here’s a story.
yesterday morning, i ate waffles. then i posted a facebook status update:
and then it started. and it didn’t stop.
this is the glorious sight i awoke to:
i cannot tell you how much i love snow.
especially immediately after a big storm. it’s beautiful.
and it calls for a warm breakfast.
three sisters not only make cold cereal.. they are in the hot cereal biz, too! this is comparable to instant oatmeal, actually.
guess what? before today, i had never eaten instant oatmeal. is that strange? i actually never ate a bowl of oatmeal, period, before august of 2008. when three sisters offered to send me their instant oatmeal to review (see my disclosure here), i was quite curious as to how i would feel about instant oatmeal.
this morning, i decided to go with the cinnamon & apples flavor.
who doesn’t like quick & tasty natural goodness?! plus, it is loaded with whole grains, flax seed and real fruit.
bonus point: 25% less packaging than other brands of instant oatmeal.
let’s check out the stats & ingredients.
because i can’t compare these stats to other instant oatmeals, i will go ahead and weigh in on my thoughts regarding these stats versus the stats of old fashioned rolled oats (AKA my breakfast 5 out of 7 mornings of the week).
- calories: 150 this is the same as a serving of rolled oats. nothing crazy here. this also tells me i need to add something else to the meal or i will be hungry 5 minutes after eating.
- fat: 2.5g definitely okay with me.. plus, no saturated fat.
- sodium: 90mg that’s what i like to see.
- carb: 30g a little on the high side, but i know it is flavored oatmeal instead of plain, so i am not surprised by this number.
- sugar: 9g a little higher than i aim for at breakfast, i try to stay below 7 grams of sugar. unless i am eating cereal, then all aims are thrown out the window
- protein: 5g a typical amount for oatmeal, my regular old fashioned oats have the same amount. again, like with the calories, this tells me i need to add some oomph to the meal if i want any sort of satiety.
the ingredients: whole grain rolled oats, sugar, soy, dried apple pieces, brown rice, cranberries, flaxseed, natural flavor, barley, quinoa, rye, wheat, salt, guar gum, citric acid.
pros of the ingredients:
- nothing fake here! i don’t understand companies who put artificial ingredients in their food, when it can obviously be done without all that garbage. i love that three sisters keeps it all natural.
- the real fruit: apples & cranberries for the win.
- the addition of grains & healthy fats: quinoa, barley, flaxseed, rye.. yes! the box says one serving has 29 grams of whole grain.
cons of the ingredients:
- second ingredient listed, after rolled oats, is sugar. this is something i try to avoid. (did you know ingredients are listed from the most amount to least amount used? so sugar being #2 is not that stellar.)
luckily, there is only one con!
i opened the box of three sisters cinnamon & apples hot cereal, (which is sold exclusively whole foods, by the way) and found five individual pouches. 
possibly the coolest part about the pouch?
it doubles as a measuring cup! that, my friends, is genius.
i poured the pouch contents into a bowl.
added the water using the handy measuring pouch.
put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and watched the dogs wonder about the snow.
and just like that, it was done!
loved the chunks of apple that rehydrated.
it is no surprise that i added more cinnamon. addict.
not going to lie, the portion size made me a little bit sad. i reminded myself that it was only 150 calories worth of food.
i soon discovered the bits of flaxseed and cranberries.
my thoughts on the taste and texture?
in love!
the texture was smooth but not too creamy. there was a definite mix of various textures in the bowl. another thing i enjoyed was the chew factor of the oats. i think the addition of quinoa and barley caused such a nice, chewy texture.
the taste was spot on. i thought it was going to be a little too sweet (i don’t usually sweeten my oatmeal) but it really had just a hint of sweetness. i am glad i added more cinnamon, though, because that made the cinnamon flavor just right. but, more than likely, my tolerance for cinnamon is much higher than the average gal.
all in all, i really liked the three sisters cinnamon & apples hot cereal. thanks to julie at three sisters for giving me the chance to try it out! i will be trying the other flavors soon and will be sure to let you all know how they compare to the cinnamon & apples flavor.
do you want to try some for yourself?
i have two coupons for two winners!
to enter:
- leave a comment telling me your thoughts on instant oatmeal. did you grow up eating it or have you never tried it? love it? hate it? let me know!
i will announce the coupon winners on monday night (11/22/10)
although three sisters provided the coupons for this giveaway, they are not sponsors, endorsers or affiliated with the giveaway itself.
i will be back later with a post about yesterday’s meals & moves.
xo. janetha g.
Next Comments →
WOW!! So much snow!
Ooh, that oatmeal looks great! I agree with you on the sugar content, but I’m sure a wee bit of an exception can be made… :)
I never ate oatmeal up until maybe three years ago. Then I went thrugh a phase of eating it EVERY morning for breakfast, without fail. I just love it. I used to eat the packets, but now I cook the oats and add wheat germ, apples, banana, berries, raisins and some sunflower seeds. :)
so much snow- looks so pretty!!! i adore instant oatmeal… less pots to clean with a microwave and helps for working bfasts when i have little time in the morning
Snow! Ah! I know you love your snow, but snow makes me shiver :) The cereal sounds good to me. That is VERY cool that the pouch doubles as a measuring cup for the liquid too. My Mom used to buy the quakers combo packs of different flavored oatmeals when my sister and I were little. We used to fight over who got which one :) I LOVED the peach
Yum! Looks delish, and what a clever idea to make the pouch a measuring cup!!!
