Love Crunch Granola is a premium brand of granola known for its unique flavors and use of high-quality ingredients.
It is produced by Nature’s Path and is made up of combinations of whole grain rolled oats mixed with various other ingredients.
The Love Crunch granola comes in various flavors such as chocolate hazelnut butter, double chocolate chunk, dark chocolate & red berries etc.
However, is Love Crunch granola healthy?
Short answer: Love Crunch granola is healthy because it is made up of organic ingredients, is moderate in sugar, low in sodium and free from artificial additives. Additionally, it is a good source of protein (when consumed with milk).
Read on to find out more about Love Crunch granola including it’s ingredients, sugar, protein, fiber, sodium content and more.
I’ll also compare Love Crunch granola to other popular granola’s to see whether or not it stand out as a better option.
So let’s start.
Read also: Is Bear Naked Granola Healthy? Here Is The Answer
What are the ingredients in Love Crunch granola?
Love Crunch granola comes in various flavors such as Dark chocolate & peanut butter, Dark chocolate & red berries, Chocolate hazelnut butter, Espresso vanilla cream etc.
Therefore, the exact ingredients can vary depending on the flavor.
In general, Love Crunch granola are primarily made up of whole grain rolled oats, cane sugar and sunflower and/or soy oil.
Other common ingredients that you may find across other flavor includes:
- Dark chocolate chunks
- White chocolate chunks
- Rice starch
- Sea salt
- Natural flavors
- Tocopherols (vitamin E)
The ingredients in Love Crunch granola are simple that anyone can go through.
Additionally, there is no use of major red flags such as artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.
Moreover, most of the ingredients in Love Crunch granola are organic, which is good.
So ingredients wise, Love Crunch granola are worth loving.
How much sugar is in Love Crunch granola?
Love Crunch granola contains 6-8g of sugar per serving, depending on the flavor.
That’s about 16 to 22% of the daily sugar limit for men and 24 to 32% for women.
This may not be very high amount of sugar for individuals who are active enough. But, if you are controlling your sugar intake, this is a considerable amount.
The majority of the sugar in Love Crunch granola is added coming from cane sugar.
While cane sugar is considered less processed than table or regular sugar, it is still important to consume in moderation.
If compared, Love Crunch granola has less sugar then other popular granola brands like Nature valley, Kind healthy grain and Bear naked.
Here is how Love Crunch granola sugar content stacks up against other granola brands.
Granola brand | Primary sugar source | Sugar(g) |
---|---|---|
Love Crunch | Cane sugar (organic) | 6-8 |
Nature Valley | Sugar | 7-19 |
Kind Healthy Grains | Cane sugar & tapioca syrup | 7-12 |
Bear Naked | Cane sugar | 7-13 |
Purely Elizabeth | Coconut sugar (organic) | 5-8 |
How much protein is in Love Crunch granola?
Love Crunch granola has low to moderate protein content, ranging from 2-4g per serving, depending on the flavor.
Majority of flavors has 2g of protein and only one flavor (Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter) has 4g of protein.
I know 4g of protein is not considered good.
However, it’s worth noting that Love Crunch granola is supposed to consume with milk, which enhances the overall protein content.
For example, a single serving of Dark Chocolate & peanut butter flavor with 250ml of cow milk can provide about 11-12g of protein, which is decent.
The protein content can vary depending on the milk you choose.
Here is how Love Crunch granola protein content stacks up against other granola brands.
Granola brand | Protein(g) |
---|---|
Love Crunch | 2-4 |
Nature Valley | 2-13 |
Kind Healthy Grains | 5-10 |
Bear Naked | 5-11 |
Purely Elizabeth | 3-6 |
How much fiber is in Love Crunch granola?
Love Crunch granola contain 2-3g of fiber per serving, depending on the flavor. That’s about 8-12% of the daily recommended fiber for adults.
However, only one flavor of Love Crunch granola has 3g fiber. Rest of the flavors contain just 2g fiber.
As result, Love crunch granola cannot be considered as a good source of fiber.
