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
- 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! - 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)? - 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. - 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! For more helpful information, check out our post about Eat This Not That substitutions.
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Really Bad (The Worst Offenders!)
Bad
Better
Best
Is this post going to change what breakfast looks like at your house? I'd love to know the details in the comments!
Tracy says
The problem is that all your "good" cereals have no fiber or protein. So it's basically empty calories and whoever eats it will be hungry again in about an hour.
Tiffany says
What about "better" cereal brands like Cascadian Farms and Kashi? Wouldn't your readers, myself included, be more likely to buy those brands than a lot of the ones listed? Thank you, though, for the well-intentioned post!
Taymar Both Elon says
I read that trisodium phosphate is in cleaners. Is this true? Because it is in the ingredients for Kix.
Catherine Lutz says
From someone whose household staples include Cascadian Farm and Nature's Path organic granola cereals, here's my question: If homemade granola is really the best health-wise, does the half-cup honey in your recipe add up to much less sweetener than in those brands (around 10 or 11 grams per serving)? Because besides the sugar content, the list of ingredients in those name brand cereals (including whole oats and flax seed, etc.) seem fairly healthy.
Shannon says
I'm wondering where Barbara's Multigrain Spoonfuls (not to be confused with Multigrain Squares) stands in the "Bad, Better, Best" rating. My guess would be "better" but there are two ingredients that I can't decipher: Tocopherols (antioxidants to preserve freshness) and Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid). They are listed last and Whole grain flour is first. There are 19g Whole grains per svg. and only 5 grams sugar
Beverly Jones says
I have noticed several cereals with "Lower Sugar" are now sneaking sucralose into their ingredient lists without any other mention of "artificial sweetening" on the box - even so-called healthy cereals like Fiber One. Gotta read those labels every time!!
Casey says
I'm really surprised you put Wheat Chex in the better category. It has BHT in it.
Christa says
I was thinking the same thing. If you don't like artificial, then all Chex and the Total have to go. BHA and BHT and TBHQ and all petroleum based artificial preservatives.
Tina says
I love the idea of rating cereals, but half of the items on this list are so obviously "very bad" not even my 11 year old would bother asking me to buy. This rating would be helpful to point out the deceptive cereals from brands such as Kashi, Nature's Path, Cascadian Farm's, etc. that most of your readers would be more apt to purchase. In my own household it's all about finding a healthy cereal that my child and husband will actually eat.
Kimberly says
We don't eat cereal in our home for the very reason that it requires too much effort to figure out what's healthy & what's not.
Ashley says
I would like to suggest Wheatbix as a "best" cereal.
Melanie says
Wondering if you also looked at any of the Kashi cereals?
Jill says
I'm really surprised that Honey Bunches of Oats is one of the worst offenders because it is WIC* approved! Kix, Cheerios, and Rice Chex is on their approved list, but Barbara's Shredded Wheat, Puffed Corn, and Ezekiel is not.
That aside, cereal has long been known to be unhealthy, in general. My favorite thing to eat and fee my children for breakfast is plain oatmeal with a little bit of salt (so it's not so bland). No sugar or cinnamon, or other additives. We eat this with a piece of fruit on the side. It's the perfect breakfast!
*WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) is a government subsidy program that gives checks to lower income women and children for food. All of their food has to be "healthy".
Kristin says
First off, do NOT trust the federal government to tell you what is healthy. Their recommendations are often swayed by lobbyists which protect the interests of food industries. Just look at the school lunch program. Marion Nestle and other food writers address it in their books.
I am guessing the WIC list includes cereals commonly available most grocery stores (General Mills, Kellogs, etc). Also the word whole grain has been tainted. For example, rice kirispies and rice chex are made with whole grain WHITE rice, so technically a whole grain, but all the healthy brown part of the rice has been stripped away. Thus the cereal is no longer healthy, but a refined white carbohydrate. Brown rice on the other hand is a true WHOLE grain with actual fiber. It would be easy to make Chex with brown rice, except that it wouldn't be shelf stable for years on end, so they don't.
If a cereal starts with rice, wheat or oats, not BROWN rice or WHOLE GRAIN wheat/oats (not sure what they call whole grain corn), it is not a true whole grain. Just read how much fiber is in the so called whole grain cereal. Joe's O's (Trader Joe's cheerio's knock off), starts with whole grain oats and contains 3 grams of fiber compared with 5 grams in a bowl of steel cut oats. While the oats are still better, many refined grain cereals have only 1 gram of fiber, proving they are not made with true whole grains.
