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What’s in your cereal?

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Finding “real food” boxed cereal is not the easiest thing to do! But I know not everyone is looking for perfection so today I’m going to give you the low down on some of the bad, better and best options that are out there. Our personal favorite cereal is homemade granola, but we do buy boxed cereal on occasion for the kids or house guests.

My Rules for Cereal

  1. Nothing Artificial
    If the cereal looks neon in color or contains artificial sweeteners (or flavors) then just move right along. This one is a non-negotiable for me!
  2. Whole Grains
    Is the cereal 100% whole grain? Or does it at least contain more whole grains than refined grains (i.e. what’s listed first on the ingredient label)?
  3. Low or No Sugar
    Does the cereal contain added refined sugar (listed under a variety of names such as cane juice, rice syrup, agave, corn syrup, etc.)? If so, how high up is it on the ingredient list and how many grams of sugar are listed on the nutrition label? Ideally I prefer options with no more than 2 or 3 grams of added sugar per serving.
  4. Short List of Ingredients
    The longer the list of ingredients the more (unwanted) additives a product likely contains! Shorter is better in most cases.

Breakdown of Cereals

There are of course so many things we could consider when looking at cereals, but based on my criteria …here’s how some of the more popular brands stack up!

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food

Really Bad (The Worst Offenders!)

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - honeysmacks

What's in Your Cereal on 100 Days of #RealFood - Fruity Pebbles

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - cocoa pebbles

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - frosted flakes

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - froot loops

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Honey Bunches of Oats
Even with all the research I’ve done, I was a little surprised this was one of the worst offenders. I used to love this cereal and eat it often! Grrr…

Bad

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Special K

What's in Your Cereal on 100 Days of #RealFood - Rice Krispies

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Puffins

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Life

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Corn Pops

What's in Your Cereal on 100 Days of #RealFood - Honey Nut Cheerios

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Lucky Charms

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Golden Grahams

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Heartland Granola

Better

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Cheerios

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Total

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Rice Chex

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Kix

What's in Your Cereal on 100 Days of #RealFood - Wheat Chex

What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Ezekiel

Best

  What's in your cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Puffed Corn

Whats in Your Cereal on 100 Days of Real Food - Shredded Wheat

Is this post going to change what breakfast looks like at your house? I’d love to know the details in the comments!

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Comments

  1. I would highly suggest to remove KIX from the better list. It contains Trisodium Phosphate. TSP is a chemical used to breakdown paint and other things. TSP is a very very very harmful chemical if eaten straight out the box. These people put it in our cereals. I find it crazy that the FDA allows such a harmful chemical in our food.