The problem is that "smart choice", as a term, is too subjective. To some, a Nature Valley granola bar is a "smart choice" but I personally think there is tons of junk in it (it is truly not much different than a chocolate bar).

Some people truly believe that an artificially flavoured 50 calorie low-fat yogurt or high-sodium low-fat frozen meal is a smarter choice than a 300 calorie avocado or serving of nuts that is high in fat. When people write their daily meal plans on here, this is quite evident. It is too subjective. My smart choice is not your smart choice.

Hence, people must educate themselves about labels and learn what they can personally accept into their bodies.

I feel awful now. I just bought a box of Fruity Cheerios. Are those bad too?

wannabe, i dont have any info for fruity cheerios, just take a look at the label and check out how much sugar they have!

this makes me sad. it is a sad world when all the news does is report how obese we are, and then they break for a commercial where mcdonalds tells us about their "healthy" chicken nuggets. people trust labels like "low fat" "whole grain" or "smart choice" to mean that the item theyre eating is good for them. in fact, most of these terms are fairly relative. i wish labels like this would just be banned, then maybe people would actually read the true nutrition label and realize what theyre really eating.

Nutritional info is here:

http://www.cheerios.com/ourCereals/F...rios_home.aspx

They are corn + sugar. A serving is 27 grams. Each serving has 9 grams of sugar. My math isn't great, but that sounds like 30% sugar to me.

I wouldn't say these are "bad" but I wouldn't consider them healthy in any way.

My biggest personal issue with cold cereal - it just doesn't fill me up in the morning. Something about the carby sweetness just sets off raging carb munchies that can last for hours. So, I admit to a certain bias!

Some ingredients: 9 grams sugar, corn syrup, salt, plus some scientific terms (is "blue" an ingredient now?)

Again, what is healthy for someone may not be healthy for another. I wouldn't touch it - 9 grams of sugar and corn syrup? Plain oats are a much healthier option. No, it doesn't taste as good - but food is meant to fuel your body, not for pleasure, and part of that realization is what helps people make proper choices.

Check this out!!
http://www.hersheys.com/products/det...ersheysbar.asp

That is the nutritional information for a hershey bar.

27 gram serving is 9 gram sugar for CHEERIOS!

43 gram serving is 24 gram sugar for CHOCOLATE BAR!

Oh, I don't know that I agree with THAT. But I get a lot of pleasure out of knowing that I've made HEALTHY choices, and that, on top of the pleasure I get from eating things that are both healthy AND delicious, is much more than whatever pleasure I got from junk in the past. In fact, once I started making foods that were both healthy and delicious, the junky stuff started tasting REALLY gross to me. But healthy and pleasurable/tasty/groan-worthy-delicious don't have to be contradictory!

I like how the website listing the nutrition info on the fruity cheerios brags about the sugar, vitamins, and whole grains, and then says:

"But, more importantly will give your kids the flavor they adore!"

Wha--? So flavor's more important than nutrition . . . if I followed that rule when it comes to processed food I'd be in a lot of trouble.

Anyway, I feel lucky I'm pretty good at reading labels as it is, and can still find flavorful things that are nutritious. Funny how most of those things don't even come with a nutrition label though, like broccoli, oranges, blueberries, etc.

Well, some kids can be pretty picky eaters, and so the advertisers try to appeal to moms by saying their kids will eat this. I think it's terrible to start kids off with high-sugar foods, but I've also seen some pretty desperate parents. And advertisers take advantage of that.

Jay

I have been a junky eater most of my life, but one thing I think I did right was to really limit the sugar my kids got early in life. I think they were probably in elementary school before either one of them ever got their hands on a full-sized candy bar and THAT was not a common occurance. I didn't buy the sugary cereal or the sugar-laden yogurts or the lunchables ::::shudder::::. So now I have two young men who really don't care that much for sugar. If I make cookies, they'll each have a couple and be done with it; the cookies will get old before they get eaten (unless mommy has her way with them, LOL).

So I think it has to start young. Personally, all this talk of Froot Loops is making me hungry. I know they're crap but it sure sounds good right now, even though I just ate a HUGE fresh pear.

My mother was the same way with me.. And to this day I do not like sweets. I will eat certain pies if they are not too sweet and thats about it. I will only eat cake if there's no icing. The only candy i ever loved was Kraft caramel squares and can only eat one or two of those.

The only thing I HAVE to have sugar in is iced tea but not too much, I hate ghetto tea ughhhh! Oh yeah, and also on my Special K.

My son used to love his bowl of Fruit Loops every morning...now a 6' 4" - 190 pound high school teacher and track coach, who eats much more healthy now, will be glad to see this.

Thanks Glory for the info. I don't feel too bad about it, I only sprinkle 1/3 cup on my low fat yogurt anyway, just for the crunch.

Everything in moderation is the key for me. Right now I'm trying to scale down on calories and portions, you know, like getting used to eating less food. In time when I feel more confident with that I will replace fruity Cheerios with Grape Nuts or something equally vile.

I can't say much, I often have a few froot loops as a snack, maybe ten, and I admit freely to giving my stepson a few as an evening snack with some milk at night before bed. I give him somewhere in the 10-15 loop range, nowhere near an entire serving - I weighed one once so I know. Do I think it is the most healthy choice for him? No. Do I read the nutritional labels of everything so am making an informed choice? Yes. We don't give him much in the way of sugary junk - very little candy in our house, we've weaned him off of the fast food that was a staple in his diet for a while, he eats wheat bread and a lot of fresh fruit. The froot loops are never a meal item for him, and he only has the few as the evening snack. I figure as treats go they are better than the mini oreos he sometimes has other places.

That being said, I don't love that they got a smart choice label. Burger King has a healthy dining endorsement from some website posted on their windows (I used to work for them, so I remember the application process) - I don't think that is the wisest idea either.

That's so funny, I love Grape Nuts. On the weekends, I usually put a little Grape Nuts on my yogurt/fruit. It's kind of a treat for me - I love the crunch! (I don't do it during the week, because I take my breakfast to work, and taking along a little Grape Nuts would be just one more thing to drag along).