I’ll admit I love a nice bowl of cereal for dinner from time to time, but what about that “wholesome” breakfast everyone talks about. Is cereal actually a healthy food choice when it comes to waking up and starting your day? The short answer, it depends on your choice. If you are like me, then a sweet chocolaty bowl of Cocoa Pebbles is probably not a solid breakfast, or dinner choice for that matter, but what about Cheerios for cholesterol, or Frosted Mini Wheats for fiber? Here are some of my favorite cereals, and those I think are good, so let’s see how each one weighs out.
Cocoa Pebbles
This sweet treat is really just that, a sugary concoction that offers minimum amounts of protein and fiber but tons of sugar, carbs and sodium. While drinking the chocolate milk at the end of your morning breakfast can be quite satisfying, the long term fill of this breakfast treat is often times short lived.
Nutritional Rating: Poor
Main Ingredients: Rice, Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Coconut And Palm Kernel Oils), Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Salt, Caramel Color, Natural And Artificial Flavor.
Vitamins and Nutrients: Niacinamide, Reduced Iron, Zinc Oxide (Source Of Zinc), Vitamin B6, Vitamin A Palmitate, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D.
Cheerios
When I was diagnosed with high cholesterol, I thought, “I’ll just switch to Cheerios!” and while there have been studies showing this grain based breakfast food can help with reducing your overall cholesterol, there are still plenty of empty calories in this childhood favorite.
Nutritional Rating: Average
Main Ingredients: Whole Grain Corn, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Oats, Whole Grain Barley, Whole Grain Rice, Corn Starch, Brown Sugar Syrup, Corn Bran, Salt, Tripotassium Phosphate, Canola and/or Rice Bran Oil, Color Added, Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols
Vitamins and Nutrients: Calcium Carbonate, Trisodium Phosphate, Vitamin E, Zinc, Iron, Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B1, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D)
Frosted Mini Wheats
I also grew up eating Frosted Mini Wheats as a “healthy” alternative. And I always thought that this sweet wheat combination was doing my body good, and I could usually tell that I was more fueled in the morning than say when I had a quick bowl of my favorite Cocoa Pebbles. Here is the skinny on Frosted Mini Wheats.
Nutritional Rating: Good
Main Ingredients: Whole grain wheat, sugar, contains 2% or less of brown rice syrup, gelatin, BHT
Vitamins and Nutrients: Reduced iron, niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), zinc oxide, folic acid, vitamin B12.
Kashi Honey Puffs
Moving into the higher end healthy food choice is Kashi Honey Puffs, this natural whole grain cereal boasts 23 grams of whole grains in each serving including favorites such as Buckwheat, brown rice and sesame. Another great thing about this cereal choice is that it is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
Nutritional Rating: Good
Main Ingredients: Whole Hard Red Wheat, Whole Brown Rice, Honey, Dried Cane Syrup, Whole Oats, Whole Barley, Whole Triticale, Whole Rye, Whole Buckwheat, Sesame Seeds.
Vitamins and Nutrients: Calcium, Iron, Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), Niacin, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin K, Vitamin E, Potassium, Selenium, and Zinc.
Nature’s Path Millet Rice
If you are looking for a natural alternative, then Nature’s Path is your top choice and it does not contain milk, corn or soy. These rice flakes are made of organic oat flour, flavored with fruit juice and hints of sea salt making them light, filling, and fairly tasty treat for breakfast.
Nutritional Rating: Excellent
Main Ingredients: Whole oat flour, pear juice concentrate and/or grape juice concentrate, brown rice flour, whole millet, oat bran, barley malt extract, sea salt.
Vitamins and Nutrients: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron.
While I will admit that cereal is not a “healthy breakfast” by any means, many of us still opt in for this fast and convenient filler to start our day. Think outside the box by adding fresh fruit or berries which will help bring some much needed nutritional value to your otherwise empty bowl.
So next time you are out grocery shopping and reach for a box of Cocoa Pebbles, just know that you are really picking up a “treat” and not a real food group for breakfast.
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