When we’re in the grocery store looking to see what cereal to buy for our entire family, it’s not necessarily the cereal that has the coolest toy or prize or the cereal that’s promoted by the coolest cartoon/character like Dora the Explorer. Sometimes, these cereals may have the most sugar and the least nutritional value.

Let me give you the fastest, easiest way to choose that healthy cereal which still has flavor and tastes good.

#1. Read the Nutritional Label for: Total Dietary Fiber Content per serving of cereal.

Fiber is important because it will fill us up and make us feel more satiated. Fiber also has many health benefits such as assisting with going to the bathroom, decreasing inflammation, and helping to regulate our blood sugars.

What to look for on the Nutrition Label:
• 3 grams of Fiber is a Good Source
• 5 grams of Fiber OR More is an EXCELLENT Source (I personally look for 5 grams of fiber or more per serving)

#2. Read the Nutritional Label for the Sugar Content per serving of cereal.
Many cereals have a lot of added sugar. High-sugar cereals are a waste of money since the cereals are not providing much nutritional value to the breakfast and we’ll get hungrier faster since sugar goes through the body quicker.

What to look for on the Nutrition Label:
• 6 or 7 grams of Sugar OR Less

#3. Look for cereals without added fruit. Dried fruit can add to the sugar content found on the Nutritional Label. In addition, the cereal most likely will also have added forms of table sugar making the label hard to determine how much of the sugar is coming from the fruit or the table sugar.

The simplest solution: buy plain cereals and add your own dried or fresh fruit at home.

These 3 tips will assist with finding healthier cereals.

Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite cereals in the various stores across the nation.

Recommended Cereal Shopping List:

• Barbara’s Puffins (honey rice and multigrain and cinnamon flavors)
• Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat Cereal
• Nature’s Path Organic Mesa Sunrise Flakes Cereal (add ground flax)
• Optimum Breakfast Cereal (blueberry cinnamon flavor)
• Kellogg’s Fiber Plus Antioxidants Cinnamon Oat Crunch

By Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDN