Quaker's Logo has evolved over time, but can you still trust their products?

Does Quaker Sell Real Food Anymore?

Quaker's Logo Has Evolved Over Time, But Can You Still Trust Their Products?

Part II of the series on Quaker, Are All Marketers Liars?

Quaker Oats traces its roots back to the 1850s. The iconic Quaker man image was adopted by the company in the 1870s based on the morals that Quakers embodied–integrity, honesty, and purity. Over the years the Quaker man (who’s affectionately called Larry by Quaker insiders) has been updated many times with his most recent evolution occurring this past spring. But through all of these makeovers, does the Quaker brand of today still live up to those original ideals? Or has Larry become just another shill in the sea of Big Food companies?

Quaker's Line-Up Of Real Medleys: Apple Walnut, Summer Berry, Cherry Pistachio, And Peach Almond

To answer this question, I decided to take a closer look at Quaker’s new oatmeal offering called Real Medleys. They come in four varieties: Apple Walnut, Summer Berry, Peach Almond, and Cherry Pistachio. I chose the Apple Walnut flavor as the basis for my investigation.

Quaker Real Medleys Apple Walnut Oatmeal

Without a doubt, when you look at the photos and sales copy for Real Medleys, healthy eaters may be pretty impressed. Everything looks so good for you! But does the Quaker man deliver? Let’s take a look at this nutrition comparison vs. my homemade oatmeal recipe:

Quaker Real Medleys Nutrition Comparison Vs. Homemade Oatmeal

Although both servings are approximately 200g prepared, Quaker’s Apple Walnut Real Medley weighs in with almost 100 more calories, 12 more grams of sugar, and 270 more milligrams of sodium. A quick look at the ingredient panel confirms the problem: lots of added sugars and salt.

In an attempt to be fair, I contacted Quaker Oats three times to determine exactly how much added sugar is in their product since obviously some of the sugars come from the dehydrated fruit pieces. Unfortunately Quaker’s response was:

I’d like to share with you that we’re unable to say how much added sugar is in our oatmeal because it’s not something we separate out when we make calculations for the nutritional facts.

Really? Why do you have to make it so hard for consumers to get meaningful nutritional and ingredient information? Having worked at three different Big Food companies, I can promise you that the R&D and nutrition teams know exactly what these numbers are. The sad truth is, Quaker (owned by Pepsico since 2001) just doesn’t want to share the information with consumers.

Undeterred, I decided to do my own detective work. So, I separated and sifted the ingredients of several samples to better understand exactly what’s in the Apple Walnut Oatmeal sku:

Breaking Down What's Really In Quaker Real Medleys
After weighing each of the ingredients, I was able to estimate that nearly 13g of sugar were added to this oatmeal in addition to the 9g of naturally occurring sugars (1g in oats, 7g in apples, 1g in cranberries, and 0.3g in walnuts). To put the 13g of added sugar in perspective, that’s more sugar than is in a serving of Quaker’s Cap’n Crunch cereal. Surprised? And if all this sugar isn’t enough to make you think twice, Quaker’s consumer affairs department was able to confirm one additional piece of information: Real Medleys contain GMOs (the sugar is “most likely” made from genetically modified sugar beets).

Now some of you may be asking why I’m picking on oatmeal. After all, there are a lot worse things someone could eat for breakfast than one of Quaker Real Medleys, right? While that’s true, let’s take a look at the bigger picture:

So What's Quaker Hiding From You In Their Real Medleys Oatmeal?

The fact is that many people who are making an honest effort to eat healthier are getting misled by products like Quaker Real Medleys. Claims of wholesome multigrains and “real” fruit leanwash what’s really in their food. And while a single serving of Real Medley’s may not represent a dietary catastrophe, its impact adds up over time. For instance, if you ate a cup of Real Medleys twice a week for a year, that would add up to over 10,000 extra calories or the potential for an extra three pounds of weight gain–all while thinking you were eating “healthy” (comparisons are vs. eating a more sensibly sweetened homemade oatmeal).

