If you know me (like really know me), you know that I am obsessed with cereal. Every box is a gift of delicious, crunchy joy. I eat cereal pretty much every night as a late-night snack because I always get hungry right before I go to sleep. I love to stay healthy and often try to stay away from the high sugar and artificially colored cereal. But when I look up lists of the healthiest cereals, all I see is a list of bland-tasting cardboard. Enough is enough! Here’s my own list of healthy and tasty cereal.
These cereals are all low in calories (~130 calories per serving), sugar (~5g), and artificial coloring. Healthier cereals tend to have a shorter list of ingredients. If you are looking at a nutrition label and it is a long list of ingredients you’ve never heard of, you should probably stay away from that particular brand. If you’re searching for healthy cereals, they are usually high in fiber and whole grains. Try raisin-bran or anything by Kashi. The cereals that I included in this list are still healthy, but they are cereals you’ll actually enjoy eating too!
1. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies: Let’s take the time to thank our dear friends: Snap, Crackle, and Pop. This cereal is one of my favorites, and I love the sound it makes when I pour in some milk! The only bad thing about this cereal is that it’s low in fiber, but on the good side, it’s only 130 calories for 1 ¼ cups and has only 4g of sugar. Most cereals are 130 calories or more for just ¾ cup! So, you can pour a nice big bowl of Rice Krispies and not even have to worry about the calories.
2. Quaker’s Life Cereal: This cereal is literally my childhood in a box. It’s just a happy cereal! The downside is that Life is a little higher in sugar, at 6g per serving, and the serving is a little smaller than that of Rice Krispies. But, most importantly, it is a great source of whole grains, has some fiber, and contains B-vitamins.
3. General Mills’ Honey Nut Cheerios: This one is probably the healthiest on the list. Yet, somehow, I can never seem to find it on the “Top Healthy Cereal” lists. Honey Nut Cheerios are a great alternative to regular, plain cheerios, and who can resist Buzz the Bee? This cereal is low in calories, high in whole grains, has a bunch of vitamins, is gluten-free (which isn’t very common in cereal), but is a little on the high side in sugar content. I’m also going to add that this brand uses the hashtag #MustBeTheHoney which I thought was hilarious and amazing. (To those who don’t know it’s a reference to the lyric “Must be the money,” from “Ride Wit Me,” by Nelly)
4. Post’s Honey Bunches of Oats: This one is an overall favorite. There’s something about oat clusters that are so satisfying and yummy. If they would make a cereal with just the oat bunches because I’d buy it! Anyway, this cereal is a great source of wholegrain and iron, has some fiber, and pretty low in calories.
5. Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats: I had to throw this one in because I love this cereal so much. The biggest downside to this cereal is that it’s not good when it’s soggy so you have to eat it fast. The other flaw is that it’s pretty high in calories and sugar compared to the other cereals on this list. Okay, so it isn’t really that healthy– but it does contain a good amount of fiber, whole grains, and iron, which can be missing in some of the other cereals!
6. Nature’s Path’s Panda Puffs: Nature’s Path is one of the healthier brands– I mean it says “nature” on it so we can just assume that it’s good for you, right? I included it though because it tastes so good and faintly reminds me of Reese’s Puffs cereal, except his one is much healthier and has an adorable panda on the packing. This cereal is great because the ingredients are all organic, including real, organic peanut butter, it has fiber, and is gluten-free. If you look at the ingredients, it seems to be less processed than other brands of cereal. Plus, who can resist cereal that is made up of balls of peanut butter?
7. General Mills’ Rice Chex: Here’s a gluten free option for people who like rice-based cereal. Plus, I really dig the texture of Chex. This cereal uses whole grain rice, is super low in calories, and also low in sugar. Unfortunately, there are no animals on the cover of the box, but the health benefits you’ll get from this cereal will make up for it.
8. Bear Naked’s Granola– Triple Berry or V-Nilla Almond: Okay so admittedly this one is not really cereal but granola is also awesome. I included these flavors because I like them the best, but I’d easily trust any other flavor from this brand. Granola is great because you can have it in cereal, eat it with yogurt, or simply eat it dry. The ingredient list on these granolas are refreshingly short, which is a good sign when it comes to eating healthy. They also use whole grain oats, flax seed, and are often low in sugar.
9. KIND Healthy Grain’s Granola– Vanilla Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds: We’re sticking to the granola theme for now. I know it’s not cereal, and therefore will never be as great, but it does make for a healthy and satisfying cereal substitute. I chose this flavor because it’s one of my favorites, but KIND is also a brand that’s trustworthy no matter what they sell. It’s a little high in sugar and calories, but I like that I understand most of what’s on the ingredient list. This granola uses different kinds of whole grains and contains fiber. On top of that, it has the word “healthy” in the title, so I’m just going to trust this one.
10. Trader Joe’s cereals: I really couldn’t leave my buddy Trader Joe out of this list. Trader Joe’s is my favorite place to go grocery shopping in college, so I buy their cereals often. They have lots of cereal that’s similar to popular, mainstream cereals in their own brand names. My favorite thing about their cereal is that it’s affordable, tasty, and has an ingredient list you can comprehend. Watch out though because some of their cereal is high in calories and sugar. Another downside is that you have to actually go to a Trader Joe’s to get their cereal, as it is not available in other grocery stores. If you have a chance, going to Trader Joe’s is worth it with their large selection of nutritious cereals, plus there’s simply a lot of positive energy there!
Next time you’re on the search for healthier cereals, looks out for cereals that are low in calories, sugar, and artificial coloring, but high in whole grains and fiber, with short and easy-to-read ingredient lists. I hope you find it comforting to know you can find nutritious cereal options that still taste good! Happy eating, cereal killers!