Category Archives: Carbohydrates

Are Kodiak Cups Good For A Quick Breakfast?

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Updated 03/04/2025. If you need a healthy on-the-go breakfast, you may be wondering… are Kodiak Cups good for a quick breakfast? When I first saw these breakfast cups back in 2020, this kind of convenience food was still fairly new. Add water, microwave, and eat! Why, yes, I think maybe these Kodiak Cups are good for a quick breakfast!

I do want to say thank you to Kodiak Cakes for the RD Kit containing these free products for me to sample. I have not been paid or encouraged to post any kind of information in exchange for these samples. You can see on my disclosure page that I give honest reviews of products and would never let receiving a free product influence my review.

I encourage a balanced breakfast to get the day started – protein, carbs, fats, alla them. But mornings can be hectic. I hear from my patients that fitting in a healthy, balanced breakfast can be a challenge. They don’t have time in the morning to eat breakfast, let alone make one! Life is busy. I get it.

If you like to meal prep, then the problem is solved. But what about those who just aren’t into meal prepping? (No shame!). More and more products like this are hitting the shelves because food manufacturers know we want convenience.

So, let’s put on our nutrition detective hats and explore.

If you have heard of the brand, Kodiak, then you know that higher protein is kinda their jam. And higher protein in grains gets my interest as I’m an occasional macro-tracker. Protein has been having its moment for a long minute now, as it should because protein is important for so many reasons. (Get my take about The Beef on Protein).

Kodiak Oatmeal Cups

I tried the Kodiak oatmeal first and was happy to see they sent the best flavor: maple and brown sugar. (Fight me).

In terms of ease of breakfast, this is a big winner.

I used my electric tea kettle to heat water, added it to the Kodiak Cup, and let it sit covered for the recommended two minutes. You can also add water and microwave. It doesn’t get much easier – or quick – than that.

Straight up. I was super concerned about the very small portion, especially since it has about half of the calories of my typical breakfast. But this little cup of oatmeal kept me full until lunchtime. Totally surprised!

This has 230 calories, 14 grams protein, 38 grams carbs, and 3 grams of fat. It has 4 grams of fiber, 12 grams of added sugar, and 200 milligrams of sodium.

I wouldn’t expect a lot of protein from oatmeal and that tracks here. I often recommend adding protein when oats are for breakfast. This can be done with protein powders, as in this product where protein was increased with pea and milk proteins, or with whole foods, such as an egg/egg whites. PS: I have a great pina colada overnight oats recipe.

This also may seem like a lot of carbs to some; but it is oatmeal, soooooo… and 38 grams if completely appropriate for many people. When it comes to grains, always look for a product that has a whole grain as the first ingredient – which this one does.

I’m not one who is afraid of long complicated words on an ingredients list but this one keeps it very simple and I’m sure many “clean eaters” would give this product a thumbs up.

Btw, my definition of clean eating is not eating food that’s fallen on the floor. Just sayin’.

Pros:

  • First ingredient is 100% whole grain oats.
  • Very low in saturated fat (0.5 grams).
  • Super convenient.
  • Good flavor and good consistency, and no aftertaste.
  • Staying power.

Cons:

  • Low in protein (for a meal).
  • High in added sugars.

American Heart Association recommendations for added sugars is set at 25 grams for women and 36 grams for men. At 12 grams, this is 1/2 to 1/3 of the total recommended. I like to find ways to make convenient food fit if it can help people eat in a way they want to. So, this absolutely can fit into a heart-healthy diet as long as you are mindful about added sugars for the rest of the day.

And, personal preference here, I’m not a big fan of pea protein due to a not-too-fun experience involving veganism and pea protein in oatmeal. I’m sure it’s come a long way since then.

Overall thoughts?

Two Forks up! This is delicious, filling, and is heart healthy.

Kodiak Flapjack Cups

Next, I tried the Cinnamon Maple Flapjack Kodiak Cup.

This serving size made my eyes much happier as it filled up more of the container. But it wasn’t as filling as the oats. Go figure.

It smells amazing and has a good crumb; but I do recommend a spoon instead of a fork as it ends up getting very crumbly as it is eaten. Per my husband, this tastes like smushed up pancakes (count me in!) and it is true the finished product was a little bit dense.

This has 260 calories, 19 grams protein, 39 grams carbs, and 7 grams of fat. It has 3 grams of fiber, 14 grams of added sugar, and 340 milligrams of sodium.

This one is also lower in calories than my typical breakfast, so I added some butter, which made it taste even better. If you’re looking to add calories, you could also add some syrup (but it totally isn’t needed) or top it with an egg.

As with the oats, this is a bit low in protein and high in carbs and this is to be expected from pancakes. Same advice applies here as did with the oats – more protein!

The ingredients list is longer, and the first two ingredients are whole grains. This would likely pass the “clean eating” test for some.

