Navigating the Cereal Aisle

Perhaps the most revered breakfast of invention of all time, cereal is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get a morning meal in before running out the door to class or work.

Everyone knows that sugary cereals probably aren’t your best choice for your first meal of the day. But what about the other options? What if you don’t enjoy fibrous twigs that look like rabbit food? And why aren’t sugary cereals ok nutritional picks, especially if the box says ‘whole grain’?

In 2004, General Mills, the second leading producer of breakfast cereal in the United States (after Kellogg’s), announced its plan to formulate all of their cereal with whole grains. This production change affected breakfast cereals such as Coco Puffs, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Trix. Although the use of whole grains instead of refined grains gave the cereal a fiber boost, it did not affect the use of hydrogenated oils or higher use of sugar.

For instance, compared to a bowl of Cheerios (100 Calories per cup, 3 g fiber, 1 g sugar) Cinnamon Toast Crunch has 170 Calories per cup, 1 g of fiber, and 13 g of sugar. The 13 g of sugar found in cinnamon toast crunch is comparable to a serving of Oreos or a glazed doughnut.

Ok, so low sugar is important? But is it as important as fiber? The truth of the matter is that they’re both important. Eating a breakfast cereal too high in sugar could cause your blood sugar to spike and then fall rapidly, leaving you lethargic. Added sugars contain empty Calories that may eventually cause weight gain if consumed too frequently. The average American weighs 23 pounds more than their ideal bodyweight. This is in part because Americans consume about 15% more Calories worth of added sugars than they did 25 years ago, during which time the obesity rate has climbed 19% and the number of obese children has doubled, according to webmd.

A cereal too low in fiber won’t keep you full long enough. Most Americans only consume half of the recommended Fiber intake per day. Fibers helps to lower cholesterol, promote healthy digestion, and promote fullness by slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract, keeping you full for longer. By consuming a cereal higher in fiber, you won’t be wrestling the vending machine for a bag of Cheetos after a high-sugar, low-fiber cereal that would quickly digest and leave you hungry and lethargic.

So, low sugar equals good. High fiber equals good. Taste equals very good. What cereals meet all three requirements? I give to you, the Top 10 Healthy (and edible) Breakfast Cereals.


Best Flakes: Wheaties (133 Calories per cup, 4 g fiber, 4 g sugar)


It’s called the “Breakfast of Champions” for a reason. After Wheat Miller George Cormack developed the cereal in 1921, Wheaties gained popularity by sponsoring baseball broadcasts. The iconic orange box has pictured hundreds of athletes, beginning first with Lou Gehrig in 1934. Major, minor, and small-town athletes have been fueled by this basic and wholesome cereal ever since.









Best O’s: Cheerios (100 Calories per cup, 3 g fiber, 1 g sugar)

We’ve all seen the commercials about the Cholesterol-lowering powers of Cheerios. The box itself proclaims that the product held within contains heart-healthy ingredients, the first of which are nutritious whole-grain oats. Whole grain oats are high in fiber, which bind to to “bad” LDL Cholesterol in your blood and remove it from your body. Cheerios get an A+ not only for being lower-Calorie and low in sugar, but for being the perfect base for cereal toppings. Bananas, anyone?



Best Cereal Spin-Off: Multigrain Cheerios (110 Calories per cup, 3 g fiber, 6 g sugar)


It may not be as well-known and loved as Honey Nut Cheerios, but it hasn’t been around for as long, either. This product contains whole grain corn, oats, rice, barley, and wheat. It’s just as sweet and tasty as Honey Nut Cheerios, but contains 30 less Calories, 3 less grams of sugar, and two extra grams of fiber to keep you feeling fuller, longer. It also provides 100% of the Daily Value for Iron, a Vitamin that about 20% of women are deficient in.


Best Newcomer: Kashi GoLean (140 Calories per cup, 10g protein, 6 g sugar)

In addition to holding up extremely well in milk, this cereal provides 13 grams of protein due to the addition of soy “grits”. This cereal is my one exception to the fiber twig rule: the twigs are there, but they’re mixed with a variety of other shapes and provide 10 grams of fiber- more than triple the amount of the standard breakfast cereal.

