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Uncle Toby’s Quick Oats | Chewsday Review

So many requests for breakfast recommendations. I always like Weet-Bix and porridge- but how do quick sachets of porridge stack up? So without further ado, I present you with today's Chewsday Review featuring Uncle Toby's Multigrain Apple & Cinnamon Quick Oats.

Ingredients

Wholegrains (77%), sugar, apple pieces (apple 5%, preservative 220), cinnamon 0.2%)
The 77% wholegrains are made up of rolled oats (67%), rolled rye (5%) and rolled wheat (5%).
Preservative 220 is sulphur dioxide, and commonly used in dried fruit. Some kids with asthma can react to 220, but it’s not dangerous for those who don’t have any reaction.
Nutritionally, quick oats and rolled oats are exactly the same. The only difference is that quick oats have been rolled and chopped to a finer texture to ensure they cook more quickly. This doesn’t change the nutritional content, but does mean they have a slightly higher glycaemic index as compared to regular oats (basically they’re more quickly digested and may not keep kids full for quite as long).
Common allergens include: gluten

Positives

Negatives

Sugar content that exceeds healthy guidelines (21.6g per 100g). Some of this is coming from the dried apple pieces, but according to my super sleuthing, 17.8% of this product is added sugar. You can work this out from the percentage of ingredients listed above. This means that they have 18x more sugar than regular rolled oats cooked in milk.
These are significantly more expensive than regular oats. The cost per serving is 54.9c for the quick oats, compared to 5.5c for the rolled oats. That’s almost 10 times the price for convenience!

Marketing

Alternatives

These are a relatively nutritious choice, but contain more than the recommended amount of sugar for a breakfast cereal.
I would suggest choosing a classic quick oat option without the flavouring, one of the new ‘Nature’s Mix’ variety that contains no added sugar, or cooking your own rolled oats.
Adding your own fruit would sweeten the porridge as well as increasing the fibre and even if you added your own honey/sugar, a teaspoon per serve would be less than in these sachets.