I’m an app-happy person.

I’m also a food-tech-happy person. I can rave endlessly about Supercook, Eat Your Books, and the fascinating world of food blogs and food blog aggregators such as foodgawker.

Joe is a cereal-happy person. At any point in time we are in possession of at least five different cereals. Right now we have Oatmeal Squares, MultiGrain Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats in two varieties, and Raisin Nut Bran. Whew.

What do apps have to do with this? I decided to test the health merit of these with an app called Fooducate. Using Fooducate, you can enter the names of packaged food products (or, alternatively, to simply scan the barcodes) to pull up a variety of information ranging from an overall food “grade” to facts about notable ingredients in the product (e.g., what is corn syrup and why should you care?). Here’s how our cereals fared up:

Best: Cheerios, MultiGrain, B+

At 110 calories per serving (about average for cereals) and with less than 1.5 tsp of sugar, MultiGrain Cheerios were the best out of what we have. The only “warning” they had is a heads up that when packaging indicates that something is multigrain, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is also 100% whole grain. In this case, however, the packaging indicates that the cereal is made with 5 whole grains, so whatevs.

But, we can always do better! The app lists healthier alternatives as:

Trader Joe’s Organic High Fiber O’s (A-), plain Cheerios (A-), Nature’s Path, 8 Whole Grains (A-), Old Wessex Ltd, 5 Grain, 100% Whole Grain (A-), and Weetabix (A-).

Worst: Honey Bunches of Oats (we have the one with Cinnamon Bunches and the one with Almonds, both of which have the same grade), C+

Although Honey Bunches of Oats has the average amount of calories for cereals (120 for Cinnamon and 130 for Almonds) per serving and less than 1.5 tsp of sugar, it isn’t 100% whole grain and the controversial additive butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is present (some studies have shown it to be carcinogenic, while others have shown it to decrease the risk of cancer. What? Most products have switched to butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) since the 1970’s). Honey Bunches also has added flavoring and corn syrup. Hmm.

Alternatives listed as:

Kashi Oat Cereal, Honey Toasted (A-), Special K Multigrain Oats and Honey (B+), Kashi Honey Toasted Oat (B+), Schnucks Honey Nut Toasted Oats (B), Honey Bunches of Oats with Real Chocolate (B) (lols, kind of surprised at this one), Zoe’s Granola, Honey Almond (B+), Schnucks 100% Natural Granola w/Oats and Honey (B)

In the middle: Raisin Nut Bran and Oatmeal Squares, both at B-

I was sad that Oatmeal Squares weren’t the best choice. I really, really wanted them to be. I effing love Oatmeal Squares. Such good texture. Oh well.
Oatmeal Squares have 210 calories per serving (worse than average for cereals), and 2.5 tsp of sugars per serving. It also contains controversial artificial flavors. And maltodextrin, which is a polysaccharide used as a food additive (a bulking base for artificial sweeteners, like Splenda). Sad face.

Raisin Nut Bran has 180 calories per serving, which makes it about average, and a whopping 3.5 tsp of sugars! What! It also contains trans-fats even though the label says 0, since FDA guidelines allow companies to round down to zero when there is less than half a gram per serving. Like Oatmeal Squares, it also has added flavors. It also contains corn syrup and soy lecithin (soy lecithin isn’t necessarily bad for you, but can be of concern to *some* people who are sensitive to soy products).

Altneratives:

Post Grape-Nuts (A-), Raisin Bran (B+), Mini-Wheats (B+), Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (B), and Multi-Bran Chex (B)

We weren’t surprised that MultiGrain Cheerios was the best of the bunch. But the others… Well, we definitely won’t be getting those varieties of Honey Bunches of Oats anymore! Or any at all, perhaps. If you feel like you must keep buying them, however, here’s a quick rundown of the best and worst ones rated by the app (we’ll shorten Honey Bunches of Oats as HBO):

Best: HBO with Real Chocolate, B (for being a good natural source of iron and Vitamin A)
Sorta Kinda: HBO with Vanilla Bunches, HBO with Strawberry Bunches, HBO Just Bunches! Cinnamon, all at B-
Worst: HBO with Almonds, HBO with Cinnamon Bunches, HBO with Real Peaches, HBO with Pecan Bunches, HBO Honey Roasted
Worst of the worst: HBO – Raising Medley, C-
And, for cereal bar lovers, the worst of the worst of the worst: HBO Cereal Bars,  Strawberry gets a rating of D+

Keep in mind that all of these contain BHT.

Will apps change your eating habits?