Fiber is an important part of the diet as it helps to promote satiety, making you feel fuller for longer periods.
Unfortunately, Love Crunch granola is not fiber packed.
Here is how Love Crunch granola fiber content stacks up against other granola brands.
Granola brand | Fiber(g) |
---|---|
Love Crunch | 2-3 |
Nature Valley | 1-10 |
Kind Healthy Grains | 3-9 |
Bear Naked | 3-5 |
Purely Elizabeth | 2-3 |
How much sodium is in Love Crunch granola?
Love Crunch granola is low in sodium with 50-105mg per serving, depending on the flavor.
While sodium is essential in your diet, consuming too much can lead to heart related issues.
As per American Heart Association, the daily ideal recommend sodium limit is 1500mg per day.
Even if you choose the flavor with the highest sodium content(105mg)(Espresso Vanilla Cream), you’ll only be consuming a mere 7% of the recommended daily sodium limit.
This is excellent for individuals who are controlling their sodium intake.
Here is how Love Crunch granola sodium content stacks up against other granola brands.
Granola brand | Sodium(mg) |
---|---|
Love Crunch | 50-105 |
Nature Valley | 85-170 |
Kind Healthy Grains | 50-135 |
Bear Naked | 80-180 |
Purely Elizabeth | 100-130 |
Is Love Crunch granola good for weight loss?
Love Crunch granola is not optimal choice for weight loss because it contain added sugar. However, you can still consume it in moderation on a weight loss diet.
That’s because the sugar content is not very high and it offers the benefits of protein and fiber, although they are not very high.
Moreover, Love Crunch granola is relatively low in calories, typically ranging from 120 to 150 calories per serving.
Therefore, Love Crunch granola in moderation wont a problem on your weight loss journey.
Just avoid adding extra sugar.
Note that weight loss or weight gain does not depend on just one food but on overall diet and level of physical activity.
Is Love Crunch granola processed?
Love Crunch granola is a processed food as it contains ingredients like cane sugar and sunflower or soy oil.
However, it is not as bad as other breakfast options such as refined cereals, pancakes, wafers, muffins or pastries.
This is because Love Crunch granola contains less processed ingredients, such as:
- Cane sugar is a less processed alternative to table sugar.
- Sea salt is a less processed alternative to table salt.
- Sunflower oil is good source of mono-saturated fatty acids and is a better alternative many other oils.
Overall, Love Crunch granola is a minimally processed food that can be used as a breakfast or midday snacking option.
Is Love Crunch granola gluten-free?
Love Crunch granola is gluten-free as it is made up of 100% whole rolled oat and do not contain any gluten-based ingredients.
However, it’s worth noting that Love Crunch granola is prepared in the facility that uses wheat.
This increase the possibility of cross-contamination during the manufacturing process.
However, for most individuals following a gluten-free diet, the cross-contamination from the facility does not pose a significant concern.
But it is crucial to keep this thing in mind before including Love Crunch granola in your gluten-free diet.
Is Love Crunch granola vegan?
Love Crunch granola comes in both vegan and non-vegan flavors.
The flavors that are not vegan includes Espresso Vanilla Cream and Double Chocolate Chunk.
It’s important to note that Love Crunch granola is prepared in the facility that uses milk. So, there is possibility of cross-contamination during the manufacturing process.
Keep this thing in mind before including Love Crunch granola in your vegan diet.
Final word
After looking at the ingredients and nutritional value, it can be considered that Love Crunch granola is healthy.
And there are many reasons for this, such as:
- It is made up of organic ingredients.
- It is moderate in sugar.
- It is a good source of protein (with milk).
- It is low in sodium.
- It does not contain any artificial additives.
- It is gluten-free, Non-GMO verified, and most flavors are vegan.
However, there are also a couple of downsides to Love Crunch granola, such as:
- It contains soy oil which is not considered very good.
- It is low in fiber.
Despite these downsides, Love Crunch granola is a healthy option to include in your diet in moderation.
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