Breakfast Cereal: Which One Do You Choose?

I have the same problem finding a cereal that's actually healthy--so many claim to be but even the "natural" kinds are often full of sodium and sugar.

I usually end up with some sort of "compromise" kind, but don't eat cereal all that often anymore. If anyone's found a great brand I'd love to hear about.

(That said, I have been known to buy the occasional box of Lucky Charms, a favorite treat best kept to about once a year. They truly are Magically Delicious!)

I use my mother's recipe: Oat flakes, rye flakes, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, yeast flakes (B-vitamin), dried wheat sprouts, oats bran and perhaps dried raisins, nuts and almonds (although I'm not sure about the English names...) With that I have yoghurt, and not any fat-free, I want the real taste! but then I take only 1/2 cup, French size ;-) on top of a fruit salad (no, no syrup, only normal fruit). Sometimes I do buy "normal" cereals, but I regard them as sweets, and take only a spoonful for the taste. It is the müsli that makes me satisfied.

No bought müsli or cereals are better than mum's!

I've been on the no flour/no sugar regimen for the past two months and breakfast has been my biggest challenge. I LOVE cereal! I did find some sugar- and flour-free varieties in the natural foods section of the grocery store - a puffed corn, which wasn't bad, and a Kashi puffed-grain thing which is pretty good. Other than that, my breakfast has been either eggs or organic (no sugar added) rice cakes with natural peanut butter (again, no sugar added). It's worked out pretty well.

I've never been a fan of cereal, especially when it comes to the soggy mess at the end of the bowl. I rather eat my 1/2c oatmeal softened with low-fat low-sugar vanilla yogurt with a cup of fresh blueberries/strawberries mixed in. OR...I do the whole grain toast with a smidge of peanut butter and/or jelly.

I love, love, love Kashi cereals. If I still want that old school sugar high from those Lucky Charms or Capt Crunch, I'll pour a little bit in with my high fiber, heart healthy stuff...yum!

My favorite is Fiber One Honey Clusters. It has only 5 grams of sugar, 14 grams of fiber, and it's not too high in calories. Plus - it's a little sweet and doesn't taste like cardboard like the Fiber One twigs.

When I was a kid, my mom told us we could get any cereal where the first three ingredients were not sugar. It couldn't be a tricky name for sugar like corn syrup either. As a kid I learned all the tricks and me and my brother would spent my mom's entire shopping trip in the cereal isle reading the ingredients.
We really could only get like 3 or four cereals in the entire isle.

Like Anne, I feel awesome by eliminating flour and sugar (and dairy and added sodium!) from my daily diet. So, my breakfast is plain oatmeal (no additives)....I've come to look forward to it with my tea and egg whites, and it's super simple. ;)

I eat Kellog's "all-bran buds"

It's delicious but the sering size is so small (1/3 cup)

I have to put my vote out for Raisin Bran.

Tastes delicious, very high in fiber, and best of all, its filling. One bowl and I'm good to go for most of the day, including a late lunch or no lunch at all (maybe just a healthy smoothie).

Not as sweet as other cereals, but I dont have much of a sweet tooth anyways.

Malt-O-Meal makes puffed wheat and puffed rice cereals. Not perfect, but a pretty benign nutritional profile.

Hmm...ok, so I'm boring and a cheapskate and I refuse to spend 3-4 bucks a box on cereal, so I eat oatmeal for breakfast. It's very cheap and it's high in fiber and has no added salt or sugar. I also like Quaker Oat Bran hot cereal.

i dont eat cereal, mostly becuase I've never liked it.
I often have some fruit or fruit salad and yogurt, sometimes whole grain crackers with cream cheese an banana. On the weekends i splurge a little and have scambled orgainic freerange eggs on toast with muchrooms and grilled tomato or a nice omelette with tomato's, peppers, onions and basil. yum!

kashi goLEAN without a doubt! they have a fantastic omega-3 and crunch version available now too. Personally i love the original with vanilla rice dream.

My absolute favorite: Wheatabix (only Organic if you live in the States - not that this is a downside) with a dollop of greek yogurt (my favorite brand is Trader Joe's 2%), a pear or apple on the side, and - if my sweet tooth is being particularly vehement, which is often - a quick drizzle of honey. I always eat it without a spoon, since the yogurt is so thick that it stays put. Plus, it's quick. Breakfast is my favorite meal, but in the morning I'm rarely game to invest more than five minutes in preparation.

I'm an oatmeal or cheerios kind of girl myself!

Spectra said:
Hmm...ok, so I'm boring and a cheapskate and I refuse to spend 3-4 bucks a box on cereal, so I eat oatmeal for breakfast. It's very cheap and it's high in fiber and has no added salt or sugar. I also like Quaker Oat Bran hot cereal. [...]

