Fit Miss TV

It is a lazy, rainy afternoon so here I am relaxing and taking it easy, surfing the web to see what is going on in the world. Of course I would end up on a "health" section at whichever site I was visiting; would I be me if I didn't? I came across an interesting article discussing breakfast cereal... now, I have to be totally honest: we were pretty much raised on General Mills and Kellogg's in mornings, trying to shovel as much in as we could before we all made mad-dashes out the door to catch the bus - and we loved it. Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cookie Crisp, even Frosted Mini-Wheats, and the best part: cereal was the perfect breakfast food, enriched with minerals and vitamins, eaten with milk which is sooo good for your bones - good for us and tastes good! Well, as more and more research comes out it turns out that what we thought was great is really not, that all those synthetic minerals really don't counter the evil of the sugar. I think we all know that if you can see sugar in the picture on the box it is bad, but the real reason I think this article even piqued my interest is because it lists cereals that are generally believed to be the healthiest around as bad, including Raisin Bran, Multi-Bran Chex, Smart Start and granola. It got me thinking, and I don't know whether that is a good or bad thing just yet.

Really, what makes a cereal "good" or "bad" for you? Is it a low calories or sugar count? High fiber? Added minerals? Minimal processing??? The truth is that they are all processed and most of the minerals are synthetic so our bodies don't absorb them all that great anyways. Now that I am all grown up and have learned what I have about nutrition, I don't have cereal anymore and opt for more whole foods to start my day - but since this whole topic started with cereal I have to confess that I will not deny my kids what for so many years was my favorite meal of the day. Yes, cereal is a processed food and I still buy it - I can't help it! Even though I love to cook from scratch I am not too proud to admit and admire how convenient breakfast cereals are. They are such an easy way to start the morning off when you don't feel like moving. However, I have become picky and don't buy anything you find at the "normal" supermarket because the only things the kids will eat has a sugar content kills our dental bills, plus my patience runs thin when people bounce off the walls. I have found some great alternatives that make both the kids and I happy, though.

Barbara's Bakery brand is sooo delicious and very low in sugar, the content of fiber will vary but for the most part has plenty of it. The kids' favorites are the Cinnamon and Peanut Butter Puffins and Original Shredded Oats. The nutritional value of minerals is low to non-existent on the Puffins label, but I am not stressed about that because they eat so many whole fruits and vegetables during the day, including additional fruit with breakfast. Plus, a little bit won't hurt (emphasis on A LITTLE BIT!) and it is still better for them than common cereals. Another selling point for me: there are wheat and gluten free varieties (I have been getting into that lately.) The Shredded Oats win my Mom Award because it has fiber, protein, is low in sugar, has lots of vitamins and it tastes good, so I always make sure that we are stocked with that. If anyone knows of another brand they'd like to suggest, please let me know! I am always on a quest for healthy and tasty.

But really, for breakfast I much prefer steel-cut oats with cinnamon, fruit and honey or maple syrup, toasted sprouted bread with raw almond or peanut butter and sliced banana, eggs with fruit, etc. (This morning, my awesome hubby made scrambled eggs and sliced up berries for breakfast. :9 Delicious!) People who eat breakfast are much healthier than people who don't and every single study has shown that. It is so important to start our days out right so that we have energy and will be strong for the rest of our day. We have to be careful when reading about what is good or bad, because the author's standards may not be what yours are. What puts Cheerios on the "best" lists is that it is low in calories and sugar yet high in Fiber (3 grams) - yet who hasn't felt starving no more than 1 hour after having a bowl, or even two? I used to wonder why, but now I know that it doesn't fill us up because it really doesn't have anything in it that our bodies can use. The goal is to give your body what it needs to be able to function efficiently and optimally... but also to be able to treat yourself once in a while with absolutely no guilty feelings. Just try to estimate what your standards are, and make sure the source you get your information from has those same standards you do. ;)