The other day while shopping I found some cereal bars. In the list of ingredients sugar was listed and it was about the 3rd one in. So would you buy them and eat them?




Would you still eat them if they were South Beach Living Cereal Bars?
I bought them without looking at the ingredients. I figured, they're good because its South Beach. They wouldn't put Sugar in their product. Low and behold, I was reading one of the packages and it listed sugar?

WOW, thanks for the heads up. I JUST bought some of those and didnt look at the actual ingredients. I just look at protien, calories, and fiber. Now i will be sure to check the ingredients. If mine list sugar as 3rd ingredient the kids will have some extra snacks for the week...not me. Wow, i am appauled really.

Well that was my thing... this is supposed to be "south beach" approved.. if there's sugar added isn't it NOT then? Its pretty close to the top of the ingredient list. I think the fact that they actually add sugar to them is crazy.

I think it's kind of ridiculous that sugar is listed...but honestly....if they weren't SBD approved, kraft wouldn't be marketing them as such. Think of the lawsuits.

Anyway, they seem to be full of not so great, not so 'whole' foods. I would probably avoid them. One of the things I like most about this diet is the fact that they emphasize healthy eating of whole foods. They want you to avoid overly processed foods....which this cereal bar seems to be.


Here is the ingredient list for the peanut butter ones:
Ingredients: SOY NUGGETS (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, TAPIOCA STARCH, SALT), PEANUT BUTTER (ROASTED GROUND PEANUTS), MALTITOL SYRUP, SUGAR, ROASTED SOYBEANS, CORN SYRUP, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, OLIGOFRUCTOSE (FOR FIBER), FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL, EVAPORATED CANE JUICE INVERT SYRUP, BROWN RICE SYRUP, PARTIALLY DEFATTED PEANUT FLOUR, MILLED AND FLAKED CORN, NONFAT MILK, CALCIUM CARBONATE, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM CASEINATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, BUTTER [CREAM, ANNATTO (COLOR), SALT], PEANUT OIL, WHEY, SUNFLOWER OIL, PALM OIL, PEANUTS, BARLEY MALT, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SUCRALOSE (SWEETENER), FERRIC PHOSPHATE (SOURCE OF IRON), NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE (SOURCE OF ZINC), MAGNESIUM CARBONATE, VITAMIN B6, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, VITAMIN B12. CONTAINS: SOY, PEANUT, MILK.

There sure are a TON of preservatives and artificial sweeteners in them. I'm surprised they had to use real sugar with all those fake sugar replacements.

edit: actually, I was looking at a lot of the ingredient lists and quite a few include sugar. The cranberry granola clusters include sugar sweetened dried cranberries.....the very thing that so many of us are trying to avoid. It also includes brown rice syrup. I know this isn't allowed on P1, but I haven't gotten a final answer on it being ok for P2. Most of them also contain Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, which is even more saturated than palm oil and contains little monounsaturated fat....and is even MORE processed by removing the liquid portion (fractionating). The purpose of it, I would assume, is to stop the things from melting so easily.

Man! There are so many non approved ingredients! Sweetened condensed milk, brown rice syrup, straight up sugar, molasses, corn syrup, sweetened dried cranberries....and this is just in one product!

That was what I thought. As I had noticed they even used corn syrup!! This just confused me. I know that the SBD Sticklers would not choose a cereal bar that has sugar added to it.. but would they choose a SB Living cereal bar based on the same idea? It doesn't need the sugar. I thought it was cool, high protein, great for on the run....
I'd rather make some good healthy breakfast cookies and have those on the run instead of this... I just thought it'd be good to post it so people are aware that just because its "south beach approved" that it may not be the best choice available..

also, high maltose corn syrup. Not quite as bad as high fructose, but about a fraction of a step in the right direction.

Thanks for bringing this to the table. I'm wondering if these products being sold under the South Beach label is making consumers more lax about checking the ingredients....therefor hurting their diet.

I will definitely not be buying any of these products for myself or my family.

Also, TDI, remember that corn syrup is MUCH different than HFCS, or HMCS. It is the high concentration of the maltose and fructose that make the corn syrup so bad.......with that being said, corn syrup is still not SBD approved (from what I know).

what she said....

would NOT touch them!

yeah.. I started googling some cereal bar and breakfast cookie recipes that can be made to fit SBD.. I'll be trying some shortly. We eat on the run sometimes, so I need to have an on-the-run-but-healthy-food!! I'll post the recipe if it tastes any good
Oh and when using Agave Nectar to replace honey and syrups is it 1c for 1c or is it a little different?

Corn syrup??????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That is insane? WOW. i have a good mind to write them and complain. That is terrible.

check out my breakfast bar recipe in the phase 2 breakfast area.

Nessa, I was meaning to tell you. I made that the other day. It was great. DH ate half the batch!

GetnHealthy - Again, corn syrup isn't wonderful...but the big buzz words in health food these days is High Fructose Corn Syrup and High Maltose Corn Syrup. HFCS and HMCS are entirely different substances than regular corn syrup, chemically speaking, and should be treated as such. Corn syrup is used in quite a few baking recipes, including pecan pie (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm). All forms of chemically altered syrups should be avoided for optimal health, including brown rice syrup.

TDI - I wouldn't replace agave nectar for honey at a 1:1 ratio without tasting it first. I find agave nectar pretty sweet, so I usually use a little less. Just add to taste. Good luck finding a great recipe. Nessa's breakfast bar recipe is top notch.

Also, malitol is just a hydrogenated (refined) version of maltose. Avoid.

I like Nessa's recipe. I will make those next time This time I made a different recipe. I posted it under Phase 2 breakfast ideas. It involves no baking and very versatile..
So from now on, we'll be staying away from the South Beach Living bars and probably the other stuff. The frozen meals and such. It just confused me and I wanted everyone to be aware that its really not a good choice...

TDI - I took a look at your recipe. It looks yummy! I'll have to make it soon.

Anyway, I looked at the ingredients on the frozen foods. They have probably the best ingredient list of all the South Beach Kraft foods. I wouldn't eat them all the time, but in a pinch, they should be fine. The pizzas are actually really good, the vegetable and chicken one anyway....I haven't tried the others.

Yeah we do the frozen when were in a pinch also.. Not an every night thing or anything... maybe once a week or so.. the santa fe chicekn and rice is yummy!!!