Snap, Crackle & Pop say, "NO COMMENT!"

[Tref]

Kellog's considers the fate of its beloved icons ...

... But as the War on Obesity pushes further into adland, such kiddie-targeted characters are undergoing makeovers or plain losing favor—much like the products they hawk.

The Trix Rabbit has gone underground and refuses all interviews (http://news.yahoo.com/s/adweek/20070621/ad_bpiaw/kelloggsnewpolicyisathreattoicons)

[AllyOops!]

They better not touch Corny, the cornflakes rooster. He's my favorite of the bunch.

Good golly, that's so crazy. I guess I can look forward to seeing the Lucky Charms leprechaun sporting a bulging, ripped sixpack or a shirtless, capeless Count Chocula flexing his healthy new look. :(

[Alex]

Most of the big sugared breakfast cereals are about the stupidest things kids could be allowed to eat but until 8 year olds are going to the store to buy their food this is just stupid.

Parents stop buying these foods for your kids. Even if the commercials do cause the kids to get for a specific brand. Do what my mom did and say "**** off, and go make me a pot of coffee."

[Capt Jack]

"**** off, and go make me a pot of coffee."

I can totally relate. ;)

the big shock for me as far as cereals go, was not long ago when they were touting NEW! TRIX ARE ROUND!!

uh...weren't they always?
nope. aparrently they went fruity awhile back and I never noticed...
who knows what'll be next. cap'n crunch being promoted to surgeon general??

just keep making cheerios and we'll get along just fine

[MouseWife]

As a mom, the hard thing is what to put in the lunches.

Cheerios, they are the best.

And, while some people are appalled at my giving my kids certain cereals, I figure they are better than a plate of bacon and eggs.

But, yes, my boy drinks coffee. :blush: Always has.

[Alex]

I figure they are better than a plate of bacon and eggs.

Probably not. Unless a plate of bacon and eggs means an excessive amount.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I have to give these companies credit for working on their food as well as their image. They mention McDonalds in the article, and I realized recently that there really has been a shift over there. I had a coworker mention recently that she eats there a lot - I haven't been there in ages. I asked what she eats, and she says all she ever gets are the salads. Happy meals now include better choices.

All the better products aren't going to make people eat better, but at least, the companies are not looking at the fattening of America and saying "who cares, eat crap."

[tracilicious]

I'm really glad for this. I hate when companies aim marketing at kids. It doesn't really affect me, as I don't shop at stores that sell that (but yes, Indi does have input as to what we buy), but still...it's annoying.

As for McDonald's...I really like one of their salads. I don't really think the Happy Meal choices are much better. Apples with carmel dip?! Come on. Wendy's has a turkey sandwich option for their kids meals, as well as mandarin oranges.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

As for McDonald's...I really like one of their salads. I don't really think the Happy Meal choices are much better. Apples with carmel dip?! Come on. Wendy's has a turkey sandwich option for their kids meals, as well as mandarin oranges.Ah, cool. I really wouldn't know much on that front, I admit.

[RStar]

I figure they are better than a plate of bacon and eggs.

Probably not. Unless a plate of bacon and eggs means an excessive amount.
I agree, that once in a while it is not a problem, particularly if the child is active. And unless the cereal is the simi-healthy kind it has the nutrition of sweetend cardboard.

But lets look at some nubers (and see if I can make my math work this time;) )

I went to my kitchen and got the following numbers:

Froot Loops Cereal (My 22 YO Daugter bought it!)
2 cups (who eats the 1 cup serving?) with 1/2 cup skim milk (That's what I have):

Calories............285
Fat..................2gm
Saturated fat....1gm
Cholesterol........2.5mg
Sodium.............369mg
Carbs...............63g
Fiber................2g
Protien.............7g


2 eggs, 2 slices bacon, 1 piece of buttered (1 tsp) toast, 1 cup skim milk:

Calories.............423
Fat...................266g
Saturated fat......8g
Cholesterol.........457mg
Sodium...............755mg
Carbs.................28g
Protien...............22g
Fiber..................1g

Had have to say the cereal wins at being less unhealthy (though the numbers would change with whole milk), but wouldn't some fruit be a better choice? And with breakfast being the first meal of the day, seems like the 63 grams of carbs will burn off pretty will, compared to getting the 266 gms of fat and 457 mgs of Cholesterol! This even surprises me! I got this from this back of the products I have in my kitchen, and adding up the numbers. Do it for yourself, and see what you come up with! You too, may be surprised!