Carolyn Rohrer says
I was in Peru last year on vacation and puffed corn and puffed millet cereals were on the breakfast buffets at every hotel we stayed in. With quinoa also served with practically every meal, I was just amazed at how clean and simple their eating was compared to ours in the USA. Several of us actually lost weight while on this trip and we attributed that to our healthy eating and daily exercise. Gee, what a concept!
Amanda says
While Puffins have more sugar than I'd like, I thought they were a okay choice for cereal Saturday. What is considered a refined grain in the ingredient list?
Jennifer H. says
I agree. This article says that "corn flour" is whole grain, so I'm confused about why she lists it as having more refined grain rather than whole grain ingredients. http://www.livestrong.com/article/466419-is-corn-flour-considered-whole-grain/
Heather says
Yep, I think all cereal is pretty bad. BHT is bad, most corn is gmo, and even the "healthier" ones are denatured extruded grains. We cut out all cereal two years ago and it has been great, and a huge money saver.
Carey says
Processed cereal isn't good for you period. I love cereal, so it's been difficult for me even 4 years after removing it from my diet. I have a corn allergy and its been a huge blessing. I still sort of wish I didn't have it, but it opened my eyes to real, whole food eating. I consider almost every processed cereal as junk food full of gmos. It's been a hard transition for my children but we eat steel cut oats, millet, eggs, and sometimes blender batter waffles from Sue Gregg's site. It involves soaking the grains overnight. My children do sometimes eat Kashi Cinnamon Harvest, certainly not an everyday thing or even monthly. Anyway, I was surprised that anyone would really even think processed cereal was ok. It's certainly not whole food.
I also agree with the other commenters, BHT is NOT good.
http://thegoodhuman.com/2009/09/24/what-is-bht-butylated-hydroxytoluene-and-why-you-should-avoid-it/
Barbara says
Carey, I agree with you. Cereal is processed food. I'm not a big cereal eater but occasionally that's the only option. If you pick an organic whole grain cereal without all the "junk additives" and sugar, its the lesser of many evils. While the goal to remove all processed food from our diet is a worthy one, there will be times when compromise is needed. I think the idea is to be aware of what you're eating so you can make the best possible choices when the situation arises.
Emily says
We live overseas where the variety of cereal is limited and almost always available is the sugary stuff like Trix, Lucky Charms, etc. This list is very helpful, as I can at least look at the few options we have and choose a bit more wisely! Thank you!
Sylvia says
Hi Emily, As I understood it, suppliers to both UK/European nations and US add more sugar, fat, and salt to the US versions. I wish I had an option to buy some of the cereals they offered while I was in Scotland.
misty says
I think Ezekial should be on the best list. The one listed here is the Cinnamon Raisin and has more sugar only because of the raisins. There are really no offensive ingredients. Their other types...Original & Flax do not have the raisins and therefore have 0g sugar. It's very much like GrapeNuts but I think healthier...I haven't looked at GrapeNuts ingredients lately.
Barbara says
I agree with you, Misty. Ezekiel should be listed in the "best" category. I usually buy the "Original" variety with zero sugar grams.
Kara says
Why don't you consider BHT an artificial ingredient? my understanding is that is one additive to be avoided.
momof2 says
I also try to avoid preservatives like BHT - so, I would not consider Rice Chex, Wheat Chex or Total good choices.
Kara says
"Great" minds think alike - was just commenting on BHT as well!
Erin says
What about Kashi cereals? So many people (myself included...sometimes oatmeal gets old) reach for them in an attempt to be "healthy" that I'm sure there are others out there that would like to see how they stack up!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
There are SO many cereals out there. Just take a look at the ingredient list to see how it stacks up.
Becky says
We love the EnviroKids Leapin Lemurs in our house. I acknowledge that they have a fair amount of sugar (8g), but I've learned to pick my battles and their ingredient list is much less scary than many of these.
Sara M says
What about Grapenuts? A favorite in our household...
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Just compare it's ingredient list with the ones Lisa mentioned to make an evaluation.
Candi says
Yikes! I never eat cereal and think I've eaten something nutrition or healthy... It is almost always as a treat or dessert. Honey bunches of oats - mmmmmm! One of my favorite ways to blow my real food program.
DP3 says
Sounds as if my maple and Brown sugar Life Cereal doen't fair well. The original didn't anyway.
