Quaker Oats Squeezy Oat & Fruit to go Review

According to a report last week by The Grocer Magazine, breakfast cereal sales are going down. In particular it’s the ‘traditional’ type of cereal such as Cornflakes, Rice Krispies, Special K and the like which are losing out.

Instead it seems people are switching to ‘on the go’ type of meals such as breakfast bars and shakes or even missing out on brekkie altogether. I was surprised however to read that certain cereals such as Kellogg’s Krave and Crunchy Nut Granola are increasing. Surprised because of the high sugar content. Look out for my sugar in cereals post coming up soon!

But onto my review. Fitting in nicely with the ‘on the go’ trend, it’s another new one from Quaker Oats, with their new range of Oat & Fruit Breakfasts.
It’s hard keeping up with the new breakfast offerings from Quaker Oats. It seems every time I wander around the breakfast aisles in the supermarket, there’s yet another new version of porridge on display. This one caught my eye as the store intended, since it was prominently displayed at the end of an aisle.

There are three varieties: Apple & Cinnamon, Red Fruits and Blueberry. Calories in each pack are: 172, 170 and 146 respectively.

They come in a squeezy pouch with a screw top. They don’t need to be stored in the fridge and have a shelf life of around 4-5 months. Although they can be stored at room temperature, the information on the pack recommends eating it cold.

Taking a look at the ingredients, I was pleased to notice there was no added sugar and the overall sugar content was in the medium range. The main ingredients are the fruit as well as yogurt, quinoa, oat bran, rye bran and lemon juice. They’re also free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives. Each serving provides a reasonable amount of fibre so would be helpful as a satisfying snack/meal.

Although I couldn’t imagine eating this sort of thing myself (I love regular porridge in a bowl), I was curious to see what these would taste like. I also thought they might be a useful snack for my children to take to school.

I purchased the Apple and Cinnamon variety and gave some to all of the family to try out, including hubby.

I ate it at room temperature as eating cold porridge just didn’t seem right. After unscrewing the lid, you can either squeeze the pack, where the contents emerge like toothpaste out of a tube, or you can just suck it out! Either way works.

Quaker Oats Oat & fruit to go Apple and Cinnamon

At first I thought this was just a really weird taste, texture, sensation, everything. It also reminded me of baby food. I persevered and decided I quite liked the taste. It’s really more a fruit puree with added texture so you can’t just swallow it as you would with pureed fruit. You do need to chew it a bit. It’s like ground up oats mixed with fruit puree into a smooth’ish paste.

Overall, the taste was quite nice, but I couldn’t get to grips with the texture. I couldn’t imagine choosing to eat anything like this but can see that it would be a useful source of nutrition if you were stuck on a train or out somewhere with no access to food.

One of my daughters loved it, the other said there was too much fruit and she prefers regular porridge. Hubby pretty much agreed with me!

You can find Quaker Oats Oat & Fruit breakfast range in major supermarkets costing around £1.39 at the time of writing.

Ingredients (Apple and Cinnamon):
Fruit Juices and Purees 62% (Apple (50%), Banana), Natural Yogurt (Milk) 30%, Wholegrain Oat Flour and Flakes (4%), Quinoa Flour, Wheat Bran, Rye Bran, Cinnamon Powder, Lemon Juice Concentrate

Nutrition per 200g serving (Apple and Cinnamon):
172 calorie, 3.6g fat, 2.0g saturated fat, 28g carbs, 15g sugars, 4.6g fibre, 2.3g protein, 0.08g salt.

Ingredients (Red Fruits):
Fruit Juices and Purees 69% (Apple, Strawberry (11%), Banana, Plum, Raisin, Blueberry, Raspberry (6%)), Natural Yogurt (Milk) 24%, Wholegrain Oat Flour and Flakes (4%), Quinoa Flour, Wheat Bran, Rye Bran, Lemon Juice Concentrate

Nutrition per 200g serving (Red Fruits):
170 calorie, 3.2g fat, 1.8g saturated fat, 28g carbs, 12.4g sugars, 5g fibre, 2.3g protein, 0.04g salt.

Ingredients (Blueberry):
Fruit Juices and Purees 71% (Blueberry (26%), Apple, Grape), Natural Yogurt (Milk) 23%, Wholegrain Oat Flour and Flakes (4%), Quinoa Flour, Wheat Bran, Rye Bran, Lemon Juice Concentrate.

Nutrition per 200g serving (Blueberry):
146 calorie, 3.2g fat, 2.0g saturated fat, 24g carbs, 15g sugars, 3.4g fibre, 3.8g protein, 0.08g salt.

© Diets and Calories