Evening Edge

I have six siblings and when we were young my mother economized by making our snacks.

One of our favorites was fried Cheerios (sounds weird, I know). She would take a big skillet, throw in a dollop of butter and melt it over medium heat and then pour in the Cheerios and cook until golden brown. Sprinkle on some salt and serve.

Chris Hunt / AJC (ENLARGE)

Don't waste calories on processed snacks.

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So, when I saw a new Cheerios Snack Mix, a "good source of whole grain and baked, not fried," I was ready for a taste test. I was less enthusiastic when I tasted it and even less impressed when I read the nutrition facts. This snack has a salty and sweet taste — in addition to plain old Cheerios it contains wheat and corn Chex cereals, pretzel twists, and mini-snack crackers. It is basically Chex mix with Cheerios.

Each 8-ounce bag contains 7 servings (2/3 cup) at 120 calories per serving, but I could have easily eaten 3 servings as a snack and packed in almost 400 calories. Each serving contains 3.5 grams of fat and half a gram of saturated fat.

Only 1 gram of fiber, but 2 grams of sugar and 330 milligrams of sodium — the same amount of sodium in a medium-size order of fast food fries. The only nutrient of significance is iron — one serving meets 30 percent of your daily need but that is because grains are enriched with iron, but the form of iron is not well absorbed.

Save your money and your calories and leave this food on the shelf. For 120 calories and a lot more nutrients you could eat:

• 1 small apple with 2 teaspoons peanut butter

• 3 ounces of baby carrots with 1 tablespoon ranch dressing

• 15 roasted almonds

• A piece of string cheese and 4 rye crackers

• 1/2 cup Cheerios with 2/3 cup skim milk

• 6 ounces of fruited yogurt

• 3 ounces of water-packed tuna and 1 teaspoon of low-fat mayonnaise