<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Many of you who wrote about my granola recipe asked about puffed cereals - how they are manufactured and their nutrient/fiber content (or lack thereof - LOL!) ...here is what I found out... -------------------- ABOUT PUFFED CEREALS http://www.sanitarium.com.au/schoproj/pppuffed.htm#Puffing The Puffing Process - To puff the wheat we feed it into a hot pressure chamber and then suddenly release the pressure, so that the grain expands to several times its original size. Vitamins are added to the puffed grains (called 'berries' at this stage). The coated berries go into a hot air oven to dry. The dried berries then pass over a sieve, so that only puffed wheat grains of the correct size remain. [Note from Linda: check out this diagram of the process!] The process of Puffed Wheat (38Kb jpg) http://www.sanitarium.com.au/schoproj/ppropuff.htm The diagram above includes a step called "cyclone separation of bran". ------ http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/01806.html BRAN - outer coat of cereal GRAINS such as wheat, rye, and corn. Various brans are used as food and livestock feed, and are important in dyeing and calico printing. ------- From: FOOD VALUES OF PORTIONS COMMONLY USED (15h ed.) by Jean A.T. Pennington, RD, PhD (1989, p.22, 103, 204): [Note from Linda: depending on how you measure, you can see the differences in the foods listed...if you measure by grams, it's clear what is more nutritious, yet you might not eat a giant bowl of pure bran as opposed to a bowl of rice, hence, foods are listed as per serving.] Puffed Rice (1 cup = 1/2oz) - 57 calories, weight 14 grams, 0.4 grams water, 0.9 grams protein, 0.1 grams fat, 12.8 grams carbohydrate, 0.1 gram dietary fiber, 0.02mg B-1, 0.01mg B-2, 0.4mg Niacin, 0.01mg B-6, 3mcg Folic Acid, 0.05mg Pantothenic Acid, 0 mg sodium, 1 mg calcium, 16 mg potassium, 14 mg phosphorous, 3mg Magnesium, 0.15mg iron, 0.15mg Zinc, 0.024mg Copper, and 0.213mg Manganese. [Note from Linda: I am assuming the above is white rice since it doesn't say otherwise...I will look on a bag of puffed brown rice and see if it's any better.] Brown Rice (cooked, 1 cup) - 232 calories, weight 195 grams, 137.1 grams water, 4.9 grams protein, 1.2 grams fat, 49.7 grams carbohydrate, ??? gram dietary fiber, 0.18mg B-1, 0.04mg B-2, 2.7mg Niacin, ???mg B-6, ??? Folic Acid, ??? Pantothenic Acid, 0 mg sodium (if salted while cooking, 550mg), 23 mg calcium, 137 mg potassium, 142 mg phosphorous, ??? Magnesium, 1.0mg iron, ??? Zinc, ??? Copper, and ??? Manganese. White Rice (enriched, cooked, 1 cup) - 223 calories, weight 205 grams, 148.8 grams water, 4.1 grams protein, 0.2 grams fat, 49.6 grams carbohydrate, ??? gram dietary fiber, 0.23mg B-1, 0.02mg B-2, 2.1mg Niacin, ???mg B-6, ??? Folic Acid, ??? Pantothenic Acid, 0 mg sodium (if salted while cooking, 767mg), 21mg calcium, 57mg potassium, 57 mg phosphorous, ??? Magnesium, 1.8mg iron, ??? Zinc, ??? Copper, and ??? Manganese. Rice Bran (3.5 ounces) - 438 calories, weight 100 grams, 5.2 grams water, 11.9 grams protein, 21.7 grams fat, 45.6 grams carbohydrate, ??? gram dietary fiber, 2.21mg B-1, .26mg B-2, 31.2mg Niacin, ???mg B-6, ??? Folic Acid, ??? Pantothenic Acid, 6 mg sodium, 355 mg calcium, 1370 mg potassium, ??? phosphorous, ??? Magnesium, 7.88mg iron, 5.98mg Zinc, 0.750mg Copper, and ??? Manganese. ----------- Fiber content of foods: http://catlserver.tamu.edu/nutr/203/LectureOutlines/fibercon.html Compiled by Linda Boeckner http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/foods/nf62.htm "Nutrition researchers and educators recommend that healthy adults consume between 20-35 grams of dietary fiber per day." [Note from Linda: the above is a great article on dietary fiber - it explains the difference between soluble and insoluble and why we need both.] Most of the values in this table were adapted from Marlett, JA. Content and composition of dietary fiber in 117 frequently consumed foods. J Am Diet Assoc 92:175-186, 1992 and Anderson, JA and Bridges, SR. Dietary fiber content of selected foods. Am J Clin Nutr 47:440-447, 1988. [Note from Linda: I don't know if this is brown rice in either case.] Puffed rice 1 cup (28 g) 0.53 Total, 0.14 Soluble, and 0.39 Insoluble Rice, regular, cooked 1/2 cup (102 g) 0.41 Total, 0.10 Soluble, and 0.31 Insoluble