I really hate walking down the cereal aisle and seeing all the unhealthy cereals donning cartoon characters. And at eye level for children no less. If they could put those characters on healthy cereal, the kids would want those! All they are buying is the packaging; couldn’t we disguise it behind Mickey Mouse or Sponge Bob?
Ok, rant over.
But speaking of children’s cereals, here is a great article rating cereals from 1-5, “5” being ideal. The criteria include whole grains, fiber (at least 3 grams per serving), sugar (less than 10 grams per serving), protein (more than 2 grams per serving) and the ingredient list (less processed foods and no artificial ingredients). They also test them on children and take their preferences into account. I agree with these criteria, although ideally I would like to see 6 grams of sugar or less; but less sugar will get a higher numerical rating anyway.
I agree with most of their findings! I like Kix, Clifford Crunch (Cascadian Farms), Cinnamon Puffins (Barbara’s) and Mighty Bites (Kashi). I’ll include Multi-Grain Cheerios, regular Cheerios, and Kashi Heart to Heart. And all these are equally healthy for adults!
What cereals do you buy for your kids?
I will also admit that there is a certain hotel we stay at in Salt Lake that JC particularly enjoys because they have “colored cereal”.
Emily Fonnesbeck RD,CD