Wander down the cereal aisle lately at your local supermarket? Perhaps you haven’t. As many consumers try to move away from processed foods, perhaps opting for healthier options like oatmeal, and many more skip breakfast entirely, sales of ready-to-eat cereal have ebbed for better than a decade.
But if you still like breakfast, and like cold cereal’s pour-and-go convenience, you’ve seen that aisle lately. And there are enough varieties to drive the old Cocoa Puffs bird cuckoo.
(By the way, bypass the Cocoa Puffs. With 150 milligrams of sodium and 12 grams of sugar, you can do a lot better. But if you’re reading this story, you probably guessed that.)
That’s why we’re here to help. Here are three old-favorite cereal choices, some healthier options to consider, and finally some varieties to avoid (all values for cereal only, one-cup serving, according to caloriecount.com).
CORN FLAKES
The venerable ready-to-eat staple isn’t a terrible choice (100 calories, 0 grams fat, 24 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams sugar, 2 grams protein, 1 gram fiber), but in the 120 years since Kellogg was granted a patent, healthier choices have emerged. Also, if you’re trying to avoid GMOs (genetically modified organisms), it’s hard to do with corn and corn products.
Consider instead: Post Grape Nuts Flakes (110 calories, 1g fat, 24g carbs, 3g fiber, 4g sugar). An appealing flake high in dietary fiber, iron, vitamin A and B vitamins.
Keep on walking: Kellogg’s Corn Pops (not for nothing were they once called Sugar Corn Pops; even the current incarnation takes the sugar count to 15g); Cap’n Crunch (12g sugar).
WHEATIES
The outside is famously graced by accomplished athletes, but is what’s inside the best choice to help get them there? The former Breakfast of Champions has lost a lot of its market share in part, as Business Insider put it, “Wheaties is too healthy for junk food lovers yet not healthy enough for the health food crowd.”
On the surface, Wheaties has some good numbers (100 calories, 22g carbs, 3g fiber, 4g sugar). But look at the sodium: Almost 200 milligrams, which is what you’d expect in the bagged-snack aisle.
Consider instead: Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oats: Twice the fiber, half the sodium.
Keep on walking: Past the puffed-wheat options like Post Super Golden Crisp and Kellogg’s Honey Smacks. Once Super Sugar Crisp and Sugar Smacks, respectively, they dropped sugar from the name if not entirely from the recipe (15g per serving).
CHEERIOS
A toddler’s snack-cup staple isn’t a bad choice for mom and dad, either (100 calories, 20g carbs, 2g fat, 3g fiber, 1g sugar).
Consider instead: You could go Kashi, but Cheerios are fine.
But. Just. Cheerios.
Period.
Keep on walking: Past any other cereal with “Cheerios” in the name. Dr. Timothy Harlan writes in drgourmet.com, “There are 11 varieties of Cheerios now and you should not eat 10 of them.” Chocolate Cheerios, for example, take the sugar content up to 9g. Frosted Cheerios spike it to 10g. Even the healthy-sounding Honey Nut Cheerios, a bigger seller than original Cheerios, have 9g of sugar, suggesting that “honey” and “nuts” aren’t the only additions.
If you’ve changed your mind about cereal, here are some quick and healthy breakfast options.