If you happen to find yourself in the cereal aisle, the options can be overwhelming. In one corner you’ve got your "healthy" brands, loaded with fiber, whole grains, and the like; in the other corner are the sugary confections that are basically the equivalent of eating a Hershey’s bar for breakfast.
While we all wish that kids would be happy eating a bowl of Fiber One every morning, sometimes the best we can do is make the most out of a sugary situation. For that reason we rounded up some of the most popular, sugariest cereals in the cereal aisle, and ranked them according to which is healthiest.
Once upon a time, cereal options were as simple as can be: the earliest entrants in the genre included the likes of cornflakes, shredded wheat, and Grape-Nuts. Nowadays the cereal aisle is absolutely bursting with options, many of which are super-sugary.But every cloud has a silver lining, and these days every cereal company is looking for ways to promote their brands’ healthful qualities. Whether they're adding in plenty of vitamins and minerals or adding in some dietary fiber, you might be surprised to learn that even the most sugar-filled cereals might not be entirely bad for you. So we decided to put them to the test.
To start, we took the most sugar-filled cereals on the market, which we determined in an earlier investigation. Next, we took a look at fat, calories, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, the first two ingredients, and daily percentage of vitamin C (or a different vitamin when its quantity was worth acknowledging). With sugar as no object, we then ranked them according to amount of calories relative to serving size (or by amount of carbohydrates, fat, or vitamin C if they were tied), but because we know that "healthy" is a relative term, we’ve included all the aforementioned nutrition information so you can easily compare and contrast.
We know it’s not always easy to shop for foods that will make your kids (and you) happy, so hopefully the next time you decide to splurge on a sugar-filled cereal, you’ll keep our guide in mind.
1. Honey Smacks
Serving Size: 3/4 cup (27 grams)
Calories: 100
Fat: 0.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 24 grams
Sugar: 15 grams
Vitamin C: 10 percent of daily value
Dietary Fiber: 1 gram
First two ingredients: Sugar, wheat
(Kellogg's)
2. Golden Crisp
Serving Size: 3/4 cup (27 grams)
Calories: 100
Fat: 0 grams
Carbohydrates: 24 grams
Sugar: 14 grams
Vitamin C: 0 percent of daily value
Dietary Fiber: 1 gram
First two ingredients: Sugar, wheat
(Post Foods)
3. Froot Loops
Serving Size: 1 cup (29 grams)
Calories: 110
Fat: 1 gram
Carbohydrates: 26 grams
Sugar: 12 grams
Vitamin C: 25 percent of daily value
Dietary Fiber: 3 grams
First two ingredients: Sugar, corn flour blend
(iStock)
4. Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow
Serving Size: 1 cup (29 grams)
Calories: 110
Fat: 1 gram
Carbohydrates: 26 grams
Sugar: 14 grams
Vitamin C: 25 percent of daily value
Dietary Fiber: 2 grams
First two ingredients: Sugar, corn flour blend
(Kellogg's)
5. Kellogg’s Smorz
Serving Size: 1 cup (30 grams)
Calories: 120
Fat: 2 grams
Carbohydrates: 25 grams
Sugar: 13 grams
Vitamin C: 25 percent of daily value
Dietary Fiber: Less than 1 gram
First two ingredients: Corn flour, marshmallow bits
(Kellogg's)
To see more healthy sugary cereals, check out the full list.
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