WHAT TO AVOID . . .

DELICIOUS ALCHEMY GOLDEN SYRUP OATS

£2.79 for 8 sachets, Holland & Barrett. Per serving: 12p Quick-cook gluten-free oats — add water or milk and microwave for two minutes. A 27g sachet made with water contains 7.6g sugar and 1.4g fibre.

EXPERT VERDICT: ‘A small serving contains a teaspoon and half of sugar and relatively little fibre, so wouldn’t very filling,’ says professor seal. ‘Golden syrup must be the ‘flavouring’ as there’s no syrup on the ingredient list,’ adds Aisling pigott.

TASTE TEST: overwhelming smell and taste of golden syrup. 1/5

WOLFY’S NUTTY PORRIDGE WITH HONEY

£1.69 per 90g pot, from Waitrose. Per serving: £1.69 oATs, nuts and milk powder with separate honey — add boiling water and leave for four minutes, then add honey. provides 20g sugar and 6.2g fibre.

EXPERT VERDICT: ‘contains a lot of sugar and calories (369),’ says professor seal, ‘but it would be filling.’ ‘it has around four teaspoons of sugar,’ adds Aisling pigott. ‘That’s more than five chunks of Dairy milk chocolate. however, it’s a good source of fibre, with a fifth of your daily 30g, thanks partly to the nuts.’

TASTE TEST: needed more honey. 2/5

GREGGS RED BERRY PORRIDGE

£1.10 for 67g. Per serving: £1.10 conTAins gluten-free oats, skimmed milk powder, sugar glucose syrup and dried berries. Add boiling water and leave for a minute. A 67g pot has 14g sugar. The fibre is not listed.

EXPERT VERDICT: ‘This has two sources of added sugar and dried fruit which is not really necessary,’ says professor seal. ‘The fruit will improve the fibre content — and in theory add vitamins, but in very small quantities.’ With almost three teaspoons of sugar, it is not the healthiest, adds Aisling pigott, ‘but if you’re stuck it’s better than a bacon sandwich’.

TASTE TEST: nice, home-made taste. 2/5

WHITE’S ACTIVOAT HIGH IN PROTEIN PORRIDGE

£2.19 for six sachets from supermarkets Per serving: 36p A comBinATion of oat flakes and soya protein, said to ‘help maintain muscle mass’; each sachet has more than 10g protein. A 40g serving, microwaved with water, contains 0.3g sugar and 0.3g fibre.

EXPERT VERDICT: ‘The only sugar is in the oats, but i query why you need extra protein,’ says professor seal. ‘most people get more than enough and 50g of porridge gives 5g of protein.’ Aisling pigott says if you want more ‘you’d be better with an egg’.

TASTE TEST: Thin and not very ‘oaty’. 2/5

ORGRAN QUINOA PORRIDGE

£4.99 for 7 sachets, from Ocado. Per sachet: 71p This contains no oats. A 30g sachet (microwaved with 140ml skimmed milk) provides 10.6g sugar and 4.1 g fibre.

EXPERT VERDICT: ‘ it doesn’t qualify as porridge in my eyes,’ says professor seal. ‘Quinoa is a healthy cereal but doesn’t contain all the benefits of oats — it contains some beta glucan, but not much.’ There’s also more sugar. This has ‘none of the benefits of porridge’, but ‘the fibre content is reasonable,’ adds Aisling pigott.

TASTE TEST: overpowering taste of cinnamon, slimy texture. 1/5

STOATS RHUBARB AND BRAMBLE PORRIDGE

£1.29, eatstoats.co.uk and Amazon. Per serving: £1.29 oAT flakes, skimmed milk powder, sugar, and dried fruit. Add boiled water, ready in 3 minutes. A 60g pot has 14.2g sugar and 4.3g fibre.

EXPERT VERDICT: ‘A reasonable amount of fibre (almost a sixth of your daily needs) but this has added sugar (nearly 3 teaspoonfuls in each pot) and i don’t feel it’s necessary,’ says professor seal. ‘The fruit is just 5.7 per cent, not enough for one of your five a day,’ adds Aisling pigott. ‘You are better off having plain porridge and adding fruit.’

TASTE TEST: Very tart tang and quite a clumpy texture. 2/5