Healthy breakfast cereals for kids?

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Christy

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I have tried to search the internet for a listing of healthy breakfast cereals for the kids. I found a few different bits & pieces but nothing concrete. From what I have found out so far porridge seems to be one of the best options, after that I heard that Shreddies, Shredded Wheat and Weetabix are among the better ones. Does anyone know of any research carried out on this and if so what the outcome was.

Thanks

Christy
 
I recall an article on this recently on "Which" magazine? I think your conclusions are about right. See below:
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Christy said:
I have tried to search the internet for a listing of healthy breakfast cereals for the kids. I found a few different bits & pieces but nothing concrete.
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Probably because concrete is not very nutritious.
 
What about some of the muesli type options?

Country Store (being sweeter)is probably more palatable for kids than say, Alpen or similar. Although the reasons why it is sweeter could be questionable.
 
Most breakfast cereals are high in added salt and sugar. "Muesli" like Country Store or Alpen is packed with sugar. Lifeforce Muesli and some other similar recipes have no added sugar/salt - just oats, nuts/grains, fruit etc. It's also very easy to make your own muesli. You could do a lot worse than a bowl of fresh fruit, some Lifeforce Muesli and milk or yoghurt.
 
I thought I was being good eating alpen! Just flicked through the which article looks like i'm switching to shredded wheat from next week. The alpen was great cause I wasn't getting hungry until lunch time, when I eat porridge I'm starved by 11!! which makes no sense cause its meant to keep you full. Very depressed at all the sugar/salt/fats listed in the majority of the cereals.
 
Health food shops do a cereal like sugar puffs, but the sweetness comes from honey instead. Can't think of the brand but I reckon most of those shops stock them.

But porridge is your only man - keep those young 'uns going til lunch! Honey is nice in porridge to sweeten it and a friend uses maple syrup - bit bold, but might win over your children.
 
Porridge or Wheetabix works with us most mornings, though you may need to allow the kids to add a spoonful of honey or a few strawberries, not the worst additions, into the porridge. Porridge fills them up for the hours ahead but, also because the carbohydrates in oats are absorbed by the body slowly, they won't be as hungry between meals. Porridge contains essential fatty acids, as well as more fibre than many other cereal and is a great source of vitamins E, B1 and B2. There is even a microwaveable form if you don't have time in the mornings

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3238131.stm
[broken link removed]http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,2763,1398457,00.html
 
Oats are the coming thing it would seem.....Oatabix is new on the market, isn't it? Agree the best is porridge but the trick is to "sell" it to the kids unlike when I was young(er!) adn forcefed the stuff so that now I can't stand it!
 
Porridge with Allbran mixed in is lovely. It gives the porridge a malty taste similar to shreddies. There's a bit of sugar in the Allbran of course but the Allbran might be better for you than just sugar.

Soaking the porridge overnight saves time in the morning too if you don't want the microwavable stuff.
 
Bit of a muesli addict (as you might guess!) - this is nice:

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I wish I could get my two toddlers to eat something healthy for breakfast. We started off great- followed Gina Forde and Annabel Karmel. Oh sure we had the baby blender on full blast every morning whipping up fantastic fresh fruit and oaty concoctions. Then there was a gradual decline over time, so gradual I hardly noticed it. Now they will only eat coco pops....:eek: How did I get to this sorry state? And is there any way back from the brink of cereal hell?
 
My son is only 21 mths but he either gets weetabix or readybrek/porridge with a handful of rice krispies thrown in for texture and a teeny drizzle of golden syrup (really must switch to honey) for flavour. For the moment he seems happy enough with this, but he always raids the cheerios box at his nanas and my Special K too.
 
Vanilla said:
I wish I could get my two toddlers to eat something healthy for breakfast. We started off great- followed Gina Forde and Annabel Karmel. Oh sure we had the baby blender on full blast every morning whipping up fantastic fresh fruit and oaty concoctions. Then there was a gradual decline over time, so gradual I hardly noticed it. Now they will only eat coco pops....:eek: How did I get to this sorry state? And is there any way back from the brink of cereal hell?
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Hmmm, this sounds like the novelty wearing off and methinks the mammy is to blame! The poor toddlers probably yearn for their healthy diet once more (feeling guilty yet?:D )

Time to bring out the blender once more! Think of that bprogramme "honey, we're killing the kids..."
 
I have notice thats not all cereals of the same type are the same. So take Alpen, theres a low sugar one in a blue box, but tescos own brand low sugar muesli is even lower in everything according to the packet. (last time I looked anyway) . Some of cereals you might think are good for you are actually loaded with salt. I think Special K has lots of salt. So you have to compare the ingredients on the side of the specific packs of specifc brands. Don't assume all Muesli is the same. Ditto the other types of cereal. I seem to remember rice krispies weren't bad, but I'm open to correction.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=391422005

I haven't checked them in a while to be honest. Must to another scan next time I'm there.
 
Welfarite said:
Oats are the coming thing it would seem.....Oatabix is new on the market, isn't it? Agree the best is porridge but the trick is to "sell" it to the kids unlike when I was young(er!) adn forcefed the stuff so that now I can't stand it!
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Watch out for the added sugar: unlike Weetabix (which is good and healthy), Oatabix has sugar in it. Talk about regressive steps.....

I knew there were some bad ones out there, but I couldn't believe the Which article where some cereals are more than 50% sugar by weight.
 
Hi Guys,
Cane or Brown sugar is also lovely on porridge. My friend loves banana and dried cranberries on hers. Cinnamon is also a big thing here on your "oatmeal". A little cimmamon and brown sugar together is delish! It's better than the regular white refined stuff and u dont need as much of it.

Weetabix have only become widely available here in US in the last couple of years. ($3.79 a box..how does that compare to home?). One novelty way to make them appealing to kids is to use cookie cutters to cut shapes into them....and pour just enough milk in the bowl to soak them plus a little extra in the bowl. A few raisins for eyes, nose, etc... Kids like the faces and theres more texture when theyre not all mushy in the bowl.

The big thing with anyone is variety..mix it up...weetabix one morning, porridge another, plain yogurt with some apple,orange, strawberry, blueberries are excellent another...same thing every day will make anyone dread breakfast time.

Anyone remember getting a boiled egg in a cup with butter?? I loved it with brown bread!!

Moderation here, as in all things is the key.
 
Mine get porridge with raisins, or sometimes with a bit of jam (thats weekend stuff!).

Anyone remember getting a boiled egg in a cup with butter?? I loved it with brown bread!!
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Thats still my ultimate comfort food.
 
The one thing I love watching in the supermarket is the kid telling the Mother that they want to try such and such a cereal. When you look at that particular cereal its always the one with the best free toy that week.
 
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