Breakfast cereal is the ultimate convenience food and for many who grew up on it, it's aa comfort food as well. No wonder the aisles of most grocery stores are packed with cereal boxes of every shape and description. Even with all these choices, choosing a healthy breakfast cereal isn't a simple matter. While a bowl of cereal sounds healthier than box of cookies or a package of cupcakes, this isn't always the case. Many cereals are simply sugary desserts masquerading as breakfast food. How do you successfully wade through the myriad of cereal boxes with their cleverly designed ads and graphics and choose one that's healthy for you and your family? Here are some tips on choosing the healthiest cereal:
Ignore the claims on the boxes
Many people are lulled in by the advertising on the cereal box that implies it's healthy. It's important to ignore the claims and read the nutrition label carefully before purchasing a breakfast cereal. The label and list of ingredients will tell you everything you need to know about a particular brand. Think of yourself as a breakfast cereal detective and look for those hidden ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup that can make a cereal unsuitable from a health standpoint.
Choose healthy over taste then dress it up
The healthiest breakfast cereal isn't always the tastiest but that doesn't mean you can't make healthy cereal taste better with a few modifications. One of the healthiest cereal categories are the unsweetened bran cereals. Although some people don't like the taste of bran based breakfast cereals, they can taste delicious when fresh blueberries, a little honey or sugar free syrup, even a little cocoa powder or low fat yogurt is added to the cereal bowl. Another option is to mix bran cereal with a cereal that tastes better to get the best of both worlds.
Think hot
As a generalization, unsweetened whole grain hot cereals are healthier than prepared cold cereals. Try mixing plain wheat bran with old-fashioned oats or steel oats. Add a little water and microwave for a minute. Once it comes out of the microwave, add fresh berries, chopped walnuts, sugar free maple syrup, cinnamon, and skim milk and you have a healthy and very tasty breakfast in minutes.
What to look for on the label
When you read a breakfast cereal nutritional label, look for cereals that have five grams of sugar or less and are free of high fructose corn syrup. Five grams of sugar is the equivalent of a little over a teaspoon of table sugar. Look for a fiber content of at least five grams per serving with whole grains as the primary ingredient to help keep blood sugars stabilized. A high fiber content will also promote satiety and keep hunger at bay throughout the morning. Be sure to choose a cereal that's free of trans fats and saturated fat.
An example of a healthy breakfast cereal that can be tasty with the addition of fruit and other healthy additives is Fiber One Bran Cereal. With zero grams of sugar and fourteen grams of fiber, this cereal will fill you up and give you all the benefits that whole grains have to offer. With the addition of fruit and nuts, you'll have a vitamin rich, nutritious breakfast.
Taking the time to pick the healthiest breakfast cereal is well worth the effort. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you want it to be a healthy one.
