cereal also has a larger portion of calories from carbohydrate but as carbohydrates and fat both get burnt for energy the overall effect is the same. None of these foods will keep you from getting hungry fairly quickly. All of them are overloaded with carb or fat and none of them have enough protein.
True cereal is typically eaten with milk (at least here in Canada) and cookies do go well with milk also.
As sad as this is to say I'd probably be just as well off giving my son a big bag of chips, a big glass of milk and a multivitamin as I would to give him a sugary cereal before going to class.
and I'd pay half as much for it