Breakfast is a healthy start for everyone’s day, particularly for kids. Studies show it supports school performance and a healthy weight. And a bowl of cold cereal and milk is a quick and easy meal for breakfast or any time of day.
A new report by the Environmental Working Group reviews 84 popular brands of children’s cereals and reveals several eye-popping comparisons of the sugar content in popular cookies and snack cakes.
Three cereals – Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, Post Golden Crisp, and General Mills Wheaties Fuel – contain 56% sugar by weight, with 20 grams of sugar in a skimpy 1-cup serving. That’s a whopping 5 teaspoons of sugar – roughly the same as one Twinkie snack cake.
A single 1-cup bowl of an additional 44 cereals, including the popular General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios, Kellogg’s Apple Jacks, and Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch, is equivalent to eating 3 Chips Ahoy! cookies – about 3 teaspoons of sugar.
Many tasty lower-sugar options are available to choose from. Try Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-wheats, General Mills original Cheerios and Kix, Post Shredded Wheat (all varieties), or Quaker Oats Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares.
Check out these quick tips when choosing cereals for your family:
Skip the front package labels, and read the side panel: Don’t be fooled by the front of the box nutrition claims. Look at the nutrition panel on the side, and make your own decision. Grams of sugar per serving doesn’t connect with most people, so translate this into teaspoons of sugar by dividing the sugar grams on the label by 4. A cereal with 20 grams of sugar contains 5 teaspoons of sugar. And skip the “good source of whole grains” on the front, and look for 3 grams of fiber per serving, found on the side.
Cut the sugar in half by mixing with low-sugar cereals: Many brands of cereals offer a low-sugar “basic” as well as a higher-sugar product. Mix original Cheerios in equal parts with Honey-Nut Cheerios, and cut the sugar by 50%. This works for any high/low combination of cereals.
Add some fresh, frozen, or dried fruit to low-sugar cereals: Boost the nutrients and provide nature’s sweetness by adding fruit to a low-sugar cereal. For pricey berries, try frozen bagged fruits like blueberries or strawberries, two kid-friendly options.
Use the high-sugar cereals as a dessert: Portion out a single serving (about 1 cup) in a small bag for your child to enjoy as a treat or dessert instead of a cookie or other treat.
And remember to choose low-fat or non-fat milk, or soy milk (if there is a health reason for excluding dairy). Both are calcium and vitamin D rich – important for kids of all ages.
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