Apparently Kix cereal has been tested by kids and approved by mothers. But is Kix breakfast cereal healthy? Let’s find this out along with some interesting Kix history below.
Kix Cereal Flavors
Kix cereal flavors include original Kix, Honey Kix, and Berry Berry Kix. While the original Kix cereal first hit shelves in 1937, Berry Berry Kix came into existance in 1992 and Honey Kix in 2009.
Honey Kix and Berry Berry Kix use the same recipe as original Kix but add a touch of honey and berry flavor respectively. Although Berry Berry Kix and Honey Kix are lightly sweetened corn cereal, both do not use artificial flavorings for taste.
Kid Tested Mother Approved vs Kid Tested Parent Approved
Introduced in 1979, the first Kix slogan was “Kid-Tested. Mother-Approved.”
Almost 40 years later, Kix decided to change their tagline. In an attempt to keep up with the times and stay politically correct, Kix changed their slogan to “Kid-Tested. Parent-Approved.”
Kix is excited to share its new box with you. And, for the first time since 1979, we updated the tagline. Kix: “Kid-Tested. Parent-Approved.” pic.twitter.com/EnjU6tcqAV
— General Mills (@GeneralMills) September 10, 2018
According to the new Kix slogan, I guess dads also approve Kix now.
Kix Cereal Nutrition
Is Kix cereal good for you? Relative to most breakfast cereals which are full of sugar, Kix is a healthy breakfast cereal.
First of all, Kix does not contain high fructose corn syrup. In addition, all Kix varieties do not use artificial flavors.
Kix cereal ingredients are mostly ingredients that you can understand. Whole grain corn, corn meal, and sugar are the primary ingredients for all Kix cereals. The only major difference in ingredients between original Kix and Honey Kix is the addition of honey.
On the other hand, the recipe for Berry Berry Kix differs in that it has some funky ingredients such as tricalcium phosphate and citric acid. In addition to vegetable and fruit juice color and natural flavor, I guess this is how Berry Berry Kix gets its sweet flavor.
Out of the three Kix varieties, Berry Berry Kix is probably the least healthy. With the most sugar content at 7 grams per serving and a few odd ingredients, Berry Berry Kix wins this title. Honey Kix comes in second with 6 grams of sugar and mostly recognizable ingredients.
Conversely, original Kix only has only 3 grams of sugar per serving. Even more, a serving of Kix cereal is a generous 1 1/4 cups. A serving of most breakfast cereals is only 3/4 cup.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that all Kix cereals are made with genetic engineering, so that makes Kix cereal a GMO product.
For full Kix nutritional information and facts, head on over to the General Mills website.
Is Kix Cereal Gluten Free?
Although Kix doesn’t explicitly contain any wheat ingredients, gluten may still exist in the cereal from other ingredients. Additionally, if the facility also produces gluten-containing products, trace amounts of gluten may be present in the cereal.
Because General Mills doesn’t market it as gluten free, those with a sensitive gluten intolerance should probably stay away from this cereal.
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve tested and approve of Kix cereal. Also, check out some of my other cereal blog posts here.
When we were children (6 of us siblings) in the 1950s and 1960s, we put melted butter on Kix and ate them as a snack like popcorn. We tried it again, as adults, and it doesn’t reate like we remember. .. to sweet. Was there a change in the recipe?
I don’t know for a fact with Kix, but in my research a lot of the cereal recipes have changed over the years as cheaper and different ingredients are being used as substitutes. My guess would be that the Kix recipe has indeed change since the 50s and 60s.
That sounds like a fantastic idea nonetheless 🙂
I’ve been wondering the same thing…I insist they are sweeter than when I loved them as a kid/student in the late 69’s. My grown daughters brought some Original Kix by and they are paler and slightly sweet. I’ve googled all over to see how the recipe or ingredients changed, to no avail. I know they are still an excellent option for cold cereal, but would love to know what changed.
“I guess dads also approve Kix now.” I think the revision was made to be inclusive of more than just parents. Some kids are raised by non-parent guardians, like their grandparents.
It is probably healthier than honey nut cheerio right? I forgot to get a box!
Haha! You are correct! Maybe they should change the slogan to “Kid tested, guardian approved” !?
“Younger sentient being tested, older sentient being approved.”