BusinessWeek just reported that Kellogg’s cereal profits have fallen for the seventh quarter in a row. Driven by concerns about sugar and gluten-free trends, Americans are less apt to eat cereal these days than to grab a nutritional bar, yogurt, or egg wrap, often on the go.
You’d never know that cereal was in trouble if you came to our house. My youngest two sons would happily eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks if given the choice. They came by their fondness for cereal naturally. In college, while everyone else was digging into eggs and pasta, I regularly ate Grape Nuts sprinkled with raisins for breakfast, and often lunch, too. It’s quick, easy, and satisfying. And at one point, I also thought it was super good-for-me.
Cereal was invented and popularized, by J.H. Kellogg and others in the late 1800s, as a health food. But after more than a decade of reporting on health and nutrition, it’s clear to me that cereal, by and large, deserves its comeuppance. Many have good amounts of fiber and B vitamins that are important to our diet. But many are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, and even more are low in protein. Some, like many virtuous-seeming granolas, are high in saturated fat.
Now, I try to buy lower sugar options and serve it with healthy sides, but there are certainly some days when my kids’ primary sustenance for at least one meal comes from a few scoops of sweetened flakes. I wanted to see what I could do to keep cereal on the menu without sacrificing nutrition. I scoped around and talked to my dietitian sources for ideas, and here’s what I’m hearing time and again. Turns out you can have your cereal and eat it, too; just make a few adjustments to what you serve, and how much.
Be choosy about what cereal you buy.. HHK advisory board member Dana White, R.D., a mom and author of the forthcoming First Bites: Superfood for Babies and Toddlers, looks for brands and flavors with the least amount of added sugar per serving—5 to 10 grams max. This may force you to look beyond the neon-colored boxes, since on average, cereals marketed to kids contain 40 percent more sugar than others on the shelf. (Buying cereals the whole family, not just kids, will enjoy also happens to be more budget-friendly.)
White likes cereals made by Nature’s Path. Last spring, the Environmental Working Group studied kids’ cereals and gave kudos to the following:
| LEAST SUGARY KIDS CEREALS |
|---|
| Source: Environmental Working Group, 2014 |
| Rice Krispies, Gluten-Free (Kellogg's) |
| 123 Sesame Street, C is for Cereal (Post) |
| Cheerios (General Mills) |
| Corn Flakes (Kellogg's) |
| Crispix (Kellogg's) |
| Rice Krispies (Kellogg's) |
Pour some milk over it (or alongside it). This seems like a no-brainer to some, but with the advent of individual cereal portions, many kids have gotten used to the idea that cereal can be eaten by the handful, not the spoonful. One of the virtues of cereal has always been the calcium, vitamin D, and protein in the milk traditionally added to it. Just one cup of low-fat milk contains 29 percent of the recommended daily value of calcium as well as 8 grams of protein.
Don’t serve it alone. Think of cereal as an accompaniment, not the main attraction, of breakfast. “Always add plenty of fresh fruit—on top of the cereal, or next to it,” says White. And think outside the berry crate: If your child prefers grapes or melon or apple chunks sprinkled with a little cinnamon-sugar, those fruits pair well with cereal, too. And adding protein is also crucial to a healthy breakfast. Some great sources aside from milk include a sprinkle of nuts or Chia seeds (2 grams protein per 2 tablespoons along with healthy Omega-3 fats)m; a side of yogurt, sausage, or a hard-boiled egg.
Photo credit: Mike Mozart and Jeepers CreepersMedia via Photo Pin, cc
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