Diary of a Semi-Health Nut

ramblings + recipes of a semi-healthy nut

Cereal Talk

by


Hello Friends!

  
It’s crunch time at school and that means I have to shift focus.  I mean I have finals in all of my classes..including my nutrition lab and a stats project our teacher JUST told us about that’s due the Saturday after finals!  (Not cool.)  I adore blogging but it is very time consuming! 

Thankfully there are some awesome people who are able to guest post for me the next couple of weeks to keep the good content coming.

It’s no secret that I adore cereal.  I have it pretty much every night.

I wouldn’t say I am the healthiest cereal eater…I often combine full healthy fiber cereal with chocolate for a bed time treat, but there are still benefits!  Even the most sugar-laden cereals are packed with vitamins and minerals.

Check out Drew’s thoughts on cereal:
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You might not even know it, but your typical breakfast cereal is typically incredibly high in sugar. As we know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But if breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then how come many breakfast cereals all have sugarlisted as one of the main ingredients?

According to the Environmental Working Group, Kellogg has the worst reputation. Their Honey Smacks, Post Golden Crisp and Fruit Loops all contain 55.6%, 51.9% and 48.3% sugar by weight. Quite honestly, this is not a good way to start your morning and sort of takes away from the notion that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

I’ve become convicted to finding the healthiest cereals on the market. But with all of the sugar filled options on the grocery shelves these days, it’s often not easy to choose the right one.

Here are 3 tips to help you choose the right cereals when you hit the grocery store:
1.     Make sure the main ingredient is whole grain. This is a fairly obvious one. Instead of simply looking at marketing hype, actually take a look at the ingredients and tell me what you see. If the first ingredient is whole grain, whole grain wheat or whole grain oats, you’re off to the right start. But if the “whole” is missing before each grain, you probably shouldn’t pick up the cereal because it is refined and processed.
2.     Make sure the cereal contains at least 5 grams of fiber. Many Americans are not getting enough fiber in their diets each day – but breakfast is a primary time to get the fiber you need. Fiber helps keep you full and can prevent against colon cancer, heart disease and also keeps your digestive tract healthy. Fiber can help minimize blood sugar spikes, which is beneficial if you’re goal is fat loss.
3.     No added sugar. This is a big one. Many Americans already get WAY too much sugar on a daily basis and quite honestly, it’s not necessary for a satisfying and tasty breakfast cereal. Always keep in mind that marketers love to use fancy words such as brown rice syrup, barley malt and molasses. But do not be fooled – these ingredients are simply disguised as sugar. Some cereals might include healthy and natural sugar from fruits, but you need to make sure that there is no added sugar in the cereal.

So which cereals are actually good for you?Not too many. I’m a huge fan of the Engine 2 line, but I’ve only been able to find it at Whole Foods Market. Another great option is Alpen’s “no sugar added” muesli, which is more widely available than the Engine 2 cereals. Now keep in mind that you don’t HAVE to go no sugar – you can purchase low sugar cereals and still experience the health benefits along with the great taste of them as well. 
 
Will it take some additional effort on your part to find the healthiest cereals? Of course it will. But like I said, breakfast is the most important meal of the day – if you choose the right types of foods in the morning. And for those of you who are typically in a rush every single morning, healthy cereals are a fantastic choice.
 
Author:
This was a guest article written by Drew Stegman. For more information on healthy eating check out his site: http://how2gainmusclefast.com/
(Image sources: gettyimages.com)

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*~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~*

What’s your favorite “healthy” cereal?  I like Kashi cereals or good ol’ Cheerios!

Your favorite sugar-filled cereal?  I used to eat Reese’s Peanutbutter cereal on a daily basis!  Sugarsugarsugar!

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Comments

  1. I am a cereal addict. Growing up–and today–I eat cereal for snacks, and prefer it to chips, candy, pretzels, or any other sort of “typical” snack food. Our family is a family of ‘mixers’ meaning there are always at LEAST three open boxes, because just one cereal in a bowl won’t cut it. I like to think that I do a good job of balancing out the sugary indulgences (I just bought the new Cap’n Crunch Cinnamon Roll) with no or low sugar, whole grain choices. For instance, I usually fill up most of the bowl with puffed rice or wheat, mix in something like Kashi, corn flakes, or Cheerios, and then top it off with something not as healthy. 🙂

  2. I am a cereal addict. Growing up–and today–I eat cereal for snacks, and prefer it to chips, candy, pretzels, or any other sort of “typical” snack food. Our family is a family of ‘mixers’ meaning there are always at LEAST three open boxes, because just one cereal in a bowl won’t cut it. I like to think that I do a good job of balancing out the sugary indulgences (I just bought the new Cap’n Crunch Cinnamon Roll) with no or low sugar, whole grain choices. For instance, I usually fill up most of the bowl with puffed rice or wheat, mix in something like Kashi, corn flakes, or Cheerios, and then top it off with something not as healthy. 🙂

  3. we ate cereal all the time growing up – some of our favorites was shredded wheats, Life, captain crunch, oh the list could go on haha

    • I did too! Then I realized how unhealthy it was 🙂

      Of course, there are SOME healthy cereals out there – but they’re typically hard to find.

  4. I did too! Then I realized how unhealthy it was 🙂

    Of course, there are SOME healthy cereals out there – but they’re typically hard to find.

  5. we ate cereal all the time growing up – some of our favorites was shredded wheats, Life, captain crunch, oh the list could go on haha

  6. Oh my gosh, I am totally addicted when it comes to cereals! And thanks to Sarah always teasing me with her pics on Instagram AND the fact that there was a HUGE sale at Kroger last week, I now have a RIDICULOUS supply of sugary cereals that should last me ohhhh about 2 weeks! Haha!

    Favorite healthy cereal: Cascadian Farm’s Hearty Morning Fiber (I actually just discovered this one last month…reminds me a lot of Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes but it’s got big ol’ granola clusters in it! YUM!

    Favorite sugary cereal: When I was a kid, I was ALL about some Lucky Charms, but I have to say I’m quite fond of Fruity Pebbles now…especially when it comes as a fro-yo topping! 😀

  7. Oh my gosh, I am totally addicted when it comes to cereals! And thanks to Sarah always teasing me with her pics on Instagram AND the fact that there was a HUGE sale at Kroger last week, I now have a RIDICULOUS supply of sugary cereals that should last me ohhhh about 2 weeks! Haha!

    Favorite healthy cereal: Cascadian Farm’s Hearty Morning Fiber (I actually just discovered this one last month…reminds me a lot of Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes but it’s got big ol’ granola clusters in it! YUM!

    Favorite sugary cereal: When I was a kid, I was ALL about some Lucky Charms, but I have to say I’m quite fond of Fruity Pebbles now…especially when it comes as a fro-yo topping! 😀