Healthiest Cereal??

In your opinion, what are the healthiest cereals??

I am looking for some new options!! I like cereals w/ a lot of fiber, minimal sugar and fat. And of course, the lower the calories, the better! :) And if its very filling too... than its the perfect cereal.

I need it to be very bland and not sugary or else I end up binging on it (eating the whole box in one day!!) and when i eat cereal, I have it with fruit yogurt AND milk, so its sweet enough!

So far, I really like: Fiber One, All-Bran Original, Nature's Path Multibran.

Anything else??

thanks :)

This probably isn't what you want to hear but Oatmeal is far superior to any cold cereal.

Kashi Go Lean Crunch and many other Kashi cereals are good. I also tend toward Oatmeal when I want cereal.

raises hand

oatmeal fan over here!!!

Thanks for your replies. :)

I do like oatmeal (w/ fruit or sugar)... however there simply isn't as much fiber compared to the cereals that I eat.
Genuine question -- why IS oatmeal superior to any cold cereal?

When I have cereal w/ milk, I'm also getting calcium, more protein and more fiber than oatmeal.

Julieraz -- Kashi cereals ARE good... too good... I binge on them (even Kashi go lean, not even the crunch, I've eaten half a box in one sitting before!! And that stuff is high in calories!!) So I avoid any cereals that are even remotely sugary now

c_jamie - you can find oatmeals that are high in fiber... not only that but I find that the oatmeal is less calories, and actually fills me up.. Cereal doesnt fill me up enough.. I'll have to eat 600 calories worth of cereal for it to work, and only about 150 calories of oatmeal and a banana with 100 calories... 

Yeah, I'd much prefer eating Oatmeal when your trying to lower your calorie intake and loose a little weight. Oatmeal is usually lower calorie than cereal, and comes in a pacakage so your mesurments aren't so screwed up like for cereal, when you put it in a bowl. And also cereal, usually people put milk..which adds some calories on.

I guess I have been looking/eating the wrong type of oatmeal than. In the past, I've usually bought a large bag of quaker oats (which I thought was the most reputable brand and healthiest??).... about 150 calories per 1/3 cup :S and only 3 grams of fiber (my fiber cereal has 14g per 1/2 cup, and just under 100 calories) I'll have to check it out the diff types of oatmeal next time I shop (any brand recommendations?) Im sure they make a great breakfast on a cold winter day too...

And if anyone has any cereal recommendations... keep 'em coming too! :)

I'm with you on the cereal thing. If I buy something like Blueberry Morning, it's gone in a day! I just can't help myself! 

So, when I eat cereal, I love to have plain cheerios with a sliced banana on top and nonfat milk. You can have a pretty large serving for only about 150 cal. for the cereal, 50 cal. for the banana, 40 cal for the milk= 240 cal. for a big bowl.

I also love Quaker Corn Bran cereal. I believe it's about 120 cal per cup. It's really yummy and has great fiber!

Both have great whole grains and are light on the sugar.

I like this Puffed Millet stuff. It's not really healthy (doesn't have like, any nutrients), but not unhealthy either, because nothing is really in it.

I can eat alot of it for few calories (and I don't get hungry), so I like it (none of that 3/4 cup for 110 calories. It's 1 cup for 60 Cals).

Though, it really is literal empty calories

I love oatmeal when I want a warm cereal.  When I'm craving cold cereal typically I've been reaching for either, Nature's Path organic "Flax Plus Raisin Bran" or "Flax Plus Multigrain".   Built-in omega 3's, 11 grams fiber and 6 grams protein (that's the raisin bran version). 

It keeps me feeling full:)

lol. i understand binging on kashi go lean CRUNCH. but how could u binge on kashi go lean, the regular one. its just puffed rice and soy pieces and stuff, in my opinion, very bland. i WAS going to recommend this cereal, but i guess not anymore. maybe u shud give it another shot, i still think its hard to binge on this cereal. and for the amount of protein and fiber, i think this cereal has very low calories.

special k protein plus. this is actually a little sweeter than kashi go lean crunch. but its a different sweet. i think this is also one of the blander tasting cereals. and for the protein and fiber packed into 1 cup, it also has low calories.

then there is kashi vive. this has a lot of fiber and some protein. however, it is the sweetest of the three. imo, its not that sweet, but if you consider kashi go lean regular sweet, this may be sweet as well. these 3 cereals have about the same amount of calories and so far i think they are the three i have found that have the most fiber/protein for the least amount of calories.

I am a cereal expert!

I pretty much only eat Fiber 1 cereal or Speciak K Protein Plus. Fiber 1 has 14 grams of fiber per half cup serving, and 60 calories. I really like eating it for breakfast as well as a snack - I usually do one cup (60 cals) with a half cup of 8th continent light vanilla soy milk, and the whole thing is 150 calories and it keeps me full for quite a while! The Special K is a little higher in calories and has less fiber, but I eat 2 servings of it on days when I have a little higher calorie intake and it still keeps me full because it has protein and fiber.