Make sure that you use old fashioned oatmeal (which can be prepared in the microwave if you are willing to experiment a little) and add fruit, nuts or spices to keep it interesting.

Like many other people have already stated, I'll take oatmeal if I have the time, most often cooked on the stove. I've found that squash--as in carnival squash and pumpkin--taste really mixed in, and some cinnamon, nutmeg, and even a little ginger don't hurt, either.

Without the time, it's plain yogurt and a piece of fruit for me.

Kashi Go Lean Crunch. I haven't found a better cereal that is widely distributed.

Jill said:
Make sure that you use old fashioned oatmeal (which can be prepared in the microwave if you are willing to experiment a little) and add fruit, nuts or spices to keep it interesting.[...]

I always use old-fashioned oats, as opposed to the instant kind or the prepackaged ones. The steel-cut oats aren't too bad either. I like my oatmeal with a little cinnamon and nutmeg on it, but not with fruits and nuts. And to sweeten it, I usually use Splenda. It's pretty good stuff :)

I eat old fashion oatmeal cooked with raisins, spinkled ground flaxseed. Then add walnuts, agave nectar to sweeten, and soymilk. It is delicious!! I guess you can add some spices too.

I have always loved cereal but when i started watching what i eat i was shocked. I was sure that this kind of breakfast is so healthy and good for me. Than i saw a label and i was just shocked- so much sugar and calories. Since than i have started doing my own kind of cereal;) with a lot of fruits and natural cereal without any sugar or even salt( which i was suprised to find in my fav. cereal)

I've got 2 kids so organising a cereal type breakfast is just a no-go to be honest. At weekends I do endulge with a nice big bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes but I dont feel i get any extra benefit that the 'protein powder / milk and refined oats' drink I normally have before rushing out to work on a week day. But as a child I did used to enjoy 'ready brek' (thought the glowing adverts were also tremendous) and I always did seem to be running around so it must ahve give me some energy..

I have to put in a vote for Nature's Path Optimum Slim. It has more fibre and protein than Kashi GoLean for similar calories. Plus, I like the variety of textures/flavours.

I went on a diet a while ago, and fell in love with Kashi cereals. It's probably not the lowest in added sugars(especially depending on the type of cereal) but it taste very good. And compared to the child-hood favorites its a good deal nutritionally speaking.

I like Quaker Oats' CRUNCHY CORN BRAN ... lots of fiber, low sugar, and a really good taste. And it is generally cheaper than other cereals. It's right near the big bags of generic cereal at our store. Very good.

psychsarah said:
I have to put in a vote for Nature's Path Optimum Slim. It has more fibre and protein than Kashi GoLean for similar calories. Plus, I like the variety of textures/flavours. [...]

Me too... this cereal is very good tasting and interesting to eat. I lost my taste for milk when I was pregnant about 100 years ago so I only ever eat cereal with no fat, no sugar yoghurt. With a spoon.

I grind 3/4 cup of Old Fashioned oatmeal into a blender, then I add 1 cup low fat milk and 1/2-3/4 cup fruit or fruit juice. Blend and drink. For some reason i now can stay away from junkfood. I'm serious!

I'm another Kashi GO LEAN fan. It's not the best taste among cereals, but the combination of taste and nutrition makes it among the best possible options, in my opinion.

http://store.kashi.com/golean_cereal.aspx?SID=1&Category_ID=68&

I also like the GO LEAN Crunch version, although it's a little higher in fat and lower in fiber, if I recall correctly. Both are much, much better than average, even as compared to "healthy" cereals. The Crunch is great as a granola alternative, and I like to mix it with some fresh fruit and fat-free Trader Joe's yoghurt. My only complaint is that each of the two is high in fiber, but said fiber is 90% the insoluble variety. That's just a nit-pick, because otherwise it's terrific for my athletic and fitness needs.

Do yourself a favor and try Glucerna cereal. I had it for the first time at my in-laws and was blown away by the great taste. Whole grains, super low in carbs, good fiber. And a sweet crunch. Our kids even like it.

And since it's displayed it in the grocery store pharmacy, it's possible to avoid the temptation of the cereal aisle altogether.

I love Kashi's goLean but i have a found better one...it's called Hi-lo and the profile is amazing, only 90 cals a serve and thats 12 gm of protein with a total of 3 gm of sugar with something like 5 gm fibre..one of the too good to be true varieties

Cheerios seem a staple choice, 1g of sugar per serving(1cup/28grams)

I had to let you all know about a cereal I found at Shaw/Star Market in the northeast. It's in the Wild Harvest section and called Simply Fiber by Benefit Nutrition, with 14g of fiber and no sugar. It looks a little like gerbil food but if you put berries and bananas on it, it's not bad. I mix it with a cereal that has a small amount of sugar, for a snack in the afternoon, to tide me over until dinner time. Also, Trader Joe's Bite Size Shredded Wheats has no sugar and 5g of fiber.