Healthy breakfast ideas + graci professional cereals review (Road to healthy part 10)
Hello :)
Another review and this time something rather exciting, since it's actually healthy, isn't it amazing. Anyway, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so it's said, so obviously it's important to start off the day on a healthy note. Since I am the type of person who usually isn't very hungry in the mornings and therefore probably doesn't eat enough, then I've been looking for easy things to eat in the morning and on that quest we found these 'graci profeccional cereals', as they call themselves. They're not all cereals, though, we also tried some different porridges, both sweet and savoury, but I'll get more into that later. Their packaging is also worth mentioning, it really looks good and professional, so it draws the eye.
Some general things to know, most of the products that we happened to try were also vegan, with just one exception, they're a great source of protein and fibre and also contain Omega-3, which sounded great to me. There were actually many different flavours to choose from and they're all supposed to have a slightly different effect on the body and mind. There are also two different general types or sizes to choose from, the bigger ones are just to make porridge from or add to smoothies or eat as cereals, there can be upto 20 portions in one packet, but the smaller ones are more like instant meals, you just add boiling water to the little box they come in and stir, leave them sit for 5 minutes and you've got a meal, it's very fast and easy. One last thing I'd like to point out is that the company is based in the Baltic States, so I'm not sure where else they can be found.
The first one I decided to try out was a Functional 4-grain meal with chocolate, blackcurrants and milk. This one was one of the instant meal type of porridges. It was very easy to make and a little fork/spoon like thing was also added, which is a bonus. On the downside I can say it was a bit difficult to measure out how much water to put in, since the line was only on the outside and therefore it wasn't quite as easy to figure out how much water is enough, because of that I ended up putting a bit too much water in and the porridge was a bit watery, but after letting it cool down for a little while, it got better. Taste wise, at first I wasn't exactly impressed, there wasn't much flavour to it, but that might have been my fault, since I noticed, that I hadn't stirred it enough and all of the good stuff, so to speak, had sunk to the bottom, however it was still rather good, I didn't find it difficult to finish the porridge, especially since it got better the more I ate it, so I would give it a rating of 7/10 alltogether for flavour, texture and the making process. I'll also talk a bit about the nutrient content as well then. It has 359,7 kcal per 100 g of dry product, with the macros being 5,7 g of fat, 68,9 g of carbohydrates and 13,7 g of protein. (Percentage of energy being 13/73/16) I personally don't mind that it's high in carbohydrates, since I feel like at the start of the day it's good to have more carbs, since I tend to enjoy some slightly fattier snacks every now and then *cough* chocolate *cough* and that helps balance it out, it's also mainly complex carbohydrates, it kept me full for quite a while and I think it made a good breakfast. It also has 0,8 g of Omega-3 per 100 g of dry product and 0,1 g of salt, which was all from natural sources, not added.
Next one I gave a try to was Functional buckwheat meal, this one was definitely less of a breakfast type of meal, but there's no rule that you couldn't eat it for breakfast. It was also one of the small type of porridges, so I made it in the box that it came in. I managed to put the right amount of water in this time around, it did end up creating quite a lot of the porridge, so I had to divide it to two days, there was 75 g of dry product in both this and the previous one, it didn't seem like much when I first added water to it, but in the end it fills up almost all of the box. Flavour wise it was rather nice, a bit too much garlic for my prefrence, but it was still good, it also had carrots, dill, onion and some other seasonings in it, this one did have also added salt in it, so it had more salt than the other ones, 1,7 g in 100 g of dry product. It also came with the little fork, so it would be easy to eat even on the go, if you prepare it first. I generally enjoyed it and would recommend, especially if you're a fan of garlic, would also give it a 7/10. Nutrient wise it had 388,8 kcal per 100 g of dry product, of which it was 4,5 g of fat, 69,1 g of carbohydrates and 13,2 g of protein. (Percentage of energy being 11/75/15) It also had 0,8 g or Omega-3 per 100 g of dry product. So all in all it was rather good, probably enjoyed it a bit more than the porridge I mentioned previously, it was also very easy to make and didn't take much effort, so I can imagine it being suitable for breakfast or any other meal or snack of the day.
The third one was Functional dry grain and seed mix for porridge, which had the key word Intellectual on it, I'm not sure, if it claims to make one more intellectual when eaten or it's just trying to describe the product as an intellectual food. About the porridge itself, I just made it with water and it was ok, I also added bananas to it, like that I could imagine myself eating it again and I also think it would be nice inside smoothies. It didn't blow me away, it was quite an average porridge, but I liked the cocnut they had added to it, it definitely made it more enjoyable, i' won't find it difficult to finish the box. Would give it a 8/10. Nutrient wise it had 368,8 kcal per 100 g of dry product, of which it was 7,6 g fat, 67,9 g carbohydrates and 13,2 g protein. All salt in the porridge mix is only from natural sources. Macros were according to percentage of energy 17/70/13. It also had a bit of Omega-3 in it, 0,3 g per 100 g of product. All in all I found it enjoyable, but you definitely could tell that it's healthy, which some people might not enjoy, so bare that in mind. Also, I think it would taste better if made with milk or some milk substitute.