As far as cereal goes, any brand works, but you have to make sure you don't get instant - the non-instant kind keeps you full for much longer, and it takes just as much time to cook (which is sort of weird.) I usually eat about 225 calories worth (3/4 of a cup) and it keeps me full for most of the morning so I just need a small snack (usually a banana or other piece of fruit) before lunch. Hope some of this info helps!

Kashi Heart to Heart is good...but a little higher in sugars than some. I also love FiberOne because it's sugar-free, 60 calories, has 14 grams of fiber, and still tates awesome.

azndude - haha i dont know how i even manage to binge on kashi go lean, the regular one, but i sure did!! It was the only remotely sugary cereal I had left, so i gobbled it all down (this was just last week... so maybe another shot in another month or so lol!)! I honestly barely even liked it when I first tried it!!
the life of a cereal addict :(

I'll have to look into Special K portein plus! Thanks for the tip!!

many "healthy" cereals are not so healthy... they often contain too much sugar, or artifical sweetners.

the perfect healthy cereal is porridge. multi grain, oatmeal, buckwheat, cracked wheat, rye, barely, etc.

my favorite hot cereal includes: Bobs red mill: 8 grain wheatless hot cereal, 6 grain, and scottish oatmeal. They also make cracked kamut (pretty much hierloom wheat, its buttery and sweet without sugar). i make a 4 serving batch and it usuually lasts me 2 days at least.

but i do still eat some cold cereals, like ezekial 4:9 cold cereal, its very energy dense at 190 calories per 1/2 cup, but theres no sugar.

i also eat weetabix and uncle sam cereal. also i eat kashi flakes, etc. i also make my own fresh muesli, i take some oats or rolled cereals, and i add in cinnamon/nuts/dried fruit, etc. Then i soak it overnight in milk or juice. in the morning i stir in alot of plain yogurt, then i add a mashed banana or a grated apple.

Added comment: Oatmeal or any cracked whole grain porridge is always better than a processed cereal. Even low sugar cereals are digested rather quickly, even if they are whole grain. They usually add oat fiber to cereals like kashi to gain that 13 grams of fiber, etc.

eating oatmeal or raw hot cereals is usually only one ingredient, and its simple and much more filling in my opinion, since the starch is already saturating the grains. it gives you better and longer energy.

Original Post by dm84:

This probably isn't what you want to hear but Oatmeal is far superior to any cold cereal.

Or not. It depends what you're looking for. Look at what's on the nutrional label on your oatmeal, the check it compared to Total Raisin Bran. Total Raisin Bran is like eating a vitamin plus a ceral with whole grains, fiber and protien. I eat oatmeal, and it has it's place but some total raisin bran with some fresh uncooked unsalted almonds mixed in is what I prefer.

I didn't double post...

 

*waves hand*

Original Post by archer531:

Original Post by dm84:

This probably isn't what you want to hear but Oatmeal is far superior to any cold cereal.

Or not. It depends what you're looking for. Look at what's on the nutrional label on your oatmeal, the check it compared to Total Raisin Bran. Total Raisin Bran is like eating a vitamin plus a ceral with whole grains, fiber and protien. I eat oatmeal, and it has it's place but some total raisin bran with some fresh uncooked unsalted almonds mixed in is what I prefer.

 Ingredients on my tub of oatmeal: Whole grain oats

Ingredients on a box of Total Raisin Bran: Whole Grain Wheat, raisins, sugar, calcium carbonate (aka chalk), corn bran, corn syrup, brown sugar syrup, salt.

I won't waste the time listing the vitamins and minerals they enriched it with because that shouldn't be necessary.

But does cereal really need 3 kinds of sugar added to it? I don't think so. 

my 2 faves are all bran honey and nut flavoured, and fiber one honey oat clusters.

tons of fiber, tons of taste - low fat, low sugar, HIGH fiber.

Original Post by dm84:

Original Post by archer531:

Original Post by dm84:

This probably isn't what you want to hear but Oatmeal is far superior to any cold cereal.

Or not. It depends what you're looking for. Look at what's on the nutrional label on your oatmeal, the check it compared to Total Raisin Bran. Total Raisin Bran is like eating a vitamin plus a ceral with whole grains, fiber and protien. I eat oatmeal, and it has it's place but some total raisin bran with some fresh uncooked unsalted almonds mixed in is what I prefer.

 Ingredients on my tub of oatmeal: Whole grain oats

Ingredients on a box of Total Raisin Bran: Whole Grain Wheat, raisins, sugar, calcium carbonate (aka chalk), corn bran, corn syrup, brown sugar syrup, salt.

I won't waste the time listing the vitamins and minerals they enriched it with because that shouldn't be necessary.

But does cereal really need 3 kinds of sugar added to it? I don't think so. 

So you are going to leave out all the things that make it better? How convienent for your arguement.

If you don't like Total raisin bran how did you get the list of ingredients on the box? I won't be able to check till I get home.