Best Wheat Free: Puffins (120 Calories per cup, 6 g fiber, 6 g sugar)


This product is probably one of the tastiest cereals you’ve never tried. Lightly sweetened with a touch of molasses, these corn squares would be entirely gluten-free if it weren’t for the fifth ingredient being oat flour, which some people with Celia’s disease (Gluten Intolerance) tend to avoid. Quaker Corn Bran is a very similar product with nearly identical nutrition information and ingredient lists.

Best with Raisins: Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters(170 Calories per cup, 11g fiber, 13 g sugar)


Ok, so I know I slammed Cinnamon Toast Crunch for having 13 grams of sugar, but bare with me here. Both Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and Post Raisin Bran have over 19 grams of sugar per serving. Now, some of those sugars are those naturally occurring in dried fruit, but some of them are added after having rolled the already sweet raisins in a sugar bath. The Fiber One variety of Raisin bran contains less sugar and higher amounts of fiber than both the Post and Total brands.

7. Best with Fruit and Nuts: Kashi U (200 Calories per cup, 7 g fiber, 10 g sugar)


Cereals containing fruits and nuts are naturally going to be higher in Calories than cereals without them. Dried fruits and nuts are extremely nutrient dense, so a little goes a long way. Be sure to steer clear of Kellogg’s Mueslix cereal. Although the cereal contains healthful products including raisins, dates, and almonds, it also contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil. “Hydrogenated” or “Partially Hydrogenated” anything creates a trans fat, which can lead to high blood cholesterol and cardiac disease. Kashi U is a cereal containing both fruit and nuts, but is lacking the harmful hydrogenation process. The cereal itself is a medley of wheat flakes, dried currants, chopped walnuts, and crunchy clusters made of acai berry and oats. Although far down on the ingredients list (meaning less of them), the walnuts do provide a small dose of ALA Omega-3’s, essential fatty acids critical to healthy brain and cardiac function.

8. Best Granola: Kashi GoLean Crunch! Honey Almond Flax (200 Calories per cup, 8 g fiber, 12 g sugar)



Ah, granola. This crunchy delight is often considered amongst the ranks of tofu, soybeans, and other “natural” and “healthy” foods. You may want to think again. Granola starts out as wholesome oats, but is then covered in some sort of fat (either butter or oil) and then rolled in sugar to ensure sweetness. A cup of “low-fat” granola from the Central Washington Student Union building clocks in at 460 Calories- and the bowls the cereal is served in hold about 2 ½ cups. That means your morning bowl of granola contains 1150 Calories.

A single cup of Quaker Low fat granola contains 315 Calories, 4.5 g fiber, and 27 grams of sugar. That’s 3 more grams of sugar than a chocolate bar. So you may not be able to have as large a serving of granola as cereal without the caloric density, but if you can’t skip the crunchy oat clusters, try picking a cereal that is similar to granola but lower in Calories. For instance, Kashi GoLean Crunch! Honey almond flax contains crunchy multigrain clusters that are similar to the oat clusters found in typical granola. However, a bowl of these sugary clusters contains 200 Calories, vs the 1150 Calories found in the aforementioned granola. That’s a 950 Calorie difference- the equivalent of about 5 slices of Dominos Pizza.

9. Best Unexpected Ingredient: Kashi Heart to Heart (160 Calories per cup, 6 g fiber, 6 g sugar)



Green Tea and Grapeseed Extract in a cereal? Sounds absolutely inedible. This cereal may look like cat food in the bowl, but its worth its weight in nutritious gold and honey-infused taste. There isn’t the slightest hint of the aforementioned tea and grape extracts, but their presence accounts for beneficial antioxidants. Green tea has been shown to fight cardiac disease and various types of cancer, and The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a link between Green Tea consumption and a decrease in fat. This is possibly because of a substance found within the tea known as catechins, which may stimulate the body to burn Calories more efficiently.

10. Best Shredded Wheat: Post Spoon Size Wheat and Bran (160 Calories per cup, 8 g fiber, >1 g sugar)



This cereal beats the typical Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats by being 40 Calories and 11 g of sugar lighter than its frosted counterpart. If you can stand to nix the sugar, try mixing half frosted, half unfrosted. You’ll still be getting higher amounts of fiber than the standard sugary breakfast cereal.