HI,

I am new here but have been lurking for a while. I have learned through these forums that my Special K (Vaniila Almond OR Carb Fit) are not that great to eat for breakfast. Which cereals do you recommend that aren't totally gross.

Thanks

Well, I don't think these are "totally gross":

Uncle Sam flax cereal (I like this stirred into yogurt);
Post whole wheat shredded wheat (with Splenda, milk and some blueberries);
oatmeal (not instant) cooked with some "brown sugar" sweetner;
All Bran extra fiber with milk and Splenda

LOL Well, totally gross is definitely a matter of personal taste but I love Kashi 7 in the Morning. It is sort of like Grape nuts but not nearly as hard. I don't really like it plain but if I add fresh fruit, it's terrific.

Any of the Kashi cereals may be something you'd like to try. Pretty high fiber, low sugar for the most part. They also now have flavored oatmeal packets too.

Peg

Wait, whats wrong with Special K?

From what I understand, Special K isn't BAD but there are a lot better options out there. Spec K is on the low end with fiber and has more sugar added than say, Kashi or Fiber 1/All Bran etc. Sometimes you can mix Spec K with a high fiber cereal if the taste is an issue. Just a thought...

Thanks for the replies. I am going grocery shopping this weekend and will look for Kashi cereal

Probably the healthiest cereal around (not to mention the best value) is your basic old-fashioned oatmeal. (I stay away from the oatmeal packets as they generally have lots of sodium, sugar, etc.) If you nuke it, oatmeal is easy to make - I just mix the oats and water in my 'oatmeal bowl' and usually add some frozen blueberries, Splenda, and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, depending on what I want that day!

There are so many cereals out there...my husband is a bona fide cold cereal addict - so I try and select ones that he will enjoy and that are as healthy as possible. His favorites right now are Puffins from Barbara's Bakery - especially the Peanut Butter flavor which he says tastes like Capn Crunch PB cereal. A 3/4 cup serving has 110 calories and only 6 grams of sugar. Another favorite of his is Quaker Corn Bran. The only Kashi cereal he likes is Go Lean Crunch, which I don't buy often because he tends to eat almost half a box at one sitting. (it's one of those products that is healthy, but is REALLY easy to go overboard on) And of course the old standbys, which are Cheerios, Raisin Bran and Wheaties. I do buy him the Special K with Red Berries, but not very often (I like to get him a 'fun healthy' cereal and a 'healthy healthy cereal' when I shop).

I would advise to definitely read labels when you're in the cereal aisle. There are a lot of cereals out there now that are advertised as healthy (I've noticed all of the General Mills products have "whole grain" banners on them!) but really are not all that healthy, especially if you're trying to cut calories. First one that comes to mind is Grape-Nuts, which is probably the highest calorie cereal out there - check out the nutritional info on the side and you'll see that a 'serving' of Grape-nuts is very, very small indeed! Another one is "Cracklin' Bran" - of course many people would see that it is a "bran" cereal and figure, oh well, then it's healthy, but it's got quite a few calories and sugar in there.

Summary - if you're going to use cold ready-to-eat cereals, educate yourself by reading the nutritional information on the side of the box.

What I generally get: Cheerios, Shredded Wheat, Barbara's Bakery Puffins and Shredded Oats, Post 100% Bran. It's true grape-nuts are very calorically dense, but a little bit mixed into plain ff yogurt can be a good snack that will keep you full a long time.

I agree with MrsJim....oatmeal is the best in my opionion. ....

It would depend on how many calories, fat, etc. you are wanting to spend. When I want something sweet and sugary for breakfast I mix a serving of Fiber One (I think that is the name of it) with a half of a serving size of a sweeter cereal. It helps to make the Fiber One taste better, but I would still get the sweet, forbidden cereal taste as well. It is higher in calories to go this route, but it fills you up and gets you almost your daily intake of fiber in one meal.

I have to give another nod to Kashi go lean crunch. I love that stuff. I always use a measuring cup with it though, because it's *very* tasty. My cold weather favorite is steel cut oats, I much prefer this variety of oatmeal to the regular kind. It's got a great texture. I just learned that you can make it in the microwave if you have a tall enough bowl.

I really like Quaker Oat Squares -- it's quite high in iron and has 4 g of fiber. Perhaps a bit high in sugar (9 g), but it's not too sweet for me. I like the Kashi Go Lean Crunch too, and will definitely be hitting the oatmeal when it gets cooler. I used to buy instant, but if I can microwave the "regular" -- mmmm.

Mrs. Jim, do you just buy the "instant" oatmeal in the big box?

I'm yet another fan of both Kashi GoLean and GoLean Crunch. Verrry tasty. There's another one I've recently found at WalMart called Optimum Power Cereal. It's a little higher in the calories, but it's a very hearty cereal, and very satisfying.

As far as oatmeal goes, I've fallen in love with the Quaker Weight Control banana bread oatmeal. Yum Yum Yum!

Kashi Strawberry Fields is pretty awesome. I'm also a fan of plain 'ol hot oatmeal.

How about just ordinary cornflakes? I know that they contain less fiber than Bran flakes and stuff but there's also less sugar added.