Crispy, Crunchy, Crackly Cornflakes

KATHMANDU, May 20: Cornflakes are probably one of the best quick-breakfasts for early birds. They don´t need preparing, don´t need cooking, and don´t need a cooling-down period before you shovel them into that food-pipe in a body that already needs to be elsewhere. For students who need to leave home at the crack of dawn to make it to their early morning lectures, for mums who need to rustle up a breakfast before their kids skip off to school, for newly-married couples who still haven´t learned how to find their way around the kitchen, for anyone really, cornflakes are the perfect come-to-the-rescue meal. [break]

And these golden flakes mixed with splash of milk are nutritious too. Cornflakes are made from milled corn, which is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. They are also a good source of Vitamin A, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12 and Iron. Thus as you can see, cornflakes come loaded with all the goodies.

Indeed, if you substitute low-fat milk for whole milk and add heapings of vitamin-rich and fiber-rich fruits like apples, berries and bananas, which are all high in antioxidants, your cornflakes will turn not just tastier but even more nutritious too. Furthermore, if you are one of those who have taken to cornflakes in such a way that you prefer them to, say, noodles as an alternative evening snack, you´ve made a wise choice. Cornflakes are far more protein- and fiber- rich than noodles.

One caveat emptor, though: if you suffer from hypertension, have the ´belly gene´, or are prone to diabetes then you might want to substitute cornflakes with wheatflakes.

The most popular cornflakes brands in town are Kellogg´s, Parade, Mum´s and Nestle. Local brands are making an inroad too; they go by names such as Good Morning Cornflakes, DD´s Cornflakes, Mahima Cornflakes and NEFS´S Cornflakes.

Kellogg´s costs Rs 128 for 250gm and Mum´s costs Rs 49 for 200gm, at the Bhatbhateni Superstore. At the Namaste Supermarket, Kellogg´s and Mum´s cost Rs 175 for 275 gm and Rs 195 for 500gm packets.

At Salesways, Special K, produced by Kellogg´s, costs Rs 428 for 375gm; Honey Gold flakes, 220gm, costs Rs 192, and the normal Kellogg´s costs Rs 130 for 250gm; Briiggen, another cornflakes brand, costs Rs 135 for 250gm; Parade costs Rs 225 for 510 gm; and Nestle´s costs RS 145 for 150gm.

The Bhatbhateni Superstore features a pretty good selection of local cornflakes. Good Morning costs Rs 68 for 400gm, DD´s cost Rs 115 for 500gm and NEFS´S costs Rs 350 for 900gm at the store.

Briiggen Cornflakes

Volume: 500gm

Price: Rs 224

Parade cornflakes

Volume: 680gm

Price: Rs 285

Nestle Cornflakes

Volume: 275 gm

Price: Rs 251

Kellogg´s Special K

Volume: 375gm

Price: Rs 517

DD´s Cornflakes

Volume: 350gm

Price: Rs 90

Mahima cornflakes by NEFS´S

Volume: 500gm

Price: Rs 105

(The prices are for the products available at the Bhatbhateni Department Store, Naxal.)