So has Quaker drifted from its ideals of integrity, honesty, and purity? I think so! And if this example doesn’t convince you, check out what Larry has done with “wholesome” Quaker Chewy and Yogurt Granola bars. In fact, I think Larry’s been up to so much deception, I’ve got a more appropriate facelift for the Quaker logo. Why? Because plain and simple…Larry’s lying!

Does Quaker Speak The Truth Anymore?

What do you think? Is Quaker lying to us about their products? Share your thoughts and comments below, and please forward this post with your friends. My hope is that through my blog and my book, Fat Profits, I can help change the conversation about what we eat and get more and more people asking, “do I really know what’s in my food?”

As always, thanks for reading my blog. And if you’re new here and you’d like to learn more about the tricks, traps, and tools Big Food uses to get people eating more processed food, please subscribe here.

Quaker'S Logo Has Evolved Over Time, But Can You Still Trust Their Products?

60 Responses

  1. Bruce,

    I’m really enjoying this series. I’m currently in a graduate certificate program at Tufts focusing on nutrition in the context of marketing and PR, and am posting your succinct analyses on our online class forum for my classmates to read. They are very relevant to what we’re studying.

    Thanks!

    Jim

    1. Jim:

      Glad you are enjoying this series, and thanks for sharing with your class. I’m not sure if you enjoy thrillers, but if you do, you should also check out my novel FAT PROFITS. It gives you a peek into what it’s like working in Big Food and shows how corporate greed and corruption mix to create a food system that is built to protect profits, not citizens.

      Thanks so much for reading my blog and sharing it!

      Regards,
      Bruce

    2. I looked up this info while I was eating my not so real Real Medleys. Needless to say, I won’t be purchasing this product again. Health must take priority over convenience. I thought the product tasted just a bit too sweet to be healthy. Thanks for your research, it is much appreciated!!!!

    3. Just found this while eating an apple Real Medleys. Went looking for the sugar breakdown and I am so glad this post addressed it! Going to go get the book now . . .

  2. Regardless of the “trusted” manufacturer’s name, I think Big Food is in the business of making profits for the executives and shareholders–consumer health isn’t nearly as important as repeat sales. The fact that a company once known for its whole grains is now owned by a soda conglomerate speaks volumes about healthy intent! I never found instant oatmeal to be worth it’s weight in a BWCA food backpack! Buy the ingredients, preferably in the bulk aisle at the local co-op–it’s cheaper, better for you and really doesn’t add much time. It only takes 5 minutes to cook old-fashioned rolled oats, a little longer for steel cut; while the oats are cooking you dice or shred an apple to add, toss in a few nuts or sunflower seeds and a trickle of real maple syrup if you need more sweetness. You can do the whole thing in a slow cooker while you sleep or in the oven while you shower.

    1. I agree Kathy. Our food system has become totally dominated by businesses making profits vs. truly nourishing lives. Hopefully, by working together, we can get more and more people asking the question, “is this food really good for me?”

      Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it!

      Bruce

  3. Great to expose some more of the deceptive marketing of big food. It just confirms the mantra, just eat real food, not the processed stuff. What’s so hard about just buying oats and throwing in a handful of craisins and some sunflower seeds and a quick squirt of honey or a teaspoon or brown sugar. Then you know what you’re eating. It’s so sad that big food has hammered into the public’s head for years that food is rocket science. It’s not!

    1. Melissa, your mantra is so right. These days it is extremely hard to find packaged food in your average grocery store that truly qualifies as real. Of all the things we do in any given day, we must realize that the food we put on our table must take the highest priority!

      Thanks so much for reading my blog and taking the time to comment. Hope to see you around again!

      Bruce

    2. Melissa, not to be nit-picky but you actually just demonstrated how difficult it is! A handful of craisins has an incredibly high sugar amount. Not just because of the cranberries but added sugar is listed in the ingredients. Then we could take it even deeper with the GMOs (beet sugar?), sustainability produced vs monoculture for the ‘non-processed’ oats and additions you mention. Brown sugar is usually very highly processed. And where did the honey come from? Plenty of problems in that arena too! The list goes on and on and on…. Again, totally not meaning anything negative towards you at all! I am beyond boggled as far as what is even half-way decent to eat now, let alone what is actually ‘good’ to eat!

