Cereal Smarts

Breakfast can be your best meal of the day.

That is, if you aren’t duped into eating a bowl of dessert for breakfast!

How can we QUICKLY find the best choices in this ever-expanding aisle of marketing mass confusion? First, don’t fall for slick promo tags on the package. For instance, the “antioxidant-rich” Smart Start cereal may sound healthy, but it actually has more sugar than Fruit Loops. Bottom line: Read the nutrition label, not the package promotions!

To save you time and energy, focus on this:

Fiber and Sugar. Since most cereals are already low in fat, the key is to find one that offers at least 3 grams of fiber and no more than 8 grams of sugar (equal to 2 teaspoons of sugar… don’t you think that’s enough?).

Here’s a list of winners to pick from:

They are listed alphabetically (not all-inclusive). All provide at least 3 grams fiber and no more than 8 grams sugars.

Barbara’s Bakery Multigrain Spoonfuls
Barbara’s Bakery Honest O’s
Barbara’s Bakery Cinnamon Puffins
Barbara’s Bakery Original Puffins
Cascadian Farm Hearty Morning
Cascadian Farm Multi Grain Squares
Cascadian Farm Honey Nut O’s
Cascadian Farm Vanilla Chia Crunch
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal, Golden Flax
General Mills Cheerios
General Mills MultiGrain Cheerios
General Mills Wheat Chex
General Mills Wheaties
General Mills Whole Grain Total
Kashi 7 Whole Grain Flakes
Kashi 7 Whole Grain Nuggets
Kashi Autumn Wheat
Kashi GoLEAN
Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat
Kellogg’s All-Bran
Kellogg’s All-Bran Complete Wheat Flakes
Nature’s Path Organic Heritage Crunch
Nature’s Path Organic Heritage Flakes
Post Bran Flakes
Post Grape-Nuts
Post Grape-Nuts Flakes
Post Selects Great Grains Crunchy Pecans
Post Shredded Wheat Wheat’n Bran
Uncle Sam Original Wheat Berry Flakes
Weetabix