I never liked it as a kid, probably because it was one of two breakfasts I ever got to eat on weekday mornings! I think it was wayyy overkill. I just started liking oatmeal again this spring!
mmmmmmmmmm that looks derishus! :) And I used to looove instant oatmeal! I would always use two packets though….hehe But now, I like eating stovetop oats just because it’s fun to make them (I find it very relaxing….and when it’s cold, I like being able to warm my hands over it/turn around and toast my buns while it’s cookin’ :D )
OMG… I say “derishus” too, but I’d never thought to spell it out… genius! :)
YAAAY for snow !! :D we got “a little” last night… and we’re supposed to get more this evening (fingers crossed).
This oatmeal looks good… I ate instant oatmeal A LOT in college… and I sometimes still do!
I loved Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar as a kid! :)
And I too am a cinnamon FIEND. I made a bread pudding Friday night and amped up the cinnamon content from the recipe SUBSTANTIALLY. :)
I have to say, I’m not really an instant oatmeal fan. I’d rather add in seasonings, fruit, and nuts myself…but I could always give it another shot!
Man, that is a LOT of snow. I hate snow, so you can have all of mine!
That pouch makes this a great option for on the go oats. I do love my stovetop though :) I actually didn’t know of stove top oats until I started reading blogs about a year ago. Now instant just don’t cut it. Up until then, I ate tons of instant.
It looks good, even if it’s high in sugar. I used to eat instant until I realized just how much sugar was in it! Now I just nuke my oats in the micro. I enjoy them plain- sometimes with cinnamon, but a lot of times just with water! It sticks to your guts! ;)
You got way more snow than we did in Provo. I am happy you love the snow, you can like it for the both of us:) I didn’t start eating oatmeal until college and I absolutely love it. Sometimes I make my own and sometimes I use the packet. I love it all.
oatmeal on a cold snowy morning….glorious! I love the 3 sisiters instant oatmeal. I buy it when we travel! Perfect for the hotel room. ;)
Your pups are just too stinkin cute. They need to be play dates with my pups some day!
I don’t think my parents ate ANY oatmeal growing up, because the first time I ever had it was just a year or so ago. I MUCH prefer old fashioned to instant. I LOOOOVE oatmeal and could eat it every day with some PB on top!
It is a good thing that I don’t live in the SLC because I am not a big snow fan. It is like practically 60 degrees here and I love it. Although I am sure that SLC has other redeeming qualities I would like!
I would mix the oatmeal packets with 1/4 cup of oats or something to cut the sweetness and make it a little more filling. Just a thought!
Enjoy the snow!
Grew up eating it and still (have to) when we don’t have rolled oats around. This looks MUCH better than the usual though!! Count me in on the Dark Chocolate flavor – I’ve never heard of chocolate oatmeal!
I used to always eat instant oatmeal before high school- it was quick and easy!! Now I”m more of a steel cut oats fans, being in uni and having some time in the morning (yay for later classes!!)
Even though I’m almost 23, like you I never ate oatmeal until around 2008! I started eating it after getting into all the healthy living blogs and I can’t go back now! I actually had some this morning =)
I started out only having instant oatmeal – first Quaker and eventually Kashi, but now I enjoy multi-grain oats that I can make on the stove and add some protein powder too. I also love mixing in peanut butter. I like my oatmeal chewy – not very creamy!
I ONLY ate instant oatmeal until I discovered how easy the real thing is!! Though I have to say- these sound WAY better than the weird bananas and cream flavors I used to have!
I grew up eating the instant quaker packets. Banana bread = love!
Now I am a HUGE fan of rolled oats. Plenty of peanut butter in mine please ;)
Please Janetha! I’ve been wanting to try this oatmeal for a while. I NEED it!! Oatmeal is my favorite thing to eat!! I dying to try the chocolate. Thanks for the giveaway and such an amazing, fun, healthy blog I love to read.
I ate oatmeal a lot growing up. My grandma made it and would pour the sugar and put so much butter in it, it would have a ring of butter. It was great as a kid! I never ate instant oatmeal packets until college. I’ve tried many brands and definately have favorites. I like the flavors but missed the good ol’ fashioned Quacker oats on the stove. I’d love to try Three Sisters! I’ve seen it so many times and it gets great reviews. I need some chocolate oats in my mornings as first grade teacher!
I like instant oatmeal! If I have the time, I’ll do my own custom hot cereal blend (some combo of old fashioned oats, quinoa, barley, wheat berries, etc.) and cook it in my rice cooker (thanks for the idea, Emily!), but instant oatmeal is a great thing to have on hand for those days that are a bit more rushed.
It’s also sold at Fresh Market, as well as the Three Sisters dry cereal. Just FYI.
