You want to break your kids’ choco-sugar-puff-frosted breakfast habit, but you can’t risk tears, sulking or a missed bus.
The trick? Find a cereal that’s healthy and tasty. (Check out our article: “Rise-n-Shine: It’s Breakfast Time” for easy-to-follow guidelines on a healthy breakfast.)
We gathered up some of our own children to serve as taste testers at the Whole Foods in Northbrook. Patti Fell, marketing and community relations specialist for Whole Foods, gathered the 9 cereals for us. Each met the following guidelines:
- Sugar: 12 grams or less per serving
- Fiber: 3 grams or more per serving
- Whole grain: first ingredient listed
Here are the cereals in order of our 7 tasters’ thumbs up/thumbs down rating system. The first 3 cereals tied for first place, so they are listed in alpha order.
Arrowhead Mills French Toast Squares
6 Thumbs Up/1 Neutral
Taster Comments:
– Amazing, cinnamon-y
– Tastes good
– Nutmeg-y, crunchy
Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls
6 Thumbs Up/1 Neutral
Taster Comments:
– Good texture, slightly nutty
– Great with milk
Cascadian Farm Organic Honey Nut O’s
6 Thumbs Up/1 Neutral
Taster Comments:
– Favorite so far
– Looks familiar
– Yummy, tastes like Frosted Cheerios
365 Everyday Value Honey Crunch and Oats
5 Thumbs Up/2 Neutral
Taster Comments:
– Like Honey Bunches of Oats without the bunches
– Sweet and flaky, with a corn taste
– Favorite
Kashi Island Vanilla Whole Wheat Biscuits
5 Thumbs Up/2 Neutral
Taster Comments:
– Smells and tastes like vanilla, crunchy and sweet, good, but inconsistent flavor
– Frosted Mini Wheats without the frosting
– I would eat it every day
These are the cereals that were, well, less popular. Great for the adults in your household, but probably not going to be your kids’ favorite.
Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch
4 Thumbs Up/1 Neutral/2 Thumbs Down
– Tastes like strawberries
– Spicy, too tart
– Delicious
Back to Nature Sunflower and Pumpkin Seed Granola
2 Thumbs Up/1 Neutral/4 Thumbs Down
Taster Comments:
– Tastes like sunflower seeds
– I’m not going to eat the rest
– It doesn’t smell good
Arrowhead Mills Organic Spelt Flakes
1 Thumbs Up/4 Neutral/2 Thumbs Down
Taster Comments:
– Kinda bland
– Looks like it has lots of fiber
– Pretty bland
– It has no taste
365 Everyday Value Honey Almond Flax Protein & Fiber Crunch
2 Neutral/5 Thumbs down
Taster Comments:
– Very crunchy, vague coffee taste
– This is a cereal for people who like nuts
– I don’t like it
A huge thank you to our testers who tried everything! Amelia, Ben, Caroline, Eli, Emmie, Max and Sam—children everywhere send their thanks for your willingness to be the healthy cereal taste testers! Thanks to Emmie Hine for taking the photos.
