Worst Cereals & Best Breakfasts

As I was eating my absolute fave meal of the day this morning – breakfast, I was doing another favourite! Reading MERCOLA.com for my weekend healthy nutrition “shizzle”.

Are you a breakfast-cereal-eater? Many of you make your best efforts to eat a healthy breakfast, but did you know what the worst cereals for your health might be? You will be surprised when you read this. It is enlightening. Now, before you freak out and say “Joy, what the heck am I supposed to eat then?”… don’t worry. I’ve got some great options for you.

 

I am going to post my breakie faves after these “bad boys”.

According to Cereal FACTS (Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score), which was developed based on the best available science, in consultation with a steering committee of experts in nutrition, marketing, and public health, the 10 worst breakfast cereals based on nutrition score are:

1. Kellogg – Corn Pops (or Pops) – Chocolate Peanut Butter
2. Quaker – Cap’n Crunch – w/ Crunchberries
3. Kellogg – Special K – Chocolatey Delight
4. Kellogg – Special K – Blueberry
5. General Mills – Reese’s Puffs
6. General Mills – Fiber One – Caramel Delight
7. Kellogg – Cocoa Krispies – Choconilla
8. General Mills – Golden Grahams
9. General Mills – Cinnamon Toast Crunch
10. Kellogg – Corn Pops

Now some of these are glaringly obvious because you KNOW that Cap’n Crunch and Chocolate Peanut Butter Corn Pops are going to be loaded with more sugar than a candy bar. But the not-so-obvious cereals are the ones to watch out for, such as Special K. I used to eat this years ago drowned in my non-organic cow’s milk and some form of artifical sweetener to keep my waistline slim, or so I thought, yikes.

According to the analysis  published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association, found that children’s cereals have more sugar, sodium, carbohydrates, and calories per gram than cereals not marketed to kids. Of the 161 cereal brands reviewed, one serving of cereal equated to 11 percent of the daily limit of added sugar for active boys, aged 14 to 18 years old, and an astounding 92 percent of the daily sugar intake for sedentary girls aged 9 to 13.

Unfortunately, breakfast cereals, which were initially developed for convenience, have mostly morphed into nothing more than “highly processed sweetened grains sprinkled with synthetic vitamins”, says Dr. Mercola.

So what can you do as a parent or as someone wanting to eat your cereal for breakfast? Here’s my fave quick & easy breakfast ideas in no particular order because they are all healthy, joyous and delicious:

• Joyous Homemade Muesli
• Oatcakes, delicious bundles of joy
• Power Breakfast Smoothie
• Bob’s Red Mill Muesli
• Steel Cut oats with berries and cinnamon (you can soak the oats overnight to cook them faster)
• Stephano’s Granola. You can buy this in bulk at most health food stores. Caution: Check the sugar content.
• Brown rice pecan raisin toast with almond butter and 1 soft boiled organic egg

FOR MORE RECIPES, VISIT MY RECIPE PAGE

EnJOY!

Joy