Nature's Pleasure

There is a scene in the first season of Mad Men where Don Draper (my new third favourite TV character. The top two being Omar Little from The Wire and Josh Lyman from The West Wing) is talking to his client, Lucky Strike.

Stymied by medical research into the detrimental effects of cigarette smoking - the show is set in 1960 – new rules from the FDA mean that they can no longer advertise Lucky Strike with health claims.

Draper, after asking his client how the company make their cigarettes, comes up with the slogan ‘It’s Toasted.’

I was reminded of this when I was sent a rather large package containing four sample boxes of Kellogg’s new muesli, Nature’s Pleasure.



Muesli is one of those things that I tend to make myself. It’s great being able to leave out what you don’t like and focus more heavily on the bits you do. Out go the nuts, in come the chopped dates, that sort of thing.

So I was intrigued when I opened the box to find that Kellogg’s new muesli isn’t really a muesli at all – instead, it’s baked which gives it the satisfying bite of a granola rather than the mushy squelch of a Bircher.

According to the box, oats, wheat and barley flakes are coated in raw cane sugar and honey with a little sunflower oil and then baked before being paired with a (quite generous) amount of dried fruit and nuts.

The result is a faintly sweet and completely delicious muesli that goes very well with Greek yoghurt as well as the more usual milk. It retains its crunch and was as good at breakfast as it was at two o’clock in the morning when post pub hunger struck.

Nutritionally, too, it’s pretty good. 9% RDA of calories, 10% RDA of sugars, 3% RDA sat fats, almost no salt. Although you do have to watch the suggested portion size – 45g would fail to satisfy a hungry hamster and I found myself doubling the amount in my bowl.

Perhaps the best thing about it? The box even tells you how to make your own. ‘It’s like open source cereal,’ quipped my girlfriend, something I will definitely be trying once we’ve finished off the final box (the other three disappeared in a matter of days).

It comes in four flavours (Almond Pecan & Cashew, Apple & Blackcurrant, Raspberry & Cherry, and Almond, Pecan & Raisin), costs round about £2.49 for 500g and will be available to buy from April in most supermarkets.

And from now on, muesli…it’s toasted.

For more info go to www.first-taste.co.uk or Kellogg’s web site.

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