    3. Try adding freeze dried fruit. There are many available &, to my knowledge, they are healthy. No cooking or prep necessary. Oatmeal is easy to take & throw in the microwave at work, even if you buy in bulk. Another great option is to mix it with organic yogurt or coconut milk, kind of like a parfait.

  4. Loved the post! Very informative. It’s sad that some people feel they do not have the time to prepare a healthy meal… when it may only take a few minutes preparation and cooking time. I sometimes eat overnight oats in the summer – and there’s little to no preparation required.

    1. Thanks for your comment, Jenna. Unfortunately it’s pretty easy to get lost in life’s priorities. I agree with you, preparing a healthy meal needs to be at the very top of the list. Hopefully by encouraging folks and giving them some tips, step by step they will make some little changes that will help improve their lifestyle.

      Thanks again for visiting my blog and for your comment.

      Regards,

      Bruce

  5. As a real-life Quaker, I wish they would change their logo. And no, we don’t wear those funny clothes any more, though we still try to live up to the same principles.
    I make my oatmeal overnight in a rice cooker.

  6. I wholeheartedly agree about the reason to pick on a “healthy” food like Quaker Oats. I know a lot of moms that are trying to eat healthier, but they really aren’t. They just have time to pick what looks healthy and move on without further investigation.
    Though the other 90% I think just don’t care. Or, reduce their intake of processed foods overall instead of taking in adequate calories from real food sources.

    This is my quick oatmeal fix: Combine 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and cook 5 minutes on medium heat. Transfer to bowl. Add dash of cinnamon and shred 1/2 an apple over the oatmeal. Stir and eat.

    1. Thanks for your question! I prefer organic, steel cut oats because the grains are more intact. The more processing a food company does, the less work your body has to do—which in general is bad. The one minute Quaker oatmeal product is still much better for you than many other breakfast options out there. Just make sure you’re not sweetening it up a lot. A good general rule is not more than a teaspoon of maple syrup or honey to a cup of prepared oatmeal. Don’t mix the sweetener in. Instead, when you eat, with each spoonful try to grab just a touch of sweetness. At first, it may not taste sweet enough (especially if you’ve been consuming some of Quaker’s candy-like products). But over time your taste buds will adjust and that little bit of maple syrup will be all you need.

      Hope that helps. Thanks for visiting my blog!

      Bruce

  7. It’s so disappointing to think about how some people’s entire job is to find tricky ways to word things so that consumers think they are good for us when they are actually unhealthy.

  8. I just bought a bunch of these because they were on sale, but after reading
    The labels I avoided buying the one you chose because
    It had much more sodium than the peach or cherry the two that
    I chose. True it does have too much sugar/sodium but you
    Can’t beat the handy cups when you’re in a rush out the door.
    If we lived in a perfect world we would eat the steel cut oats which
    Is my favorite. I’ve tried both mentioned and LOVE the texture and
    Flavor and no I don’t work for the company I just am a consumer…
    At .58 per container I just had to try it. Thank you for your informative
    Post!!!

  9. I really don’t think this is a good comparison. The design of the real medley product is really for on-the-go/cubicle people. There are other products meant for home use that would be more accurately compared to home-made oatmeal. What I would have preferred to see was the product compared to other oatmeal or general breakfast items that can be stored un-refrigerated for weeks, then made with just hot water.

  10. Thanks for the analysis! I read through this while eating my Real Medleys Summer Berry Oatmeal, and am disappointed to say this will be the last one I eat.

  11. I guess I don’t share your anger over this product. Nowhere on the box is it advertised as “organic,” or “healthy,” or “low in sugar,” or “low in calories.” So I don’t really feel misled. I think I knew I was getting something that had a lot of sugar and salt in it compared to relatively unseasoned and unsweetened oatmeal. Should I take umbrage to the fact that this has 290 calories instead of 190 calories? I don’t think I should. I’m kind of glad it isn’t 400 calories or worse. Should I be denounced as unhealthy when I add a couple spoonfuls of sugar to my coffee because I think it makes it taste better? Because that’s essentially what Quaker has done with this product, and they haven’t really tried to hide it. Brown sugar is listed as a primary ingredient.