[Alex]

Where the heck do you get 266 grams of fat? That's more than half a pound.

2 eggs (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/generic-whole-egg-6908.htm) - 8.5 g.
2 slices of bacon (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/generic-sliced-bacon-31141.htm) - 4.5 g.
1 slice of bread (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/roman-meal-100percent-whole-wheat-bread-natural-whole-grain-goodness-38624.htm) - 1 g (let's say Roman Mean Whole Wheat)
Butter (1 tsp) (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/land-olakes-butter-unsalted-10259.htm) - 11 g (some Land O Lakes)
1 cup skim milk (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/generic-milk-bottled-skim-30415.htm) - 0.15 g

That's 25 grams of fat. Not 266. You give 457mg of cholestorol but the correct number is about 80 miligrams less than you gave, plus the fact that dietary cholestorol for healthy people is not really a contributor to heart disease and eggs are considered a healthy food despite their high content.

So, I'd say your comparison is off. Plus the nutritional benefits in vitamins, mineral, and learning not to eat out of boxes also weight in.

[lashbear]

Froot Loops Cereal (My 22 YO Daugter bought it!)
2 cups (who eats the 1 cup serving?) with 1/2 cup skim milk (That's what I have):

Calories............285
Fat..................2gm
Saturated fat....1gm
Cholesterol........2.5mg
Sodium.............369mg
Carbs...............63g
Fiber................2g
Protien.............7g


2 eggs, 2 slices bacon, 1 piece of buttered (1 tsp) toast, 1 cup skim milk:

Calories.............423
Fat...................266g
Saturated fat......8g
Cholesterol.........457mg
Sodium...............755mg
Carbs.................28g
Protien...............22g
Fiber..................1g



Wow !!

From a diabetic point of view, I'd need the one cup serving which would be 30-ish grams of carbs, which is TWO serves (one serve of carb = 15g)

Make the eggs whites only, and cut out the toast, (or get low-carb alternative) and I can have the bacon and eggs, and I will. Tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration. :D

[RStar]

Where the heck do you get 266 grams of fat? That's more than half a pound.

2 eggs (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/generic-whole-egg-6908.htm) - 8.5 g.
2 slices of bacon (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/generic-sliced-bacon-31141.htm) - 4.5 g.
1 slice of bread (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/roman-meal-100percent-whole-wheat-bread-natural-whole-grain-goodness-38624.htm) - 1 g (let's say Roman Mean Whole Wheat)
Butter (1 tsp) (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/land-olakes-butter-unsalted-10259.htm) - 11 g (some Land O Lakes)
1 cup skim milk (http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/generic-milk-bottled-skim-30415.htm) - 0.15 g

That's 25 grams of fat. Not 266. You give 457mg of cholestorol but the correct number is about 80 miligrams less than you gave, plus the fact that dietary cholestorol for healthy people is not really a contributor to heart disease and eggs are considered a healthy food despite their high content.

So, I'd say your comparison is off. Plus the nutritional benefits in vitamins, mineral, and learning not to eat out of boxes also weight in.
Yes, There is more to it than what I posted, like vitamins and such. And as Lashbear pointed out there are ways (and I use them) to cut back fat, calories, and Cholesterol. Not to mention that while I was in the kitchen I wrote down something seriously wrong. I guess I should double check things before posting them (but I knew you'd catch it for me Alex!). I wrote down 250g fat for the butter! I have no idea where I got that!! Sorry! I get 27 grams of fat on my products. Also, I used white bread for this as that is what most people choose (though I like whole weat with nuts better).

