Nestle Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink for the Carb Conscious

By: Tanya Taylor, PhD | Nov 14, 2005

What do you eat for breakfast in the mornings? I like to change it up every now and again, but it always has to be something that won't take long to prepare because I'm always in a rush to get out the door. Usually it's Quaker Instant Oatmeal (read the review), or cereal. When I spotted Nestle Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink, I liked that it wasn't your typical breakfast, but it was certainly packed full of vitamins and minerals, so I was hoping this would help to get my day started right.

Making it is pretty easy - just add the Rich Milk Chocolate, the variety that I bought, to a glass of milk. Carnation recommends skim milk because that has very little fat, but I personally find it hard to drink skim milk straight up. Added to cereal, yes, but on its own - not for me. So I made my Carnation Instant breakfast drink with 2% milk and it imparted a chocolatey taste, no aftertaste from the artificial sweeteners, and it kept me full until it was time for a mid-morning snack - it didn't hold me all the way until lunch.

The Carb Conscious version has no sugar added, but they added acesulfame K and aspartame to give it a slightly sweet taste. There are 70 calories, 7 grams sugar, 4 grams protein and 300 mg potassium. Of course, add the additional calories from milk - for example, mixing it with skim milk would contribute an extra 90 calories to bring the grand total up to 160. There is also 10-35% of many (if not every) vitamin and minerals.

The box for the 'Carb Conscious' version, says "New package, same number of servings" but when I was in the store, the Original version came with 10 packets, and the Carb Conscious version only has 8. I think I must be missing something. But a pack of 4 (8 count each) can be purchased from Amazon.com for $17.00, which works out to just a little over $4 per box. They also have ready-to-drink bottles, and I would definitely try it, or buy the packets again. Grab it when you're in a hurry, or drink it throughout the day instead of snacking.

Rating

Taste:

Nutrition:

Price:

Overall:

See more on: Beverage , breakfast   comments (3)