the cereal experiment: Kashi Autumn Wheat

I love shredded wheat. For years I ate nothing but Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheat cereal for breakfast and lunch (I was both obsessed and lazy). With this in mind I happily accepted my next evaluation for the cereal experiment, Kashi Autumn Wheat.

Results. Not since Kashi GoLean Original have I felt this unexcited about my morning bowl of cereal. I found that a few of these squares had a nice touch of sweetness, but most squares were horribly bland. Cardboard bland. Autumn Wheat may be nutritious and have only a few simple and healthy ingredients, but its flavor is a bit too mild to satisfy my demanding sweet tooth.

The box describes one serving as 29 biscuits. What in the world? Are we really supposed to count out 29 biscuits each morning? I think not. However, on my first morning with this cereal I faithfully counted out 29, which was approximately 1 cup. I considered this the serving size for the rest of the week and for the purposes of this experiment.

Initially, I enjoyed the hearty texture of Autumn Wheat and its ability to keep me relatively satiated. But, these wheat-y bites get soggy quickly (much more quickly than my old friend Frosted Mini-Wheats, but less so than Fiber One Frosted Shredded Wheats). I found myself building a mountain of cereal on the side of the bowl to avoid the milk, then brought squares down in spoonfuls right before eating to maintain maximum texture. You know there must be a serious risk of sogginess when this much time was spent perfecting the optimal eating strategy to maintain crunchiness.

 *Ranking system.

Kashi Autumn Wheat does well in terms of nutrition. For the 29 biscuit (1 cup) serving size you intake a solid 180 calories and a low 1 gram of fat. This comes with 6 grams of protein and fiber and an extremely low 16% of calories from sugar (i.e., bland). It is also worth noting that this cereal may be the one with the fewest number of ingredients: three (whole wheat, cane juice, natural flavor) - making it feel wholesome and clean.

Kashi Autumn Wheat takes 5th place in the current cereal line-up. Are you noticing a trend in my ranking system? Kashi and Cascadian Farm cereals have all taken the lead, with Autumn Wheat falling to the end of that pack - followed only by Fiber One Shredded Wheat and Quaker Oatmeal Squares. Poor, dejected mainstream cereals...

My final thoughts on Kashi Autumn Wheat? I am glad this bland box is empty.