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Okay, true confessions…I’m a cereal eater. I love cereal. My pantry is stocked with cereal and I keep plenty of boxes on hand. And I’ve mastered cereal sales so I never pay too much for cold cereal. My family can all wake up in the morning and slowly take their time getting around to breakfast. But not me. I eat breakfast the MINUTE I wake up…because I’m HUNGRY when I wake up! So by the time the rest of the group gets out of bed and starts discussing what extravagant things they want for breakfast, I’ve long polished off my morning bowl of cereal.

Boring as it may sound, I think cereal is great…if you choose carefully. If you are in a time crunch, a bowl of cereal with skim milk and a piece of fruit can come in under 250 calories and start your morning with 3 food groups, protein, and fiber. And cold cereal, served up dry, can be an excellent snack when you need something to get by. I’ve been known to keep Ziploc baggies (snack size of course) stashed in my desk drawer or glove compartment to tide me over when hunger strikes.

But let’s face it…the cold cereal aisle in the grocery store is a wall of color, nutritional claims, and freebies in the box begging to go home with your kids. So what are your best bets when you hit the cereal section of the grocery store? Well, it depends on what you like. But here are a few tips to help you choose wisely, along with my personal favorites (not that there aren’t some other great ones out there, these are just some of my staples).

First, look for whole grains and fiber content. More and more cereals are being made with “whole grains.” But whole grain Fruit Loops are still pretty high in sugar and lacking in fiber. So move beyond just what the box says and check your ingredient list and nutrition facts panel for fiber content. Aim to get at least 3 grams of fiber per 100 calories of cereal. This helps balance cereals that are more dense and higher in calories by providing more fiber in the calories you get per serving.

Pay attention to added sugars. Sure cereals are going to be higher in sugar if they contain all natural fruit like raisins. But watch out for a lot of added “goodies” in cereal like yogurt coated nuts/raisins, chocolate chunks, or “cookie/candy-like” mix-ins. If it sounds like dessert masquerading as cereal, it’s probably not your best choice.

Heather’s Top Picks for Breakfast Cereal

I tried to choose a variety of cereals here to represent the whole aisle and not leave you with just a boring bowl of All-Bran every day (don’t get me wrong…I like All-Bran and you can make some AWESOME bran muffins for a quick and easy breakfast…but I’ll save that for another post).

• Multi-Grain Cheerios: With 3 grams fiber in 110 calorie serving, these Cheerios are lightly sweetened and a bit more exciting to look at than regular Cheerios. And they are great to snack on dry!
• Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats or Post Frosted Spoon-Size Shredded Wheat: A great source of fiber, this cereal provides a little more “stick with you” fullness in the morning.
• Total or Wheaties: another high fiber cereal in flake form so it is much lower in calories per serving than some of the more dense breakfast cereals.
• Wheat Chex: This is my standby. A bowl of Wheat Chex, 1/2 cup skim milk, and 1/2 a banana sliced on top…easy enough.
• Bear Naked Fit Granola: This is a new-found favorite of mine. Granola can be so high in calories AND fat. This cereal is only 120 calories and 3 g fiber for 1/4 cup of granola and has just 2.5 g fat. I love it topped on a 4-ounce yogurt.

So there you have it…some of my favorite picks for breakfast cereal. What are your favorites? I’d love to hear…I’ll pick it up and give it a try (next time it’s on sale)!