Serious About Cereal

Did you know that many of the "healthy" cereals adults are consuming these days can contain as much sugar as three chocolate chip cookies?  You're probably thinking you might as well ditch the Kashi Krunch for Cookie Crisps, huh?  Hold that thought - there are healthy options out there - so don't abandon your healthy dieting and hard work just yet!

Think of your favorite cereals as a kid - Reese's Puffs, Lucky Charms, Cookie Crisp, etc. You've probably out grown these by now (or maybe not), and have tried to move on to more natural and lower sugar alternatives - only to be fooled by false advertising and tricky slogans.  With hundreds of brands and types of cereal, it can get overwhelming in the breakfast food aisle.  So take a step back and start your day right by trying the low-sugar cereals listed below (with skim milk!):

AVOID High Sugar Cereals:

• Raisin Bran - 19 g
• Kellogg's Smart Start - 14 g
• Kashi Go Lean Crunch - 13 g
• Reese's Puffs - 10 g 
• Lucky Charms - 10 g
• Cookie Crisps - 9 g
• Honey Nut Cheerios - 9 g

GO FOR IT Low Sugar Cereals:

• Fiber One Original - 0 g
• Shredded Wheat Original or Wheat Bran - 0 g
• Meijer Puffed Wheat - 0 g
• Cheerios Original - 1 g
• Special K Protein Plus - 2 g
• Bran Bits - 3 g 
• Kix Plain - 3 g
• All Bran Complete Wheat Flakes - 5 g
• Wheat Chex - 5 g
• Total Whole Grain - 5 g
• Multi-Grain Cheerios - 6 g (opt for Plain over Multi-Grain)

*Naturally sweeten your cereal with fresh fruit or try adding cinnamon and raw nuts.  If the transition from sweet cereals is difficult, try adding a bit of honey and then slowly ween yourself off of it.  If there's a will to get healthy, there's a way!

If you're unsure of a brand/type and it's not listed above, take a look at the nutrition facts.  Top two things you should be looking for: sugar content and ingredients.  Grams of sugar should really be no more than 5 (6 g in Multi-Grain Cheerios is getting a little high).  With ingredients - less is more.  Whatever the first ingredient is that's listed is what the cereal is made most of - so look for something desirable like whole grain or whole wheat.  Avoid cereals with tons of ingredients (half of them being words you don't even know).  Think less sugar and less ingredients!

Tainted Love - Soft Cell