The pancakes do have eight times as much saturated fat as the oatmeal, coming in at 4 grams. The saturated fat here comes from the palm, palm kernel, and palm oil. My guess is that since unsaturated fats are less stable and go rancid more quickly, they balanced out the need for shelf stability with the desire for a nice nutrition profile and landed on saturated oils instead of others.

American Heart Association recommendations for saturated fats puts the maximum intake at 6% of total calories. Using the reference standard on nutrition facts panels of 2,000 calories a day, that comes to 13 grams a day. That puts this product at 1/3 of your saturated fat for the day.

Just like added sugars (btw this one has more than the oats), this can fit into a heart-healthy diet as long as you are mindful about how you eat the rest of the day. I would encourage plant-based eating to keep saturated fats low. Get my suggestions for three plant-based whole foods to boost the protein in a plant-based diet.  

Pros:

  • First two ingredients are whole grains.
  • Tastes good and has a nice crumb like a pancake should
  • Super convenient.

Cons:

  • Low in protein.
  • Higher in saturated fat and added sugars that I would like.
  • Didn’t hold me as long.

Overall thoughts?

One Fork up! Just one because it didn’t hold me until lunchtime.

So, Are Kodiak Cups Good for a Quick Breakfast?

I will also say a big pro for both of these is the portability, which means you can eat them when you first get up or bring them into the office or when you’re out on the go.

Yes, this dietitian Kodiak Cups are good for a quick breakfast! Just add an egg, okay?

Give these a try and let me know what you think!

Medical Nutrition Therapy

Curious about balanced breakfasts that will work for you? Want some help with finding recipes or strategies to meal prep your breakfast? (PS – you don’t have to a whole week at a time!).

Let’s do it!

Click right here to get to Alexia’s provider page with Nourish, choose a date/time and start the scheduling process.

One of the first screens when you start will let you know if your health insurance is accepted by Nourish. Before you finish the booking process, you will enter your insurance information into the Insurance Calculator to get an estimate of the expected costs. If you don’t like the number, just cancel out and you won’t be scheduled.

And, of course, you can reply to this email if you have questions or want to be hooked up with another amazing RD at Nourish. I’m happy to help! 

About Alexia Lewis RD

Graphic with image of Alexia.

Hi there! I’m Alexia and I believe in science, humor, and delicious food.

Heart health is my jam. I love to write and speak publicly on this topic and all aspects of living a heart-healthy lifestyle.

I believe you shouldn’t sacrifice your mental health in pursuit of better physical health. You deserve to be both happy and healthy. You don’t have to choose just one.

I am a master’s level nutritionist who is also a registered and licensed dietitian in multiple states in the USA, a certified personal trainer, and certified health coach. I also invested in becoming a culinary nutritionist and weight management specialist. In other words, I got you.

Butternut Squash Agnolotti

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This is a #HelloFresh meal delivery review of the Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Kale in a Sage Brown Butter Sauce. HelloFresh provided a Meal Delivery Box containing three meals to me free of charge. This post is therefore #sponsored. As always, all opinions in my reviews are mine and I if love it or hate it, I’ll let you know.

Okay, first, do you love every single word in the recipe name? OMG yes! Butternut is a good friend of mine and a long-time Thanksgiving meal staple growing up. If you don’t know agnolotti, it is a type of ravioli – ravioli and I also go way back thanks to Chef Boyardee and this great restaurant in Brooklyn that I believe was called Cinzino’s (or something like that…). Then add kale (yes, how cliché, an RD who loves kale, I know), and brown butter sauce – heaven!!! Yes, please, get in my belly! Um, so it is safe to say I was just a bit excited going into this recipe.

The flavors of the pine nuts and butternut squash is what took this dish over the top for me. I love pine nuts but they are so expensive, even when bought in bulk so you can just get a small portion! All the pine nuts were used in the recipe but there was a fair amount of leftover kale, which was sliced into thin strips making it quick to cook and got rid of the thicker stems that can be so fibrous and chewy. I’m a fan of leftover ingredients and this kale was an addition to the next day’s salad.

Butternut-Agnolotti-2-HelloFresh-October-2017

I did make one mistake (as usual!) since I was multi-tasking with filming and taking pictures while I cooked. I added the whole 1-cup of reserved pasta water to the sauce when the recipe clearly says to start by adding 1/4 cup and add more as needed. Whoops! No harm, no foul as I just cooked the sauce down longer to evaporate some of the extra water (and left some liquid behind in the pan when serving…).

Nutritionally, one serving has 640 calories, 15 grams of saturated fats, 59 carbs, 9 grams of fiber, and 24 grams of protein.

What would I change? 

Since I’m currently typically eating five times a day (yep!), this dish is simply too much food/calories for one meal for me. This meal would fit nicely into many people’s meal plans with a satisfying number of calories and fairly balanced nutrition – or it could be split into two servings (bonus – no cooking the second night!) and served with a veggie side to get more bites per meal.