But the rest of my numbers are correct on my products. The eggs are large, so the fat and cholesterol is slightly different, and the bacon is thick cut, so each is more meat. For cholesterol I get 15mg from 2 slices of bacon, 430mg from two large eggs, 7mg from the butter, and 5mg from the milk. My buggest surprise is from fat-free or low fat products. I thought fat free had no cholestreol, and low fat can still have a healthy dose.

My wife is diabetic with high blood preasure and high cholesterol, and my cholesterol has run high. Yes, if the healthy people don't have to worry about it- great. I'm not here trying to scare people (though saying 12 grams of butter contains 250 grams of fat might do it!). But how many people don't get their blood checked regularly, and would it hurt them to watch what they eat?

Also, there is more to eggs than the numbers. From what I have heard, the lecithin (a lipoprotien with emulsifying properties) in the yokes helps the body rid itself of the cholesterol by bonding to it. I don't know if that is true, but I also don't belive we know everything that goes on in the body.

But moderation is the key. I eat bacon and eggs about twice a week, and cereal 2-3 times a week. I also have begals and low fat cream cheese sometimes.

The biggest problem with most cereal is that it is empty calories. Yes they toss in a little bit of synthetic vitamins to make people feel a little better, but if you are choosing the kind like Froot Loops it's no better than eating cookies for breakfast. But if you choose high fiber types like Raisin Bran or Shredded Wheat (my to faves!) you at least get the 12 to 14 grams of fiber for a two cup serving. However a one cup serving and piece of fruit is still the best choice.

And like it or not, we are a busy society. Packaged food is here to stay. They even package the fruits and vegitables. If someone is prone to not preparing a meal, then it's more about which box to choose.

[Stan4dSteph]

I agree with Alex. There is no way 266 g of fat is correct. One egg contains about 5 g of fat, and not all of that is saturated fat. To get that much fat your bacon would need to be almost pure fat.

[RStar]

I agree with Alex. There is no way 266 g of fat is correct. One egg contains about 5 g of fat, and not all of that is saturated fat. To get that much fat your bacon would need to be almost pure fat.

Yes, as I posted above I did make a mistake. A 250 gram fat error. Please read above.

oh, and I just had a bowl of Raisin Bran for breakfast.

That is all.

Thank you.

:D

[Stan4dSteph]

Sorry about that RStar, I missed that part.

I think it's good that the company is being more conscientious about its products. Hopefully this will lead to healthier alternatives.

I really like the Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (http://www.kashi.com/ourfood/HearttoHeart/default.aspx). It's like Cheerios, only better. I'm a big Kashi fan. I love their frozen waffles too. And Go Lean Crunch goes great with yogurt and fruit.

[RStar]

Sorry about that RStar, I missed that part.

I think it's good that the company is being more conscientious about its products. Hopefully this will lead to healthier alternatives.

I really like the Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (http://www.kashi.com/ourfood/HearttoHeart/default.aspx). It's like Cheerios, only better. I'm a big Kashi fan. I love their frozen waffles too. And Go Lean Crunch goes great with yogurt and fruit.

No problem Steph, my reply was a bit long winded. ;)

You know, I've never tried Kashi. I've been wanting to, but I get in a hurry and grab what I know. I'll be sure to try that next time.

The move they are making, it sounds like, is to stop advertising to kids. Much like the tobacco industry did by droping their cartoon characters like Joe Camel, and not having billboards within so many feet of a school. I don't know if it made kids less likely to start smoking or not, but I doubt it made much impact. The peers are a much bigger influence, and as Alex said, unless these kids do their own shopping it doesn't make that big of a difference.

But over all, I think it's a good idea to stop advertizing directly to kids.