Okay you’re standing in the cereal aisle in the supermarket with a voice(s) echoing, “please can we try this”, “you never let us choose”, “your cereal is so boring”. Then your brain is pushing and pulling between ‘too much sugar’, but also ‘a four-star health rating so that’s healthy, right?’, ‘let me check my label reading card, more than 15g of sugar per 100g is a strong no, but what if they don’t eat 100g, is that okay?’ ‘This one has 50% whole grains, so that means fibre and fibre is good, yes?’ Toast it is! brain fried…..crying kids…..next aisle.
Yes, cereals with more than 15g of sugar per 100g are considered high sugar and not recommended on a regular basis for kids breakfast. So, what if we stuck to the serving size the cereal box recommended?
- Not realistic because way too small a serve
- Not going to fill you up and fuel your brain and muscles
- Way too tempting to pour more and more and more.
What if such a word as balance existed? What if we had an answer for this dilemma of, do you go for the healthy, high-fibre option that’ll give your kids the energy they need to take on the day, or do you grab the tasty cereal they always beg for, knowing they’ll inhale it in seconds, it won’t fill them up, and energy will dwindle fast? Well, why not have your cake and eat it too… or, in this case, cereal.
For kids especially, taste and texture are two of the biggest draw cards for saying yes to a food and for most kids, food that provides a tasty crunch is a yes, which the majority of ‘flavoured’ cereals provide. So, what about if we kept the flavour whilst adding some fibre to bring together the perfect foundation of an epic party-in-your-mouth kids breakfast?
But wait, there is more. Not all flavoured cereals are the same, with some options being very high in sugar with no nutritional benefit. It is important to ensure you are choosing options that add nutritional value. The cereals chosen in this post all contain whole grains (the higher the percentage, the better), they are fortified with Calcium, Iron, Zinc and many other important vitamins and minerals for growth and health. Sticking with the serving size of these flavoured cereal means closer to 5g of sugar (based on the cereals shown) plus a high fibre boost from Weet-bix, Oats, or All-Bran.
Please don’t take this post out of context. This may not be relevant to you if you don’t have any issues with breakfast eating or cereal naggers. I get lots of questions often about this, so I hope it helps you. I have listed the combos below for some ideas. Feel free to mix and match and let me know what your favourite flavour and texture combo is.
CinMinis + All Bran
Nutrigrain + Oats
Milo Cereal + Weetbix
Cheerios + Weetbix
Fruity Bites + All Bran
Want more? Check out my e-book on “Feeding Fussy Eaters.”