    And hey, what about your oatmeal recipe? 190 calories? Harrumph! If someone had your oatmeal two times a week for a year, that would be 19,760 calories! That is added pounds, which would likely cause morbid obesity and sadness. Better to just eat plain oats and water without all those extra apples, aka “Nature’s Candy.” You are lying to everyone by forcing them to eat candy!

  12. I have been eating healthy and exercising for about 2 years now. I have lost 117 pounds by eating Quaker instant oatmeal. It’s quick, easy, and taste wonderful. As a full-time working mom, I don’t have time every morning to “cook” oatmeal. It’s much easier to grad a packet or container and take it to work with me. I understand that it is not the healthiest thing I can eat, but it’s much better than the pop-tarts and doughnuts my co-workers eat. It kind of gets depressing hearing everyone bash companies that are trying to make healthier alternatives to what’s available. It seems everytime I choose something that appears healthy, I find something like this that just completely tears it apart and degrades it as unhealthy. Like I said, it may not be the best (I know whole natural foods are best), but in this day and time, it’s a much better alternative than other breakfast options.

    1. Cortney:

      I appreciate your comment. I totally agree that this instant oatmeal may be a better option than a pop-tart. It just concerns me that Quaker adds SO much sugar (MORE than a serving of Cap’n Crunch cereal) and people have no idea.

      Thanks,

      Bruce

  13. I am so glad I found your article before I hit the “buy” button for a whole case of Real Medley oatmeal. I trusted Quaker to do their very best to make sure all of their products are the best nutritional value for the customer. I will think twice before I buy a Quaker product again. Thank you for your research!

  14. I’ve been eating the Quaker Medleys for a few months now, thinking I was eating healthier. Won’t be buying that again. Thanks for the analysis.

  15. While I do appreciate the info provided, I’m also intrigued about the comparison you did. Wouldn’t the homemade oatmeal have a little more than 191 calories and 10g sugar if you added walnuts and cranberry’s as they have in their oatmeal?

  16. Thank you for doing this!! I honestly thought I was buying something “clean”. The sodium comparison is what I value most. I just didn’t know the difference. I will eat my last 2 and then no longer will be purchasing these.

  17. I have to agree with S. Denai on this comparison. The information is appreciated, but when comparing recipes, you cannot compare apples to oranges or in this case cranberries and walnuts. Cranberries are naturally tart and therefore sugar is likely to be added if using fresh cranberries and walnuts are high in healthy fats and therefore calories as well so leaving them out of the nutritional comparison is not realistic when comparing the two. Also, dried fruit is real fruit, it just has a higher concentration of sugar (even without added sugar) than fresh fruit because it has less water which would also shift the calorie calculation. I also have to question why the only Real Medleys oatmeal analyzed is the one with the highest sugar content of the five at 22 g (which can probably be accounted for with the dried cranberries that are added since dried cranberries have sugar added because of the tartness). The other four range from 13 g to 19 g of sugar per the nutritional label. I, for one, add brown sugar, butter and a little salt to my plain oatmeal leaving it with a higher sodium, sugar and calorie count than the homemade recipe does. Trying to keep the big food companies honest is great as there are issues, but you need to do it with a realistic comparison. Do I think that Quaker Real Medleys oatmeal is the ideal health food? No, but when time is short it is much healthier than a lot of things I could grab for an on the go breakfast and I don’t need to add additional things like I do with plain oatmeal to make it taste less bland as it tastes good to me just the way it is. Claiming Quaker is lying is a bit farfetched and blaming them for being in business to make money is like claiming the American Dream is not something we should be working towards.

    1. An additional note is that a single serving of Captain Crunch cereal is only 27 g with 11.8 g sugar as compared to a single unprepared serving of Real Medleys Apple Walnut Oatmeal which is 75 g with 22 g sugar. If you compare 75 g of Captain Crunch cereal then the sugar content is 33.8 g which is higher than the Real Medleys Apple Walnut Oatmeal.

