Sweet Frosted Flakes Gold aren't too g-r-r-r-eat

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Gold. $4.29 per 16.9-ounce box

Bonnie: Regular readers of this column know of my disdain for sugary children's cereals, especially those with little to no fiber. That said, I'd like to commend Kellogg's for its pledge made late last year to reformulate its products marketed to children younger than 12 to meet its "Global Nutrient Criteria" by the end of 2008 or else no longer market these cereals to kids.

The criteria specifies that a serving of any of Kellogg's kids' products will contain less than or equal to 200 calories, 2 grams of saturated fat, zero grams of trans fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, and 12 grams of labeled sugar (actually up to 12.4 grams by FDA rounding rules).

Kellogg's new Frosted Flakes Gold meets those criteria, and it contains 3 grams of fiber and 10 grams of whole grains (or a little more than half of one of the three whole-grain servings you should eat each day). I wish this cereal didn't contain an equal number of sugar grams, which makes it cloyingly sweet. But Kellogg's Global Nutrient pledge is a g-r-r-r-eat step in the right direction.

Carolyn: Frosted Flakes Gold makes me think any attempt to make Frosted Flakes nutritionally worthwhile is doomed to failure. That's not because Gold is so bad, but because it's so little like Frosted Flakes.

Both cereals do feature sweetened flakes, but in Gold's case the flavor is honey instead of sugar. Gold's flakes are also moist and chewy instead of light and crunchy.

Frosted Flakes Gold is sweet enough for kids, but is too much work to chew for anyone without the big teeth and jaws of a tiger.

---

Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Soft Cream Cheese. Plain, Garden Vegetable, Chive & Onion and Strawberry. $2.29 per 8-ounce tub. Also available in 12-ounce and 16-ounce sizes.

Bonnie: Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat Soft Cream Cheese is Philadelphia Light by another name. A serving contains 70 calories and 4.5 to 5 grams of total fat (of which 2.5 to 3 grams is saturated), or one-third less fat than regular soft cream cheese.