The first one that Kai chose out was Functional muesli, the key word with this one was Harmonic, again I'm not sure if it's just how it's marketed, I would guess so. Kai ate it with some yoghurt and well she did say that the yoghurt was the best part of the meal, but the muesli itself wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special either, it tasted like any other muesli. The first scoop didn't relveal any strawberries or blackcurrants, which were supposed to be in there, but maybe it just needs some more mixing, all in all Kai thought it was good, the recommended portion was enough for her and that would mean that she'll get about 20 meals out of this one box. She gave it a 8/10. Nutrient wise it had 351,3 kcal per 100 g of dry product, macros were 6,8 g fat, 65,6 g of carbohydrates, 13,8 g of protein. Percentage of energy is accordingly 16/71/14. It also had Omega-3, the most out of the ones we tried, 2,5 g per 100 g or product and all salt was again from natural sources.
Last one, also chosen by Kai, was the Functional cuscous meal, it was also added that it's spicy and Kai did say that most of the flavour came from the spices, at first there wasn't much flavour to it at all, but the aftertase was a bit spicy. Kai would'ev expected a bit more flavour and spice, but for those who are not such huge fans of spices, for example me, it would still be suitable. This one was again in a smaller box, just like an instant meal, the portion was a bit too big for one meal, so Kai left some for the following day. She said that it was a nice change from the usual food that we eat, but she probably wouldn't buy it again. Kai gave it a 7/10. Nutrient wise it had 358,1 kcal per 100 g of dry product. Macros were 3,1 g of fat, 68,8 g of carbohydrates, 12,2 g of protein. Percentages being accordingly 8/78/14. It's worth mentioning, that these percentages were all just my calculations, so there's some margin of error. This one also had Omega-3 in it, as all of them and for this one the amount was 0,7 g from 100 g of dry product. Since it was more of a savoury meal, then it did have some added salt in it as well. Alltogether 1,7 g per 100 g of dry product.
So that's all for now, I actually have some other healthy breakfast meals that I've come up with, but I guess they'll have to wait for another post, since this one already got very long, hope you enjoyed it. It obviously was just all our honest opinion and it might vary per person.
Have a nice weekend,
Kaiela :)
The third one was Functional dry grain and seed mix for porridge, which had the key word Intellectual on it, I'm not sure, if it claims to make one more intellectual when eaten or it's just trying to describe the product as an intellectual food. About the porridge itself, I just made it with water and it was ok, I also added bananas to it, like that I could imagine myself eating it again and I also think it would be nice inside smoothies. It didn't blow me away, it was quite an average porridge, but I liked the cocnut they had added to it, it definitely made it more enjoyable, i' won't find it difficult to finish the box. Would give it a 8/10. Nutrient wise it had 368,8 kcal per 100 g of dry product, of which it was 7,6 g fat, 67,9 g carbohydrates and 13,2 g protein. All salt in the porridge mix is only from natural sources. Macros were according to percentage of energy 17/70/13. It also had a bit of Omega-3 in it, 0,3 g per 100 g of product. All in all I found it enjoyable, but you definitely could tell that it's healthy, which some people might not enjoy, so bare that in mind. Also, I think it would taste better if made with milk or some milk substitute.
The first one that Kai chose out was Functional muesli, the key word with this one was Harmonic, again I'm not sure if it's just how it's marketed, I would guess so. Kai ate it with some yoghurt and well she did say that the yoghurt was the best part of the meal, but the muesli itself wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything special either, it tasted like any other muesli. The first scoop didn't relveal any strawberries or blackcurrants, which were supposed to be in there, but maybe it just needs some more mixing, all in all Kai thought it was good, the recommended portion was enough for her and that would mean that she'll get about 20 meals out of this one box. She gave it a 8/10. Nutrient wise it had 351,3 kcal per 100 g of dry product, macros were 6,8 g fat, 65,6 g of carbohydrates, 13,8 g of protein. Percentage of energy is accordingly 16/71/14. It also had Omega-3, the most out of the ones we tried, 2,5 g per 100 g or product and all salt was again from natural sources.
Last one, also chosen by Kai, was the Functional cuscous meal, it was also added that it's spicy and Kai did say that most of the flavour came from the spices, at first there wasn't much flavour to it at all, but the aftertase was a bit spicy. Kai would'ev expected a bit more flavour and spice, but for those who are not such huge fans of spices, for example me, it would still be suitable. This one was again in a smaller box, just like an instant meal, the portion was a bit too big for one meal, so Kai left some for the following day. She said that it was a nice change from the usual food that we eat, but she probably wouldn't buy it again. Kai gave it a 7/10. Nutrient wise it had 358,1 kcal per 100 g of dry product. Macros were 3,1 g of fat, 68,8 g of carbohydrates, 12,2 g of protein. Percentages being accordingly 8/78/14. It's worth mentioning, that these percentages were all just my calculations, so there's some margin of error. This one also had Omega-3 in it, as all of them and for this one the amount was 0,7 g from 100 g of dry product. Since it was more of a savoury meal, then it did have some added salt in it as well. Alltogether 1,7 g per 100 g of dry product.
So that's all for now, I actually have some other healthy breakfast meals that I've come up with, but I guess they'll have to wait for another post, since this one already got very long, hope you enjoyed it. It obviously was just all our honest opinion and it might vary per person.
Have a nice weekend,
Kaiela :)
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