Me says
Honey bunches is really not that bad. It's made with whole grains and has a v small amount of our daily sugars (our bodies actually need sugar btw). One or two artificial things will not kill a person. I feel like this movement gets a little crazy sometimes. Like, obvs don't drink soda, sugary cakes, basically things that are obviously terrible, like those more sugary cereals (but who didn't know that?). But if you're getting your veggies, fruits, grains and water, all of this extra is just unecessay unless you have a terrible allergy. Remember that the health food industry is an industry just like McDonalds or Nestle. Don't be fooled by stuff like this. You're kid will be perfectly fine with a cup of honey bunches for bfast, one online article saying that X causes cancer does not make it true. Think for yourselves.
Dee says
I do not eat processed food, I eat eggs with black beans for breakfast or steel cut oats. My son eats Cheerios as a snack but eats eggs and black beans or steel cut oats for breakfast, occasionally pancakes with pure maple syrup.
Meg says
We only eat Cheerios and Grapenuts. Dare i ask how Grapenuts compares???
Jenn says
When I looked a Grape nuts it looked just fine, actually quite clean. It's not organic, but definitely a good choice. Whole grain, 4 ingredients & 5gm sugar per serving (from malted barley I'm assuming).
Meg says
Thanks so much!
Michelle says
How do feel about One Degree Organic cereals? They are organic & sprouted and very little sugar & short list of ingredients. After nearly 7 yrs I am finally letting my kids have cereal for breakfast a couple times/week. They are thrilled.
Sally says
I love the One Degree Sprouted Grain Cereals.
misty says
Where do you buy this?
Michelle says
Whole Foods, Stop & Shop (in the North East - CT). WF had it on sale for $3.99/box today I picked up a few. They have a few varieties of O's, flakes & puffed rice.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Looks like they vary a bit in sugar content but the ingredient list is consistently strong.
Jessica Roig says
Hay algunos cereales de desayuno que sean equivalentes a los Barbara's schedded o los puffed corn en España?
Muchas gracias de antemano.
Sara Susskind says
What about Erewhon?
1. Corn Flakes: Ingredients: Organic Milled Corn, Sea Salt, 0 gm Sugar
2. Crispy Brown Rice: Ingredients: Organic Brown Rice, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Sea Salt, less than 1 gm Sugar
they have 2 or 3 other cereals with similar numbers
I highly recommend them
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Sounds like a good choice.
Mom In Cheshire says
Wish you had included Raisin Bran since I can't get my elderly parents to understand how sugar loaded it is. I will send them this link anyway and hope for the best.
Josclyn says
The Arrowhead Mills puffed corn makes a great non-messy toddler snack too! (much better than the packaged sugary "puffs" that are so popular)
Makeeba says
i really don't understand how cereals with BHT listed in the ingredients made the "better" list. i agree, cereals high in sugars should be avoided, but there are many things worse than sugar...BHT is one of them. folks, just use your common sense. besides, cereals should be avoided anyway, especially for children.
Alex says
Kix is made with gmo corn. Why would you recommend that?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi Alex. We are trying to help people make improvements to their food choices. We are not suggesting these are perfect.
Bobby Knuckles says
Might as well eat cardboard!
Courtney says
We do not do cereal, unless we have guests. It takes less than a minute to scramble an egg, and I often have hard boiled eggs on hand. We offer the kids yogurt & fruit, or real oatmeal. They are satisfied with those options and we couldn't be more pleased.
Debbie Penland says
Did you take a look at Trader Joe's O's? or Puffins? I've always loved those two...but I haven't bought any boxed cereal since I found your book. My husband really likes the granola cereal but I sure do miss my Joe's O's!
Danette says
Unfortunately when I go with low sugar cereals, my kids (all teenagers) will just add a spoonful of sugar over the top to sweeten them up. They probably end up with more sugar than if I went with a just slightly more sweetened cereal.
Anitra says
I did that as a kid. I try to stick with 5g or less (so we're OK with Rice Krispies, Wheat Chex, etc.), and let them sweeten the cereal with fruit (dried, fresh, or frozen) instead.
L Beaver says
I had read that BHT was an ingredient to avoid but it is in Chex which is listed in the "better" group.
Nancy says
Our family avoid BHA and BHT.
Tara says
I was going to point this out. BHT and BHA are artificial preservatives and you definitely want to avoid them. They are banned in many other countries and are considered to be a carcinogenic. Not only this, but my husband became severely allergic to BHT (anaphylaxis, severe hives, etc).
Critical Reader says
In which countries are BHT and BHA bannend?