I have a packet of my flatmate's muesli in front of me (temptation!).

It seems to be composed of mostly rolled oats witha few cornflakes and bits of dried fruit. I can't read all the ingredients as my Russian is not up to it, but it is 70 per cent carbs.

Now, my thinking is this: I know our bodies can digest starch but not cellulose. If those rolled oats are raw therefore, the starch grains should be covered in cellulose and so go in one end and out t'other - thus making it an excellent source of fibre into the bargain.

It would be an easy matter to pick out most of the cornflakes and dried fruit - there isn't much dried fruit in Russian meusli. It's mostly oats!

- I've just tasted it (and spat it out). It's not sweet so no added sugar. Also, it doesn't become sweet in the presence of saliva as starches usually do.

Any thoughts anyone?

regards,

Robert

Without knowing what's actually printed on the label, it's hard to tell.

But, if it's anything like Kellogs mueslix, it's going to be 40.48 gr carbs less 3.74 fibre for 2/3 of a cup, based on the carb counter here on the site. Kellogs was the lowest in carbs, so any of the others are more to deal with.

Do you really want to consider eating something that is "70% carbs"?

Are you just wanting oatmeal?

If so, look for "steel-cut oats". The rolled oats have been processed enough to break down some of that cellulose tissue.

I have 4 oz of oatmeal in the morning with butter and cream (zero sweeteners) before my workouts. It's pretty carby but if you are exercising it helps.

Funny! I was just thinking about LC muesli last night. These were my thoughts...

A small amount of rolled oats, a lot of ground flax seeds, some wheat bran and maybe some oat or rice bran mixed with yogurt. I think it would be quite tasty!

Karen

Yea, nice idea isn't it Karen. I haven't found flax seeds here yet - despite the fact that Belarus is maybe Europe's biggest producer of linnen! (You can get flax seed oil though!)

I have a pretty inactive lifestyle actually Agonycat. I run a school and I work lots of hours so it's hard work but not physical. I couldn't manage 4ozs of oatmeal! I'd blow up like a balloon!

My original thought was sort of - well grass is 100 percent carbohydrate but if we were to eat it, it would pass right through us as we can't digest it. I think maybe we can't digest the rolled oats in muesli too because they are coated in cellulose - like grass (if they are raw). I don't want to digest those 70 carbs AngelaR- in fact I think they may be indigestable. Which would mean I could have something crunchy for breakfast again.

Any amateur scientists out there...

Robert

Ah, Robert...It sounds like your desire for crunch might be overriding your common sense a little. When you find flax seeds, I'll send you my recipe for Flax-ola.

Karen

Ok, It's a deal Karen

I still think raw starch grains are indigestable though. I'll do some research and find out.

Best regards to all,

Robert

Today I bought some Puffed Kashi at Trader Joes. It has 13 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of dietary fiber per cup, equalling an effective carb count of 11 grams per cup.

Here are the ingredients: Whole hard red winter wheat, whole long grain brown rice, whole oats, whole barley, whole triticale (cross between durham wheat and rye), whole rye, whole buckwheat, sesame seeds.

It doesn't contain any sweetner at all, and it's not bad—even plain! (I had a small handful just a little bit ago.)

I'm looking forward to adding a little cereal to my diet now and again.

-G.

Mmm, interesting Gwyn,

I wonder where they get the word KASHI from. Kasha is Russian for porridge and I think kashi would be porridges! I wish I could buy it here - maybe I'll find something similar in England at Christmas when I go home for a break.

I've been doing some research on raw starch. It seems it is between 2 and 10 times less easy to digest than cooked starch. Most of the data out there is about animal feeds though! (Although I always was an animal, I don't have four stomachs!)

If I come up with a low carb muesli I'll let you all know. It is a bit of a mini project for me to work on.

Best regard to all from a cold (28F) and snowy Minsk.

Robert

Today, 1 year and three months further down the low carb road - back in England and able to buy many things I couldn't get in Belarus - I invented a low carb muesli.
Old threads don't die...they just wait until they are fulfilled.