Here we go with week2 of Benefits of Cereal Month and this week I’m going to throw at you the "Truth Behind the Bowl" - and see if I can help dispel some cereal misperceptions. You know the ones – “it ain’t nutting but a bowl of sugar”, “It contributes to kids getting fat” and so on & so forth.
I too, had some of those notions in my head (but being a busy, shiftless & lazy mom – shrugs & pours cereal) and after this week of study & comparison, I’m not so trifling after all.
Let me share some of what I found out:
"Your child´s favorite cereals may actually help fight childhood obesity," said Dr. Keith Ayoob Ed.D., RD. "Cereal provides key nutrients that are important to overall health and cereals, including sweetened cereals, provide less than 5 percent of a child´s daily sugar intake."
In addition, did you know cereal is lower in calories and higher in nutrition than many other breakfast options like bagels with cream cheese and pancakes?
- A 2009 study of children aged 6 to 18 shows cereal eaters have healthier body weights than those who don´t eat cereal, regardless of sweetness level.
- Cereal eaters consume less fat than non-cereal eaters.
- Not all cereals are equal and it´s important to read the labels -- General Mills is proud of its commitment to reduce sugar in all of its kids´ cereals to single-digit levels per serving.
- General Mills has more than 30 nutritious cereals with 130 calories or less per serving.
I decided to take a moment and read the nutrition labels of one of Princess Cara’s favorite cereals Trix (with 1/2c of 2% milk) and compare it to her other all time favorite Waffles (2 w/syrup) and was CERTAIN the Trix would lose…NOT
Trix w/2 % Milk vs. 2 Waffles w/Syrup
160 Calories, 15 from Fat 180 Calories, 60 from Fat
Fat: 1.5 g Fat: 6 g
Carbohydrates: 27 g Carbohydrates: 26 g
Dietary Fiber 1g Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 10g Sugars 2g
Potassium 50mg Potassium ZILCH = 0
Sodium 180mg Sodium 420 mg – DaHell
Vitamin A 15% Vitamin A 20%
Vitamin C 10% Vitamin C ZILCH = 0
Vitamin D 25% (15% + w/milk) Vitamin D ZILCH =0
Iron 25% Iron 20%
Calcium 25% Calcium 20%
B6 25% B6 20%
B12 25% B12 20%
Protein ZILCH = 0 Protein 4g
Yeah, I was impressed. We are going to keep going with the cereal. She eats it. It’s nutritious. Wham, Bam, Thank you, Ma’am.
We got the chance to eat more great cereal with this wonderful gift pack pictured above. The bowls are PERFECT portion controlled sized (yeah, ladies & gents just for you who are looking for ways to control how much you pour out in the soup bowl you’ve been using).
TiffanyInHouston won the last prize drawing. That was WAY too easy as ONLY TWO OF YALL EVEN BOTHERED TO COMMENT!!! N.E.WAY…
…if you would like to have this nice bowl & spoon set and sample cereals, leave me a comment…any comment will do…and I’ll randomly pick a winner on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22nd.
General Mills provided you with the free product, information, and gift pack through MyBlogSpark.