    2. I used to work for “Big Food” also (and how I hate that term) and you are absolutely correct. I find most of these expose sites feel they have to exagerate because the actual truth is just not that attention grabbing. As a kid I probably added 3 heaping spoonfuls of sugar to my oatmeal and farina.

  18. Although I agree with many of your points and am grateful then you went through the trouble of manually separating the ingredients to investigate the sugar contribution I don’t think it is a terrible product.

    Sure it is sweet, but it is also much more expensive than making your own. As such, I think that this should be more of a treat and not a staple/every day breakfast item.

    Nonetheless, even if it were, I know that ‘based on a 2000 calorie diet’ – which is actually too much for me -, that most people can afford to have a 290 calorie breakfast. So saying that this adds 10,000 calories seems inaccurate.

  19. Should I eat pancakes instead? Or can I stick to these cups every now and then? Everything is fattening that’s my conclusion moderation is the key 😉 good day!

  20. This is a great article. You should do the same thing with their real medleys multigrain cereal! I absolutely love it and I am wondering how bad it really is for me. I would love to be able to make my own that is much healthier, but I just don’t seem to have the culinary skills. Plus at $3 or more a box it is getting expensive and I know I should be able to make it for cheaper!

    1. Thanks, David. I saw an advertisement about the Real Medleys cereal. I’ll have to check it out! I bet you’re right that they’ve been up to the same tricks with their cereal version!

  21. Thanks, Bruce Bradley, for thoroughly analyzing this! I could read in the ingrediants list that there’s added sugar–good to pin it down. In my heart-of-hearts, I expected it to be less than perfect. After all, Quaker makes Captain Crunch, right?

    I do have a question. The dehydrated fruit–does it retain good nutrition in processing? Still has it’s fiber, but then there is some degradation of the natural vitamin content. If they got the marketing department out of the formulation department, could you make an excellent product that would be a good nutritional choice?

    1. Thanks for your comment, Gary. Dehydrated fruit still retains good nutrition (although not quite as good as fresh and frozen) so it’s a healthy option.

      Having worked in several Big Food companies I can honestly say that although the marketing folks are probably the most to blame, but there are plenty of people in the R&D/formulation area who have a “better living through chemicals” philosophy.

      Hope to see you visit and comment on my blog again sometime soon. Thanks again!

  22. I tried this product once, and to me, it was like granola mixed with Fruit Loops. Too sweet and I know they say it’s real but it tastes very artificial and processed. Count me out!

    1. Hi Holly!

      Thanks so much for your comment!

      I agree. There definitely is a candy-like, too sweet quality to these oatmeal cups. I think that especially true, though, when you’re used to eating real food. Eating lots of processed foods makes our taste buds conditioned to crave lots of sweet and salty flavors. Once we’ve weaned ourselves off of this taste bud overload, we appreciate the more subtle flavors of food and enjoy the real flavors or food.

      Thanks again for your comment and for visiting our site!

      Cheers!
      Bruce

  23. I appreciate your efforts to get to the bottom of the ingredients in these products. As a college student, I am constantly on the go and trying to eat healthy and my most recent fix has been these Real Medleys. The added sugar is a little disheartening and I am bothered that my beloved Quaker brand is being thwarted by PepsiCo. However, I have a few counter arguments for you:

    1) The comment about 3 pounds of extra weight gain is quite misleading to readers whom may not know exactly how calories contribute to weight gain. Eating these twice a week certainly won’t bring you 3 pounds of extra weight unless you are already on the verge of your calorie intake and aren’t fluctuating anything else in your diet but this oatmeal and your homemade version. I generally find statistics meant to scare people need further explanation.

    2) Most consumers of these products are like me and don’t have time to make homemade oatmeal and are choosing this product over Eggos or microwave sausage biscuits. In the future, it would be cool to see how these products stack up against what their realistic alternatives would be.

    3) Please lay off the hate talk about GMOs! They are really a huge step for feeding the world and completely not harmless to you at all. With May friends in GMO research, I can say with confidence that they pose no threat to consumers. The only modification to the plants is the way that they grow. In fact, bananas were genetically modified years ago and no one has ever said anything about them! While we talk about how marketing and media has such a big influence on consumers’ perception of products, it’s important to remember that the same is true for GMOs 🙂

    I enjoyed reading your post!

