Nutrition Tips: Healthy Cereals

Trying to do the right thing but it's confusing trying to read all the labels on those cereal packages at the stores these days. Here is a list distributed by the Children's Hospital of Boston to help make it easier to make sure your kid's start the day on the right nutritional note.

Crunch Your Way to Better Health
Healthy Breakfast Cereals

Healthy cereal that is tasty can be found! If you're wondering if your cereal meets the cut, compare the label on the box to the standards listed below.

If your favorite cereal doesn't make the cut, try using less of it and mixing it with some of one of the healthiest cereals below. We’ve come up with three lists of cereals based on the following healthy criteria: amounts of calories, sodium, carbohydrates, trans fat, and fiber:

"Healthiest Choice" Cereals, "Sweet, High Fiber" Cereals, "Better than Most" Cereals

Healthiest Choice Cereals
At least 4 out of 5 of the following criteria are met:
Low Calorie 160 or less per serving, Low Sodium 200mg or less per serving, Low Carbohydrate 25g or less per serving, Trans Fat Free, High Fiber 3g. or more per serving

If all 5 criteria aren’t met, the one it did not meet is in parentheses next to the name of the cereal. If a cereal has extra high fiber content (6 or more grams), that is also mentioned in parentheses.
Arrowhead Mills Nature O's, Back to Nature Hi-Lo, Barbara's Crispy Wheats (sugar) , Barbara's Grain zs, Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls, Barbara's Soy Essence, Cream of Wheat (low fiber), Erewhon Instant Oatmeal, GM Fiber One (extra fiber), GM Cheerios, GM Multigrain Cheerios, GM Total Whole Grain, Grainfields Toasted Oats (low fiber), Grapenut Flakes (trans), Health Valley Blue Corn Flakes, Health Valley Healthy Crunches & Flakes, Health Valley Organic 7-Multigrain Flakes, Kamut, Kashi to Good Friends (sugar)(extra fib), 􀂃 Kashi Breakfast Pilaf (calories)(extra fib), Kashi Go Lean (sugar)(extra fib), Kashi Heart to Heart, Kashi Medley (low fiber), Kashi Puffed (low fiber), Kellogg's All Bran (sugar)(extra fib), Kellogg's Bran Buds(sugar)(extra fib), Lifestream Flax Plus, Mother’s Toasted Oat Bran, Nature's Path Heritage Bites (sugar), Nature's Path Heritage O's, Nature’s Path Oaty Bites - Organic, Nature’s Path Optimum Slim(extra fib), New Morning Oaties, Nutlettes Soy Cereal, Post Shredded Wheat N' Bran (extra fib), President's Choice Ancient Grains, Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Oatmeal, Shredded Wheat, Trader Joes Apple Cinn. More & Less, Uncle Sam Cereal (extra fiber), Wheatena, Wheetabix

Sweet, High Fiber Cereals
High Fiber 3g or more per serving, Greater then 26g of carbohydrates per serving
Recommended for those who need fiber and aren’t as concerned about carbohydrate intake, their weight or their triglyceride level:

Barbara’s Bite Size Shredded Oats Crunch, Barbara’s Shredded Oats Vanilla Almond, GM Honey Nut Clusters, GM Multi-Bran Chex, GM Oatmeal Crisp Raisin, GM Oatmeal Crisp Triple berry, GM Wheat Chex, Healthy Valley LF Granola, Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Kellog’s Frosted Mini-Wheats, Post Frosted Shredded Wheat, Trader Joes Organic Golden Flax Cereal, Trader Joes Organic Morning Lite, Trader Joes Very Berry Clusters

Better Then Most Cereals
Fiber 2g, Total Carbohydrates 26 g or less
The following cereals are better than most cereals:

Barbara’s Cocoa Crunch Stars, Barbara’s Honey Crunch Stars, Barbara’s Puffins Peanut butter, Cascadian Farm Multi Grain Squares, Cascadian Farm Honey Nut O’s, GM Berry Burst Cheerios Strawberry

SOURCE: Children's Hospital Boston