Shred the Sugar: Shredded Wheat

Off with the seasonal gatherings and dragon new years feasts. February signals the revival of the sugar allergy, fitness attempts and calorie counting. We ought to pretend that our goal is to end 2012 as athlete of the year (I wish, but that should be a crazy motivation). With V-day and Lent approaching, the sugar-free quest shouldn't be a problem - as both occasions require abstinence, not celebration.

Fancy cereals (sorry, Special K with chocolate) are kicked out of the pantry, as we welcome the non deviant: Post Shredded Wheat. Original, not the Frosted one that brings shivers to your teeth.

In my quest for the low sugar cereal, I ended up with ZERO SUGAR - a jump-for-joy occasion like finding One Piece, or perhaps the Holy Grail for the more civilized readers. Not only that, a serving packs in 6g fiber, 1g of Total Fat and 170 calories.

Taste-wise, do not expect Chocolate Cheerios to start spreading chocolate goodness from your bland bowl. It's 100% wheat that's sugar-free so try to be more realistic: spiky wood chips drenched in milk. That's more like it. Keep it soggy and it'll be easier to swallow, but there's a downside to it as well as it grows in size the longer it stays drenched and untouched. Yes, kinda like the Gremlins, but with fiber.

The cereal takes getting used to, and of course there are ways to garnish the earthy flavor to make it more edible and worth feeding those under 20. With its sugar-free composition, we could afford to add a little fruit, soymilk or mochi even.

Look at the upside, this is the last cereal anyone's gonna steal from your pantry. Your investment is safe. :)