Really? In the review disclosure, Three Sisters requires bloggers to disclose that it is sold exclusively at Whole Foods. I will have to ask them about this.
I love the convenience of instant oatmeal but have you ever noticed that for 150 calories it always seems like the slow cooked oats seems like such a bigger portion size than the instant packages? I haven’t ever checked but I wonder if the serving size (grams) is the same. I would be surprised if it was. I lived on instant oatmeal as a kid and my favorite flavor was either the classic maple and brown sugar or cinnamon spice. Yum!
I definitely notice that! I can stay full from 1/3 cup old fashioned oats, no problem. I cook it in 1.5 cups water, low and slow, and the volume quadruples! I think that even though the serving size is the same, the slower cooking oats plump up a lot bigger.
Hi Janetha! I’m a big fan but I don’t post much :) I grew up eating instant oatmeal, and still love it when I’m time crunched. I’d love to try the Three Sisters brand! And, I’m jealous of your snow!
I switch back and forth between instant oatmeal and regular oatmeal. Both are good. The instant oatmeal packets are great for camping!
Also, I looove your owl spoon! Where did you get it?? I want one! or five! =)
Awesome snow, stay warm!
It was a gift from my mom, she got it in Costa Rica.
Holy snow!
I love instant oatmeal. I ate it growing up and still love it!
oh that looks great!!! I LOVE plain oats but these sound just as good!!!
I love the first snowfall of the year! We haven’t had any here yet.
Instant oatmeal is great for on the go or for a little snackie. But I think I prefer stovetop oats.
I have eaten ainstant oatmeal a few times. I have never really been a fan because I usually use quick cooking oats in the morning!
i don’t eat oatmeal but my husband loves it. he cooks it and then drizzles real maple syrup on top and sprinkles coconut on top! you are crazy for loving snow! i only like it if i don’t have to go into work…driving in it scares the crap out of me!
I love instant oatmeal! its great when you are in a rush and you can add your own toppings to it as well. I love adding fresh fruit/almond butter/coconut butter! its soo delicious!
I ate a lot of flavored instant oatmeal growing up and still have a soft spot for the Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar packets every once in a while as an alternative to my standby rolled oats. These flavors look delicious though– I would love to try them!
I did not grow up eating oatmeal and until we moved to Idaho(cold) I earned for something warm in the morning besides eggs! So oatmeal…now I add cinnamon, nutmet, maple flakes, agave, peanut butter, almond butter, blueberries to my oatmeal and its YUM YUM to my tum and its WARM! I feel full for hours. I’d love to try 3 Sisters. But I agree the serving was small…I do not measure my oatmeal. I put it in the pot the night b4….it sits out, I turn the stove on while I make my drink and yum ready. I also microwave steel cut oats…it works!
I dont like instant oatmeal, but Im very curious, this looks awsome!
I would LOVE to try this Three Sisters Product but sadly, we have no Whole Foods around here! :( Boo!!!
I actually don’t mind instant oatmeal, I grew up eating it all the time. I don’t have time to make oats on the stove top – so I make regular oats in the microwave, and it tastes pretty similar to the instant stuff!
I only tried instant oatmeal a year or so ago. And I can only eat it in the winter.
Where did it snow that much?!!?!!?! it was 60 in MD!
I live in Utah.
I used to eat instant oatmeal in the winter all the time. Even though I now flavor my own oatmeal, there’s something comforting and nostalgic about instant oatmeal packets. :]
I have actually never tried instant oatmeal but I have my quick oats every morning! So jealous of that snow!
i hateddd oatmeal growing up. but ever since i started eating it last year it is all i eva have for bfast and sometimes lunch and dinner too…
I have always liked the long cooking oats or at least 1 minute cooking oats. Instant is just not the same! Thanks for the giveaway!
I love instant oatmeal because I love that they make it sweeter haha but I usually eat old fashioned ones because I know they’re better (boo). Thanks for the giveaway! Hope you had a great weekend! love the snow!!
I eat plain instant oats everyday. I just add water and some cottage cheese and I’m good to go. I’d love to try the chocolate flavor.
Maybe you should add cottage cheese next time to help with the fullness factor.
Gross. Cottage cheese has no business in my oatmeal. ;)
i used to always eat instant oats growing up. now i prefer rolled or steel cut, but they are still great when you need something super quick. i loved the maple brown sugar or banana bread flavors
Oh I want snow like that! But only once or twice a year…then I’m over it. I don’t like the cold.
I don’t mind instant oatmeal as long as it doesn’t have too much sugar and better ingredients. That brand sounds like a really good one.
I love instant oatmeal, it’s so delicious and fast. :)
Apparently I need to move to SLC b/c I love snow and it was sunny and in the 60’s today. Hi November–where are you??
I never tried instant oatmeal until a few years ago and love the quick fix it offers!
I did not grow up on instant oatmeal but I totally rely on it now. I eat it just about every day with peanut butter and a banana!
I love looking at the snow, and maybe having it come my way a couple of times a year. We get a perfect amount in VA. I grew up in Vermont and got a little snowed out, I don’t know that I would want to live in it again. I agree, it is beautiful though.
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