Cereal, we get it. We eat it every morning, the supermarkets continue to expand their isles and the vast majority is sugar rich and lacking in nutritional benefits.
Upfull is a little different from the status quo. For starters it means positivity in Jamaican slang, and if there’s on thing that each morning needs, it’s a positive boost. But beyond marketing, Upfull’s aim is to bring some health to a huge morning movement.
Staticians claim 1/5 of people in the UK start their day either consuming muesli or granola. I can vouch myself and my partner get through 1.5-2kg of the stuff weekly, which is a fair volume and the ability to get something that isn’t loaded with sugar, sweeteners and to be frank, crap, is getting harder.
Now you can purchase Upfull already via Upfull’s dealer locator and they come in the above bags, which double up as freezer bags. Hooray for smart idea for reducing plastic consumption! Furthermore, they also recommend you can turn your granola on the go or topper, into a bircher style breakfast, by adding in milk (or your preferred substitute) the night before, sealing it up and letting things get soft, gooey and down right tasty.
If you want to find all the nutritional values, Upfull have made them really easy to find on their website. From a little bit of investigative work (I looked) the ratios are good for us endurance types and further more, the carbohydrates are often only 25-30% sugar, which for any off the shelf product, can be a challenge to find. No highs then deep crashes!
Now, if you are on the go, simply rip the top off, add your liquid of choice, reseal and you can carry it to your chosen breakfast destination. For me, it was my local trails, when I shot these images at the crack of dawn. It carries well, the seal is strong and it can even stand up when full. It sounds a minor detail, but picture for a moment if it couldn’t… the slow motion wide shot, as your beloved cereal unceremoniously wobbles then topples, the seal not shut, ejecting granola, nuts, seeds and liquid into the atmosphere, while you look on in terror as your breakfast is no more. Just think.
Inside, is a bend of oats, seeds, nuts, rice, salt, super foods. All tasty and supportive in their own right for a healthy start (disclaimer, I am not a nutritionist). Carry your metal spoon and it’s time to break your fast, chow down, grind your granola or what ever pun/silly term you wish to state.
You can wash the bags in the sink and use them for food storage, meal prep, freezer bags…. anything where you need a seal and a bag really.
But that is not all Upfull are up to.
Later this year, they are introducing Make Your Mix, where you’ll be able to personalise that morning routine.
Below are the options that will be at your finger tips;
Chose a seed mix,flavouring (cinnamon, chocolate or no flavouring), selecting 2 nuts, 2 fruit, selecting a sweetener (none for muesli or coconut blossom nectar or honey) and extra’s (superfoods, chocolate bits, protein etc…)
You will be able to give your special mix a name (I fancy Chuck’s Morning Roundhouse) and it will also work out the nutritional values as you add and subtract options.
Uphill will put it together in a box that fits through a letterbox and deliver it free of charge to you for a total of £5.99. The platform will be subscription based, send you recommended mixes based on previous choices and referring friends will provide you with discounts.
The facts/nutritional differences
Upfull are looking to set themselves apart by using ingredients which differ from those found in many of your current favourites.
- Rapeseed oil as it has one of the lowest saturated fat contents of all the oils and is far better for the heart. It is also high in essential fatty acids
- Rapeseed Omega 3, 6 and 9. It’s Omega 3 is 10 times that of olive oil and is an excellent source of vitamins E and K.
- Coconut blossom nectar, the most unrefined on the planet. Imported from Indonesia and not available in UK stores. Apart from a caramel type flavour it is recommended for diabetes types 1 and 2 due to its very low Glycemic Index.
- Coconut blossom nectar provides slow release energy that won’t cause high and low energy slumps like other sweeteners such as sugar do. It is a rich source of potassium,magnesium, zinc and iron. It also contains Vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6.
- Teff, a superfood. The array of vitamins and minerals found in teff contribute to its role as a healthy, weight-managing and bone-strengthening food. Also very high in fibre.
Granola that’s tasty, convenient and not full of sugar. Now, I was sent 4 packets by the lovely people and have to say, I smashed one packet as soon as I got it from the parcel, without looking at the note they sent (bad form, sorry…..). What I can say, is it is genuinely tasty and handy for when I’ve had a morning running session and left it a little late to sit down for a breakfast at home before heading into the office. I’ve consumed it on trails, at home and at work. I may just have to purchase a bulk bag at some point…..
Keep an eye out for Make your Mix, coming soon and I’ll be shouting about it on instragram when it does, so if you don’t already, follow me.
Product supplied by Freestak
James Mackeddie 