Review: Kellogg’s Froot Loops and Apple Jacks with Fiber

As a child, I grew up on the typical sugary cereals of the time. While in college, I switched to healthier options, but there has been one cereal that I’ve never quite been able to completely keep out of my diet – Kelloggs’ Froot Loops. I usually eat them without milk (I try to avoid milk as much as possible due to allergy issues) – they make a great snack option, especially if I am just wanting something sweet but not heavy. My family enjoys both Froot Loops and Apple Jacks too – I don’t tend to buy them every week, but keep a box of either or both cereals around every so often. We eat a lot of cereal – for breakfast, sometimes as a special treat for dinner, and my husband has a bowl of cereal every night before bed to keep him from waking up hungry in the middle of the night. I recently had noticed that both Froot Loops and Apple Jacks have added fiber – which is something that tends to make me more likely to purchase a particular food. I hadn’t yet tried the new versions though – so was glad to have the opportunity to taste test both the old and new Froot Loops recently.

What they are:

As a lifelong Michigan resident, I’ve always had a soft spot for Kellogg’s since they’re based in Battle Creek. Some of their cereals have been favorites of mine for years – other than Froot Loops, I also love Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes. Kellogg’s understands how tough it is to get kids to eat healthier choices – especially when it comes to fiber intake. And since like adults, 9 out of 10 kids lack enough fiber in their diets – it’s an important health consideration. What Kellogg’s has done is to add fiber to some of their most popular kids’ cereals – starting with Apple Jacks and Froot Loops. Along with the added fiber, these cereals also have ingredients like whole-grain corn flour, whole-grain oat flour, oat fiber and soluble corn fiber. Both cereals now have 3 grams of fiber per serving and the new fiber-enhanced versions are already out on grocery shelves. Over the next year the added fiber benefit will be added to Kellogg’s other cereals as well. Since these are cereals that kids already love to eat – it’s a good way to add nutrition into their diets, especially for those of us with picky eaters and daily battles at mealtime.

Courtesy of Kellogg’s and Mom Central, we received boxes of Froot Loops (with and without the added fiber) and Apple Jacks (with added fiber) to try out, compare and review.

Here’s my our take on them:

I had a little bit of an idea as to the new versions of these cereals after my husband told me that he would no longer eat either Apple Jacks or Froot Loops now that you can only buy the ‘added fiber’ versions. Which surprised me since I’d continued to buy them and never heard any word of complaint from the kids. So I was excited to have the chance to try both versions of Froot Loops and specifically compare the two.

The girls and I did a blind taste test with the two versions of Froot Loops – I put them in identical bowls and mixed them up so that none of us knew which was which. I did put a mark on the bottom of the bowl that had the ‘Fiber’ version so that I check afterward to see which we’d liked better.

I actually did notice a big difference just in appearance – the original Froot Loops have a more crumbly type of look and the colors are a bit brighter. If you’re curious – in the photo above the fiber-enhanced version is on the left and the original Froot Loops are on the right.

My oldest wasn’t interested in testing out the Froot Loops, so my younger girls took bites of each type of cereal and without any fanfare their opinions were the same – they didn’t notice any difference in the taste. After the taste test, we did a special ‘cereal for dinner’ – both of the girls ate the fiber-enhanced versions and I finished off the bowl of original Froot Loops.

When it comes to my husband and I, we have a much different reaction to the change in these cereals than our girls do. While they don’t seem to notice or care that anything’s changed, we both greatly prefer the original versions. To me it’s not a difference in taste so much as in texture. The ‘regular’ Froot Loops stay crunchier in milk longer and just plain are crunchier in general. The fiber-enhanced version has a whole different feel in your mouth – but then again, if I didn’t have the original to compare against, I don’t know that I’d really notice so much either. I guess I’ll try waiting a little while and then trying the new version again, by itself. My husband is quite adamant though that he will not eat either Froot Loops or Apple Jacks at all anymore – he’s an extremely picky eater, so this doesn’t surprise me too much.

The bottom line:

I love that Kellogg’s is working to make their cereals healthier for kids (and adults) who already love them. I make a concerted effort to get as much fiber as possible into my 7-year-old’s diet in particular, and knowing that she’s getting it from something she loves to eat anyway is a huge relief. I personally probably won’t eat Froot Loops as often (at least for a while), but hopefully the fiber-enhanced version will grow on me because I’d miss eating them otherwise. I haven’t tried the new version of Apple Jacks since they’re not a cereal that I like to begin with, but my kids love them and haven’t noticed a difference with the fiber-enhanced version of those either – we went through the two boxes we were sent as quickly as we ever did with the original version and I’ve already bought more (of both cereals).

Where can you find them?:

The fiber-enhanced versions of both Froot Loops and Apple Jacks are out on grocer’s shelves and can be found in most retail locations where Kellogg’s cereals are generally sold. Prices vary by location and retailer. For more information about the enhanced fiber in Kellogg’s cereals you can visit www.kelloggsnutrition.com or www.Kelloggs.com/Fiber.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Kellogg’s and received boxes of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks and a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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