Table of Plenty - Functional Breakfast Range
In a day and age when we’re all busy and looking for quick and easy breakfast options, I often get asked for advice around which supermarket products get my tick of approval, particularly when it comes to muesli and cereals. While muesli is often perceived as healthy, you’d be surprised by how many of those available at the supermarket are not actually the best option. So, when I saw the Table of Plenty functional breakfast range, I was excited to have another great option to recommend to people.
Recently, I was lucky enough to be gifted some of these Table of Plenty products by the amazing team at Soda Communications. This post is not sponsored in any way and I just wanted to share my honest opinion of the products that I received. It’s my hope that I can educate more people about great breakfast options and help you know what to look for when choosing a convenient breakfast.
So, let’s dive in and take a look at the products that I received:
Probiotic Kefir
Kefir is a fermented milk product, and like all fermented foods/beverages it is a great source of probiotics. As a nutritionist that places an emphasis on gut health, kefir is one of those great products that I recommend to help populate our gut microbiome with good bacteria that will support our overall wellbeing.
When it comes to the Table of Plenty kefir, the ingredients can’t get any better, check them out:
Ingredients: Fresh Milk, Live Cultures, Live Probiotic Cultures.
That’s what I call a good ingredient list, it’s simple and has only the natural ingredients needed to make kefir. This one gets a big tick from me.
If you’re lactose intolerant, they also have a lactose free option. This contains the enzyme lactase, which digests the lactose in the milk and makes it digestible to those unable to tolerate lactose.
Probiotic+ Muesli
Muesli with the added benefits of probiotics, what a great idea! This product has the strain of bacteria Bacillus Coagulans, as well as the prebiotic properties from the Green Banana Flour. Prebiotics act as the food for our healthy gut bacteria and they have a symbiotic relationship with probiotics, meaning that they work together.
This particular product is naturally low in sugar and doesn’t contain any dried fruits. It has a mild banana flavour and I found it quite enjoyable. It’s also nut free, which makes it a great option for anyone with a nut allergy.
I served this muesli with the Table of Plenty kefir and some fresh banana.
Looking at the ingredients of this product, it predominately contains real foods:
Ingredients: Wholegrain Oats, Oat Bran, Sunflower Seeds, Soluble Corn Fibre, Bran Sticks (Wheat Bran, Wheat Flour, Salt), Coconut (4.5%), Pepitas, Green Banana Flour (3%), Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavours, Cinnamon, Bacillus Coagulans, Antioxidant (Natural Mixed Tocopherol).
As far as muesli’s go, this is certainly one of the better options on the supermarket shelves. If I could change or improve anything about this product, it would be removing the sunflower oil and natural flavours. Here’s why:
Sunflower oil is one of the oils I generally don’t recommend. It is a highly processed oil and can be inflammatory. In small amounts it can be okay, but it is something that I recommend limiting.
Natural flavours are a better alternative than artificial flavours, however they are often still processed and don’t fully align with my ‘real food’ philosophy. The term natural flavours can act as an umbrella term, which means it can have a number of ingredients that fall under this label and I always prefer to eat and recommend foods that I know exactly what’s in them.
Immunity+ Porridge
In a time where we can all be doing more to support our immune system and understand its importance, this immunity porridge is a great option to give it some extra love!
With added vitamin C and a small amount of Kakadu plum, an ingredient with a high vitamin C content naturally, it ticks the box for this immune supporting nutrient. It has a good fibre content of 6g per serve. We need more than 25-30g of fibre per day, so it gets us on our way to this amount. It’s also fortified with B vitamins, which are great for energy production (among other things), making them a beneficial thing to have in the morning. Other immune boosting ingredients such as honey and ginger are found in here, so it lives up to its promise of being a porridge that supports the immune system.
Check out the ingredients list:
Wholegrain Oats (70%), Coconut, (12%), Oat Flour, Flaxseed, Honey Powder (2%), Ginger (1%), Natural Flavour, Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid), Dehydrated Kakadu Plum (0.02%), Iron (as Ferric Pyrophosphate), Vitamin B3 (as Niacinamide), Vitamin B2 (as Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (as Thiamine Hydrochloride), Folate (as Folic Acid).
This one gets the tick of approval from me and aside from the natural flavour all of the other ingredients pass the test.
Protein+ Porridge
With added protein to help keep you full and satisfied for longer, this porridge is absolutely delicious and is made up of just a few, real food ingredients.
Ingredients: Wholegrain Oats, Pea Protein, Oat Bran, Raw Sugar, Almonds, Coconut (6%), Cocoa Powder (4%), Natural Flavour.
Again we see the appearance of natural flavour, but other than this the ingredients are fantastic.
I cook mine with coconut milk, which worked so well with the flavour profile. While this product does have a small amount of added sugar, it is still under 4g of sugar per serve, which is great for a breakfast option! It also uses raw sugar, which is less processed than a white sugar or glucose syrup.
Balance+ Muesli
A FODMAP friendly muesli, this one places an emphasis on good digestion and supporting gut health, particularly for those with IBS.
Like the Probiotic+ Smoothie, this Balance+ Muesli was great served with Kefir and I added some strawberries with this one. It definitely gets a tick from a taste perspective!
Ingredients: Wholegrain Rolled Oats (62%), Brown Rice Syrup, Almonds (8%), Oat Flour, Coconut, Golden Syrup, Seeds (Pepitas (1.8%), Sunflower Seeds (0.09%)), Sunflower Oil, Natural Vanilla Flavour (2%), Tapioca Flour, Cinnamon, Concentrated Monk Fruit Juice, Sea Salt, Antioxidant (Natural Tocopherol).
This product has a couple more processed ingredients than the others, with brown rice syrup, golden syrup, sunflower oil and natural vanilla flavour. However the vast majority is made up of real foods and it is still a great option to enjoy every so often.
That brings us to the end of the functional breakfast range. I love that the Table of Plenty products have added benefits from their formulations and that each one has an area of focus. They’re predominantly made up of real foods and are definitely some of the best options on the market. I would recommend these and will certainly be getting them again.
If you’re looking for a healthy muesli recipe that you can make at home, be sure to check out the recipe for my Easy Homemade Muesli or my Grain Free Muesli. These are favourites among the 28er’s and I wanted to share them with you too!
