If you are a Baby Boomer, I know you will remember bugging your mom until she bought you a box of one of the cereals that were advertised on Saturday morning cartoon shows. There might have been a toy hiding inside the box or a nifty spy kit or something equally desirable that you could order with a certain number of box tops! Cereal has been around for 150 years, but American’s cereal boom began around mid-century, tied to the baby boom.
Healthier Cereals and How to Pick Them
Cereal is a realistic option for breakfast. It’s quick and easy, and there are so many choices! Even the healthiest of packaged cereals are still considered processed food which should be kept to a minimum in our diets, but there are some healthier cereal options. There are three key factors that go into selecting a cereal that will offer the best nutritional “bang for your buck” according to Tina Gowin, RD,CDN. They are sugar, fiber and whole grains along with portion sizes. Tips to keep in mind are limit sugar, embrace fiber, check the ingredient list, power up with protein and keep portion sizes in mind. Click here to read more.
Bottoms Up With Your Cereal Bowl!
This Reader’s Digest site gives the results when they asked leading nutrition experts for their favorite healthy cereals. They said most cereals are loaded with sugar even if they have healthy sounding names, but there are some cereals with whole grain, high fiber and low sugar sitting on the grocery shelves. There was also a suggestion of how to eat your cereal that I loved. It said, “to keep your calories low and your servings large, fix your cereal “bottoms up” That means fill your bowl with fresh fruit on the bottom, milk over the fruit and then about 1/3 cup of cereal on the top. For a look at the recommended cereals on this site, click here.
What’s in Your Bowl?
Did you know that Americans buy more than two billion boxes of cereal a year? If you pick the right kind of cereal, you can hit your recommended daily requirement for fiber just by having one bowl of cereal each day. Some brands use added fiber, but eating whole grain cereals can have benefits such as lower BMI and improved cholesterol levels. To find out more about how to know if your cereal is a healthy pick, click here.
