What is in your Cereal?

We woke up late this morning so me and my tot settled for a quick to prepare breakfast.

Cereals. Well, this is not our usual breakfast. It is only today that we have eaten a bowl and to my surprise my kiddo liked it. 

So maybe I will include this to her breakfast list during schooldays. 

Cereal Nutrition:

When you're choosing a breakfast cereal, be sure you check out the serving size. Some serving sizes are as little as half a cup, so accidentally gulping down a double portion can really throw your nutritional calculations for a loop! Some of the best low-calorie cereals include: Wheaties (106 calories), Honey Nut Cheerios (112 calories), Kashi Mighty Bites (120 calories/1 cup serving), Kashi Organic Promise Strawberry Fields (120 calories), Natures Promise Honey Whole Grain Cereal (147 calories), Kelloggs All Bran Yogurt Bites (150 calories), Post Honey Nut Shredded Wheat (160 calories), Honey Bunches of Oats with Strawberries (160 calories), Special K Fruit & Yogurt (160 calories), Yogurt Burst Cheerios (160 calories) and Kashi Go Lean Crunch (190 calories). For the best results, measure out your serving with a measuring cup scoop. Remember to have that with half a cup of low-fat or skim milk, which has half the calories of whole milk!

Think Whole Grain

According to the Mayo Clinic, "Whole grains haven't had their bran and germ removed by milling, making them good sources of fiber... Among many health benefits, high-fiber foods also tend to make you feel full longer." The FDA says fiber plays an important role in preventing diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease, hypertension and digestive disorders. After all, it's fiber that pushes food through our digestive systems, absorbs water and makes ridding the body of waste much easier. When looking for a healthy breakfast cereal, "Consumers should aim to select cereals that are high in fiber, ones that are made with whole grains," explains Sandra Affenito, associate nutrition professor at Saint Joseph College. "Americans of all ages do not consume the recommended fiber intake."

By contrast, refined cereals--even with their added vitamins and minerals--don't provide as many nutrients as whole grains, Mayo Clinic experts add. On average, a refined cereal strips away 66% of the cereal's fiber, 62% of the folate, 92% of the selenium and 99% of the phytochemicals essential for healthy living. You'll want to avoid refined grain cereals like Apple Jacks,Cap'n Crunch, Quaker Chex, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Crispix, Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats, Kix, Lucky, Rice Krispies and Special K.

So which cereals are our fiber winners? Bran Buds leads the pack with 36 grams of fiber, which is almost your daily recommendation. You can also look for: All-Bran Plus Fiber (31 grams), Fiber One (28.5 grams), Grape Nuts (11 grams), Raisin Bran (8 grams), Kashi Go Lean Crunch (8 grams), Original Post Spoon Size Shredded Wheat (6 grams), Trader Joe's Frosted Vanilla Shredded Bite Size Wheats (5 grams) and Trader Joe's Soy and Flax Clusters (5 grams). Generally, any cereal with 5 or more grams of fiber is considered a good bet.

Look for Low Sugar

It's easy to overdose on sugar, experts warn, since we have so many other sources of it in our daily diets. Generally, your cereal should not contain more than 25% of its calories from sugar. To calculate this, multiply the grams of sugar per serving by 4 (because there are 4 calories per gram of sugar). Next, divide this number (calories from sugar) by the total number of calories per serving.Then multiply this number by 100 to find the percentage of calories from sugar. According to Consumer Reports and MSNBC, 11 popular cereals have more than 40% of their calories from sugar, including Post Golden Crisp, Kelloggs Honey Smacks and Raisin Bran. With this much sugar, you may as well eat a doughnut for breakfast!

Good low-sugar cereals include: Mighty Bites Honey Crunch Cereal by Kashi, Frosted Vanilla Shredded Bite Size Wheats by Trader Joe's, Honey Nut Cheerios, Fiber One Honey Clusters, Kashi Go Lean, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Wheaties, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Honey Nut Shredded Wheat, Wheat Chex, Post Bran Flakes and hot oatmeal. eHow.com

YS: Yummy Pizza