Cereal: which one should I pick?

Cereal is an integral part of our breakfast, up to 85% of American breakfast eaters consume cereal in the morning. Some say that the cereal you pick says something about your personality. I say the cereal you pick says something about your health and that of your family as well. Since it is an item you will be consuming daily you should really put some thought into your choice before you just randomly pick the cute box, or the one on sale that week. But good news is that you should only have to pick one cereal, that's right, the same one for the whole family. There is no need for a separate cereal for your kids and one for the adults. After all, don't we want to serve as good examples to our kids when it comes to food choices.

So put down the box of Cinnamon Crunch and lets look at your choices and how you can set yourself up for a great day by picking the right cereal.

How can you make sugar frosted mini chocolate chip cookies healthy? You put them in a cereal box and put a really big seal of approval in the front of the box saying: "Whole grains". Do not buy a cereal by reading the front of the box, ever! You must read the nutrition panel. They are so good at making something not so nutritious and full of calories sound like the perfect way to start your morning. Be careful, do not let them fool you. You are an informed consumer and manager to your family's health, therefore your decision in the cereal isle is one to take seriously with consequences.

There are some basic and simple rules about picking your cereal. You look at the label and it must follow these rules:

1. No saturated fat, no trans fats, and very little fat at all for that matter. The only fat in there should be from nuts for example. 0-1g total.

2. Must contain Fiber ! This is an important part of keeping you feeling fool, and helping with your digestive health from the start. How much fiber.. the more the better! Fiber One cereal has up to 14g in one serving, but it does look like rabbit food and taste very blend (my sister is the only person I know that actually enjoys them!), so you can always use FiberOne cereal to add fiber to your other cereals, by mixing it up. It is an easy way to get your daily intake of fiber (25-32g/day recommended), and is cheaper than supplements. But you should choose a cereal that has at least 4g of fiber per serving (you can add some fruit to your cheerios to get to 4 g since one bowl of plain cheerios has 3g).

3. Sugars- on the nutrition label your cereal should have no more than 10-12g of sugar per serving. Fiber One for example has 0g, cheerios original has 1g, honey nut cheerios has 11g. There are some exceptions to this rule in particular. Raisin Bran for example will have more sugar because of the raisins, but because of his high content of fiber, it is still a good choice for cereal. This rule is really more for us to stay away from the sugary nutritionally empty cereals. Some cereals also list on the box that now they have reduced the sugar from their original versions, but they are still high in sugar, so the best thing to do is always read the label.

4. Protein- It should have some protein, that is a simple rule. It doesn't matter really how much, as long as it is more than 0g :)

5. Whole grains - should have whole grains, but that is easy since most cereals now do. But be an overachiever! Go for the first 3 ingredients on the box being whole grains, can you do it?

Here are some cereals that made my list of favorites: and there is my little one snacking on cheerios!


1. Caramel Delight Fiber One- it tastes so great you would think it is not a healthy cereal, it has 10g of sugar, 8g of fiber with 3 being soluble fiber, 0g saturated fat.

2. Cheerios, there are many within the line of cheerios that are great. But I like the multi grain the best, and it is also a favorite with my 2year old.

3. Life Cereal is my husbands favorite, and although I would prefer that he would choose one where the second ingredient is not sugar, it still is within my guidelines and way better than most of the cereals in the market.

Last remarks about cereal, as I could go on forever as a cereal lover, pay attention to serving sizes. Just like any other food, you should try to stay within 1-2 servings at breakfast.

Hint- Use cereal as snacks for kids, so much better than cookies and crackers. Also you may crush cereal and use as topping to puddings, frozen yogurt and many other treats.

And if you find a cereal that meets the requirements but doesn't really taste that great, don't give up that easy! Try to spice it up yourself, add some fruit to it, some cinnamon. Just don't add sugar, honey or syrups so you don't rack up the sugar grams and calories.

Remember you should eat your cereal with fat free milk, even for kids starting at two years old.

Have a good and healthy morning, pick a good cereal for your family.