Weight Watchers label misleads

Weight Watchers Cereals. Flakes 'n Fiber, Vanilla Puffed Wheat, Banana Almond Medley, Honey Almond Crisp and Cinnamon Cluster Crunch. $3.59 per 10- to 14-ounce box.

Bonnie: I wonder if I'll ever learn not to immediately judge a new food product by its box. You see, I mentally gave high marks to this new line of Weight Watchers cereals based on their Nutrition Facts panels. The cereals are all moderate in calories, sugars and fat, and extremely high in fiber, with up to 10 grams in a serving.

But two of the cereals also loudly claim to be sugar-free or to have reduced sugar on their box fronts. It was only the small print on the ingredient list, and the aftertaste, that let me know the Vanilla Puffed Wheat and Flakes 'n Fiber contain the artificial sweetener Sucralose. I like neither the taste of artificial sweeteners nor having to search the fine print to find them. That information should be prominently displayed.

My other main complaint about these cereals is taste. Actually, it seems the makers of these cereals were so concerned about nutrition and Weight Watchers point value that they forgot about flavor. These taste like a poor cousin to brand-name cereals, more like something you might feed an animal rather than a human being.

Carolyn: I expected mainstream cereals from a mainstream company like Weight Watchers. The names of many of the offerings in this line of adult cereals certainly have a promisingly indulgent ring. But only two taste anywhere near as good as the mainstream cereal competition such as Post Selects Banana Nut or Cranberry Almond Crunch.

This line's one true jewel, Cinnamon Cluster Crunch, is a light and very spicy granola (perhaps because Organic Milling — the company that makes these cereals for Weight Watchers — pioneered U.S. commercial production of granola). The Vanilla Puffed Wheat is also appealing, though it might better be named Sweet 'n Crunchy Puffed Wheat because it's largely missing the promised vanilla and almond flavors. These two mini-piece-size cereals are it for the Weight Watchers cereals I can recommend.

The Honey Almond Crisp and Banana Almond Medley are oddities. The former is savory and almost too crunchy — more snack mix than cereal. The latter is only for people who already like cereal from health food stores, which is essentially what it is.

Only the Flakes 'n Fiber is as horrible as Bonnie suggests. It's a bizarre combination of natural and untasty grains and the artificial sweetener Sucralose.

Little Debbie Marshmallow Treats. $1.29 per 6.7-ounce box containing eight bars. Also available in single-serve packages and 12-bar boxes.