    1. Thanks for your comment, Cassie. While I agree it’s hard to equate weight gain and calories directly, my point is that this product has a lot of added/hidden sugars in it that your average consumer might not expect. We have a huge obesity and diabetes issue on our hands, and manufacturers like Pepsi/Quaker aren’t helping matters at all. Instead, they’re sugaring up what might otherwise be a healthy food and calling it healthy. I have a problem with that. Despite the efforts of large food companies to the contrary, I’m hopeful that added sugars will be part of nutrition labels soon, and it will be just a little bit harder for food companies to mask what’s really in their food.

      Finally, with regards to GMOs, we can debate the safety of eating GMOs ’til the cows come home. There are some great articles on Grist about them and whether we should be truly scared about GMOs. Personally, I’m more fearful of what GMO monocultures are doing to our environment as well as the potential for inadequate testing of future GMOs that may be coming on the market. The bottom line though is, I think we all have the right to know if they’re in our food, so I’m a huge believer in GMO labeling. That isn’t fear mongering–that’s about people having access to information so they can make a personal choice.

      Finally, regarding your comment about bananas, they are not GMO (yet). I’m not trying to pick at you, but I don’t want readers of my blog to be confused. Commercially available bananas are genetically identical clones. Cloning is different than making genetic modifications.

      Thanks again for your comments.

      Bruce

  24. I love the regular plain Quaker Oatmeal with a small amount of nuts and plain cinnamon. It’s very filling without the sugar and fat you would get from any other products. The original Quaker Oatmeal is perfect.

  25. Thank you for this post. I currently make my own oatmeal to avoid added sugars. I kept seeing Quaker advertising Real Medleys in my feed and decided to do a little research. I think I’ll continue to make my oatmeal from scratch.

    1. Thanks for visiting my site, Constance. Oatmeal from scratch is definitely the best choice! There are lots of easy ways to make it, and it’s so much better for us than all the ones with SO MUCH added sugar!

      Thanks again for stopping by! Hope to “see” you again on here sometime soon!

      Cheers!

      Bruce

  26. Over 10,000 extra calories in a year? Wrong. The oatmeal would replace a different dietary choice. Think again.

    1. Thanks for your comment, Russell. I respectfully disagree. A 200g serving of Quaker Real Medley’s has almost 100 more calories than my homemade version with over half of those calories being attributed to added sugars. Those additional calories add up over time: 100 calories 2 times a week times 52 weeks = 100 x 52 x 2 = 10,400 added calories.

      Bruce

  27. Thanks for the post! I had to google ” Quaker Medleys vs homemade oats” because as I walked into my shared office with my warm cardboard bowl of Quaker, I see my coworker has a cute mug of natural oats to make. She’s definitely the type that will ask why I simply didn’t make my oatmeal out of the giant container I have. I had to be prepared to defend my “because this is easier” response… *sigh*….now I have no leg to stand on but I am truly grateful for the knowledge and your generosity for sharing it!

    1. Hi Stefanie!

      Yes, it’s definitely easy to get tricked into eating seemingly healthy foods that are full of sugar and other processed ingredients. Glad you found my post useful!

      Cheers!
      Bruce

  28. Great article, Bruce.

    Thank you for shedding some light on this. I bought 2 weeks worth of these while living out of a hotel to try and be healthy. I will not be buying these again.

    Another major concern with this product is the fact that they use #7 OTHER plastic cups. This type of plastic is known to contain BPA (Bisphenol A), which is a hormone disruptor. This chemical compound acts as an estrogen mimicker, basically feminizing men. There are many other harmful affects. When hot water is poured into these thin plastic cups, the BPA leaches into the oatmeal and essentially into your blood stream as you consume it. It’s deceiving because the cup is wrapped in a paper label, so I thought it was a safe paper cup! NOT GOOD!

    1. Thanks for your comment, Nick. I’ll definitely have to check out the materials used in their cups. You’re right, if it’s a #7 material, it could contain BPA.

      Hope to see you stop by our website again sometime soon!

      Cheers!

