On the Hunt for Organic "Cheerios"
I've been reading about how conventionally raised oats contain glyphosate, an herbicide used to dry out oats before they're harvested. It's the herbicide in Roundup and is a suspected carcinogen, although the Environmental Protection Agency came out recently to say that it does not cause cancer. Regardless, I was uncomfortable with my family ingesting glyphosate, and went on the hunt for organic oat "O" cereal that approximated Cheerios.
Contestant 1: Nature's Path Heritage O's
We've tried 3 alternatives so far, and although none of them are as perfect as the original Cheerios, I have found one that comes close enough and is a satisfactory substitute. The first one we tried was Heritage O's from Nature's Path. It's really dense and crunchy and does not remind me of Cheerios at all other than its shape. My kids like it though, and it's decently low in sugar and high in fiber and protein, so I'm comfortable with them eating this for breakfast sometimes. I am not a fan and it's way too hard on my teeth, so I wanted to keep looking for myself.
Contestant 2: Cascadian Farm's Organic Purely O's
The next option I tried was Cascadian Farm's Organic Purely O's. It was closer to Cheerios in terms of texture and flavor, but it had this offputting saltiness to it. Not every bite was salty, but every so often I'd get a mouthful of cereal with a too-strong taste of sea salt. For this reason, I couldn't accept it as my Cheerios replacement. At this point, I was about to give up hope of finding a suitable replacement.
Contestant 3 and Winner: Nature's Promise Toasted O's
One day, I was at Stop and Shop and decided to peruse their organic foods aisle. To my surprise, their organic house brand, Nature's Promise, had a Toasted O's cereal. It is a mixture of oats and rice, but it's a close approximation to Cheerios in terms of flavor and texture. It's probably a bit lighter than Cheerios, but I really enjoy it and plan on buying this as my go-to oat O's cereal. The only other brand I'll probably try if I come across it is Barbara's Honest O's, but in the meantime, I'm perfectly happy with Nature's Promise.
Contestant 1: Nature's Path Heritage O's
We've tried 3 alternatives so far, and although none of them are as perfect as the original Cheerios, I have found one that comes close enough and is a satisfactory substitute. The first one we tried was Heritage O's from Nature's Path. It's really dense and crunchy and does not remind me of Cheerios at all other than its shape. My kids like it though, and it's decently low in sugar and high in fiber and protein, so I'm comfortable with them eating this for breakfast sometimes. I am not a fan and it's way too hard on my teeth, so I wanted to keep looking for myself.
Contestant 2: Cascadian Farm's Organic Purely O's
The next option I tried was Cascadian Farm's Organic Purely O's. It was closer to Cheerios in terms of texture and flavor, but it had this offputting saltiness to it. Not every bite was salty, but every so often I'd get a mouthful of cereal with a too-strong taste of sea salt. For this reason, I couldn't accept it as my Cheerios replacement. At this point, I was about to give up hope of finding a suitable replacement.
Contestant 3 and Winner: Nature's Promise Toasted O's
One day, I was at Stop and Shop and decided to peruse their organic foods aisle. To my surprise, their organic house brand, Nature's Promise, had a Toasted O's cereal. It is a mixture of oats and rice, but it's a close approximation to Cheerios in terms of flavor and texture. It's probably a bit lighter than Cheerios, but I really enjoy it and plan on buying this as my go-to oat O's cereal. The only other brand I'll probably try if I come across it is Barbara's Honest O's, but in the meantime, I'm perfectly happy with Nature's Promise.
Yeah for Heritage O's
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