If you’re searching for a new cereal to add to your pantry, you might have heard of Life Cereal. Made by Quaker, there are four Life cereal flavors: original, vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate. To find out more about this line of breakfast cereal flavors, just read along!
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Created by the Quaker Oats Company, Life is a breakfast cereal that comes in four flavors. The original ingredients were oats, sodium caseinate, sugar, and soy protein concentrate.
However, the cereals now contain whole wheat flour, cornflour, and rice flour. Launched in 1961, Quaker Life is easily recognizable by the signature brown square patterns.
Life Cereal – Original
Ingredients & nutrition facts
With a simple and sweet flavor, original Life cereal is a tasty breakfast that the whole family can enjoy. Its main ingredient is wholegrain wheat flour, but it also contains sugar, cornflour, and whole wheat flour.
Is it healthy?
Although Life is marketed as a heart-healthy cereal that can help to lower cholesterol levels, there are 8 grams of added sugar in each serving. This is a lot more than other heart-healthy cereals such as original Cheerios which only contains 1 gram of sugar in each serving.
Is it gluten-free?
No, Life multi-grain isn’t gluten-free because its main ingredient is whole wheat flour.
Is it vegan?
Life cereals are considered vegan because none of the flavors contain animal products on the ingredient label. However, because of the high sugar content of the original flavor Life, some vegans may not be comfortable with consuming it.
This is because sugar cane is often refined alongside animal bone char to add whiteness to the finished sugar product.
Is it keto?
Quaker Life cereal should not be eaten if you’re following a keto diet as you would be over your carbohydrate limit.
A keto diet requires you to keep your carb intake to between 20-30 grams each day, but one cup of Life has 33 grams. As well as that, Life contains added sugar, which you should avoid on a ketogenic diet.
Protein & fiber content
Life is promoted as a product rich in whole grain foods, and with 3 grams per serving, it is a fairly good source of fiber. The protein content is also quite good, with 4 grams in each serving.
Life Cereal – Vanilla
Ingredients & nutrition facts
The main ingredients in vanilla flavor Quaker Life cereal are oat flour, sugar, cornflour, salt, and whole wheat flour. There are also 160 calories in each serving, excluding milk.
Is it healthy?
Because it has 8 grams of added sugar in each serving, Life isn’t the most healthy product available.
Is it gluten-free?
No, Life is not gluten-free because it contains quite a few wheat-based ingredients, which all contain gluten.
Is it vegan?
Although Life doesn’t contain any dairy products, it does contain sugar, which is sometimes produced with bone char. For this reason, vegans may choose to avoid it.
Is it keto?
If you’re following a keto diet you should ideally steer clear of Life because it has a very high carb content. As well as that, Life contains added sugar which is frowned upon when it comes to ketogenic diets.
Protein & fiber content
With 4 grams of protein in each serving, Life certainly has a higher protein content than many other kinds of cereals. The fiber content of Life is good too, with 3 grams per cup.
Life Cereal – Cinnamon
Ingredients & nutrition facts
Cinnamon Life cereal contains whole wheat flour as its main ingredient. Other ingredients include sugar, salt, cornflour, and baking soda, as well as cinnamon for a sweet taste.
Is it healthy?
Although Quaker claims that its cinnamon Life is packed with whole grain goodness, one look at the nutrition label suggests it isn’t so healthy thanks to the high added sugar content.
Is it gluten-free?
Sadly no, this cinnamon-flavored cereal is not free from gluten as it contains glutinous products such as wheat flour.
Is it vegan?
Although it doesn’t contain any animal products, sugar is featured on the ingredient list, which is usually produced in conjunction with the bone char from animals.
Is it keto?
Because of its high sugar and high carb content, cinnamon-flavor Life isn’t keto-friendly. Generally, high-carb breakfast cereals such as this should be avoided on keto diets.
Protein & fiber content
Cinnamon flavored Life provides 4 grams of protein in each cup, which is more than most cereals, but it’s still a very low amount. The fiber content is quite good though, with 3 grams in each serving.
Life Cereal – Chocolate
Ingredients & nutrition facts
Chocolate Life’s base ingredient is wholegrain wheat flour along with calcium carbonate, salt, sugar, and baking soda. There are also 160 calories in each 42-gram serving.
Is it healthy?
Although it doesn’t contain any saturated fat and it’s made from whole grains, chocolate-flavor Life is high in added sugar, with 9 grams in each cup.
Is it gluten-free?
No, Life isn’t gluten-free as it contains wheat ingredients, which is stated below the ingredients label.
Is it vegan?
Although Life is suitable for vegetarians, vegans may wish to avoid it as it contains sugar which may have been refined using animal products, such as bone char.
Is it keto?
No, due to its high sugar levels, Life isn’t keto-friendly. High carb cereals should be avoided during ketogenic diets because they may hinder the process of achieving ketosis.
Protein & fiber content
The protein content of Life is 4 grams in each cup, which is not bad considering whole-wheat breakfast cereals aren’t known for being rich in protein.
The fiber content is fairly good too, with 3 grams per cup. Diets rich in whole grains and other plant foods can help improve digestion.
Where to Buy Life Cereal
Shop in-store
If you’re looking for your new favorite family cereal, you’re in luck! All four Life flavors can be bought in supermarkets such as Walmart, and Target.
Shop online
If you can’t find Life cereals in store, don’t worry – you can buy all of the flavors on Amazon.
FAQs
Is Life Cereal the same as Mini Wheats?
Although they look similar, Life is different to Mini-Wheats. The first difference is that Life cereals are made from either oat or wheat flour, whereas Mini-Wheats are made from shredded whole wheat.
Mini-Wheats also features a delicious frosting on each biscuit, which none of the Life cereals hav.
Which Life Cereals are gluten-free?
Unfortunately, none of the Life cereals are gluten-free as they all contain wheat ingredients. For this reason, you should avoid these cereals if you have Celiac disease or you’re intolerant to gluten.
Is Life Cereal good?
This depends on your personal preference, but with four flavors to choose from, you’re bound to find one that will become your new favorite cereal!
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this guide has provided all the information you need to know about Life cereals and whether they suit your dietary needs or not.
Don’t forget, Life isn’t just for breakfast – it can be enjoyed whenever you have a case of the munchies! With just the right taste, eat it on the commute to work, as an afternoon snack, or after a workout. It might just become one of your favorite cereals thanks to its delicious taste!