      Bruce

  29. For those of us on the go (yes, even 5 minutes to make oatmeal is too long for me sometimes!)–is there any instant oatmeal product that is ok in a pinch?

    I like the taste of the Quaker medley though agree that all natural is better–but what other choices are there?

    1. There are more and more oatmeal cups out on the market that have no or less sugar in them. Here are a couple ideas: ThinkThin and Purely Elizabeth.

      If you’re like most people, it’s going to take a while to get used to oatmeal that uses no or less sugar. To help with that transition, try drizzling a little honey or maple syrup on your oatmeal at first … and over time, decreasing the amount you use. Just a thought!

      Hope this helps.

      Cheers,
      Bruce

  30. So disappointing! I like Real Medleys, never liked oatmeal at all. I did try making my own, but could not get it to taste anywhere near Medleys. Now I know why! I’m still puzzled though, as I eat fairly healthy, and use almost no extra salt in cooking, and not a lot of sugar. Seems like making my own should taste better than it did. I also like McDonald’s, although that’s not a practical option. Do you have facts on it? How do you prepare your oatmeal? How can we get these companies to quit using GMO’s? I see lots of products touting ” no GMO’s”, seems to work for them.

    1. Hi Marion!

      Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment! Sorry it has taken me so long to reply–I’ve taken a break from blogging this past year.

      With regards to your questions about oatmeal and why your homemade oatmeal may not taste as good as Real Medleys or McDonald’s–it’s all about the sugar and salt they add. As my post noted, Real Medleys most likely has about 13g of added sugar, and McDonald’s serving has an estimated 20g+ of added sugars with a total of 33g of sugars.

      I usually prepare my oatmeal in a slow cooker. Here’s a link to my recipe that I posted on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/281475045432070829/. I think the key to its taste is slow cooking it to bring out more flavor in the oats, a little bit of maple syrup, and then topping it off with real fruit like apples.

      Finally, with regards to your question about GMOs, I don’t think we will ever reach a time where these big food companies are using no GMOs. A certain cross-section of folks don’t mind highly processed foods, they’re not concerned about GMOs or what they could be doing to our environment, and they just want cheap food. The good news, though, is food manufacturers are increasingly listening to consumers who do care about their food and how it’s made. Thankfully, that has led to some improvements on store shelves.

      Hope these answers help you out. Feel free to add another comment if there are additional questions!

      Cheers!

      Bruce

  31. Hya Bruce, and Mabel. I stopped having spooned sugar in ANYTHING at age 27. It was not due to health reasons. Spooned sugar just killed the taste of everything I put it on. So in a way I agree with Mabel that it *did* taste too sweet to me for it to actually be as beneficial as the box claims. I think it’s better, however, than Doritoes or Bugles or potato chips as a snack for in front of the computer 🙂
    It looks as though it’s back to my former PC-snack: Cheerios. After I finish this box.

    1. Hi Steve!

      Thanks for your comment. Eating NO SUGAR on a low-sugar cereal like original Cheerios is the best way to go! If most people ate like that — we’d be much healthier!

      Cheers!
      Bruce

  32. Here we go again, marketing, marketing….I got hooked…Real Medleys tastes sooo good!
    I am trying to limit my sugars and salt intake.
    Thanks so much for your article and exposing the “truth” in the ingredients.
    I am a senior, and have been eating Quaker Oatmeal for over 50 years! What disappointment.
    Will have to go back to scrutinizing labels again.

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Here's Some Help Planning Your Weekly Meals and Special Occasions

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 No scare tactics. No crazy diet advice. Just a simple, sensible approach to eating REAL food!

Bruce Bradley logo no background
Bruce Bradley LOGO

No scare tactics. No crazy diet advice. Just a simple, sensible approach to eating REAL food!

Bruce Bradley Ultimate Clean Eating Guide

Yes, You can Eat Healthier!
Download Your FREE
Ultimate Clean Eating Guide Now!

We hate SPAM and take your privacy seriously.To learn more please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Get My FREE Ultimate Cleaning Eating Guide NOW!

Bruce Bradley Ultimate Clean Eating Guide

End the confusion! Learn what’s really in your food and how to take simple steps toward eating healthier!

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