What did I love? 

This is one of HelloFresh’s 20-Minute Meals and it is such an easy recipe to make! The only chopping is to slice a shallot and mince garlic. That’s it! Chopping and prep work is the worst part of cooking to me so this is a big check in the win column for this recipe.

Lessons Learned?

Read the directions. Then read the directions. Then read them again.

HelloFresh provided a Meal Delivery Box containing three meals to me free of charge. This post is therefore #sponsored. As always, all opinions in my reviews are mine and I if love it or hate it, I’ll let you know.

 

healthy bread on table

Macronutrients – Those Confusing Carbs!

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Carbohydrates

Sources:

Carbohydrates come from plant and animal sources. The food groups that contain carbohydrates include grains, fruits, dairy, and vegetables.

There are two main types of carbohydrates: simple carbohydrates (sugar) and complex carbohydrates (starch and fiber).

Sugar:

There are two types of sugars that people typically think of when talking about sugar in the diet. One type is the natural sugars that are found in foods in their natural and whole state. Examples are fructose and sucrose (in fruits) and lactose (in milk). The other type of sugar is the added sugars that are added to foods during processing or created from refining natural foods, Examples are high fructose corn syrup (in many products) or sucrose (refined into table sugar).

Starch:

Starches are long chains of sugars. Our bodies break down these long chains into simple sugars that our body can absorb to provide us with energy. Many foods that are starchy need to be cooked in order for our bodies to be able to digest them. Examples are potatoes, corn, and grain products such as bread, pasta, and rice.

Fiber:

Fiber is the indigestible part of the plant. Fibers are also long chains of sugars; but the way the chains are held together prevent our bodies from being able to digest them for energy. Fiber is important for health for many reasons. Fiber can be fermented by the bacteria in our gastrointestinal tract which promotes colon health. Insoluble fiber helps promote regularity and prevent constipation. Insoluble fiber includes whole grains (the outer bran layer) and the strings in celery. Soluble fiber can help to lower cholesterol and regular blood glucose levels. Soluble fiber includes oats, beans, and citrus fruits.

Functions:

The functions of carbohydrate include:

– Energy! Carbohydrates currently have a bad reputation; but they are the main and preferred source of energy for the body. Our bodies need carbohydrates to be at our best health.

– Help to lower cholesterol and regulate blood glucose levels (soluble fiber)

– Maintain digestive tract health (fiber)

Recommendations:

For a generally healthy adult, the range for carbohydrate intake is set between 45% and 65% of daily calories. A person consuming a 2,000 calorie diet would have a range of 900 – 1,300 calories. Since 1 gram of carbohydrate has 4 calories, this is a range of 225- 325 grams of carbohydrate per day. The minimum number of carbohydrate grams per day is 130 grams to promote good brain function.

Those trying to build muscle should be sure to consume enough carbohydrates to “spare protein” to be used for muscle growth.

Many people restrict carbohydrates due to the belief that “carbs make you fat.” In healthy individuals, carbohydrates trigger insulin and insulin lets the sugar into our body and cells. People mistakenly believe that this always means weight and fat gain. This is not true!

When we eat the appropriate amount of carbohydrates for our bodies, the sugar is used as a fuel source and burned. It is only when we overeat carbohydrates that weight gain results. Carbohydrates do not make you fat. Carbohydrates are an important part of the diet. Without carbohydrates, the body begins to break down fat storage and then body proteins. In extreme cases, metabolism slows drastically and both health and life can be jeopardized.

People with specific health conditions or concerns may need a different amount of carbohydrate in their daily diet or to time the consumption of carbohydrates throughout their day.

Other guidelines:

Whole grains: Consume whole-grain carbohydrates whenever you can. Recommendations are to make half of your grains whole. Read the food label and be sure the first ingredient is listed as a “whole” grain (example: whole wheat, not wheat flour).

Fiber: For those between 19 and 51 years old, females should consume 25 grams and men should consume 38 grams of fiber a day. Those over 51 should consume 21 grams (women) or 30 grams (men) per day. If you are increasing your fiber intake, do it slowly and drink lots of water or you may end up with a bout of constipation!

Added sugar: Limit the amount of added sugar in your diet. Many health risks are associated with added sugars and in general, Americans consume too much added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 100 calories (women) or 150 calories (men) of added sugars per day. Most natural sugars are generally not associated with health risks as these are consumed along with fiber which slows down the absorption of sugar and other vitamins, mineral, and phytochemicals which promote optimal health.

Original publication date: October 1, 2012 at http://newmotivationcoaching.blogspot.com.

Reference: Nutrition Concepts and Controveries, 12th ed. by Sizer and Whitney, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-1-1133-62818-7.