Review: Rude Health Breakfasts

The other day on holiday my Dad asked “what is honest food?” He was referring to the claim on the side of the Rude Health Granola box I’d taken with me for breakfast. I said “Honest Food: You can see what you’re eating – there’s nothing else in it.” For Rude Health this is one of the most important things about food – that when you look at your breakfast bowl you know what you are putting into your body.

I was sent a range of their organic products to try out on your behalf, and I have thoroughly enjoyed this review I have to say. Let me take each of the items in turn:

The Granola

After I tried this myself I sent the rest of this home with my Mum after our holiday as she enjoyed it. She said: “Having read the box, I expected a really crunchy granola made from oats, nuts, seeds, honey and the flavour of dates. Having poured a serving into my cereal bowl with some semi skimmed milk, I enjoyed the crunchyness, but compared with other granolas I eat there was very little flavour at all. The next day, however, I had natural yoghurt instead of milk and that seemed to bring out the flavour more. A suggestion then – put on the box that it goes best with yoghurt!”

I don’t completely agree (sorry mum!) – yes, this is a basic granola, it’s just granola, but I think it has a lovely natural flavour to which you can add fresh fruit (think banana, grapes, strawberries, apple, raisins or dried cranberries) to if you fancy it. Yoghurt does indeed work well too. You don’t need much of it, it’s good and filling.

The Ultimate Muesli

This is the breakfast that “eats other breakfasts for breakfast” – a blend of 23 ingredients that means you eat a bowlful that provides something different on every spoonful. Blueberries, Brazil nuts, almonds, apricots, oats, rye, barley flakes, and loads more – natural, organic, wheat-free, no added salt, high in fibre, no refined sugars. I am a muesli eater and so I dived straight into this one with no trepidation; I know many people find it dry or boring – but don’t write off muesli until you have given this one a try. It is lovely, absolutely full of flavour, naturally sweet, and is much more interesting than many mueslis I’ve tried.

Morning Glory Porridge

With any luck we are coming out of winter now but I still enjoy a bowl of porridge on occasion, generally sticking to those sachets of Oats So Simple because they’re easy. But thankfully this Rude Health porridge only takes three minutes in the microwave – or a little longer on the hob – and so it’s doing well so far. What you get once cooked is a lovely creamy thick porridge with seeds to give it a crunchy texture and fabulous flavour. I don’t go in for flavoured porridge generally – I usually have mine plain maybe with a sprinkle of sugar for sweetness, but I’m sold by the use of seeds to add flavour and texture, a really good idea that is good for me.

Oh and Rude Health, I love your rants and other bits and bobs you print on the packets. You talk a lot of sense. I especially like the “you’re in rude health when” bits – thanks for making me smile while I eat my breakfast.