How to choose a breakfast cereal

The BEST cereals contain NO artificial sweeteners, NO high fructose corn syrup and have EITHER
(1) At least 20% (1/5) of their carbohydrate grams as fiber with less sugar than fiber OR
(2) At least 15% of carbohydrate as fiber with NO added sugar (pure grains, oats).

In either case, glycemic load (rate of sugar entry into the bloodstream) is low because fiber is high, and when sugar is present the fiber content is even higher. These guidelines eliminate nearly all cereals on the shelf. For example, to meet the guidelines of (1), a cereal with 20 grams of carbohydrate per serving would have at least 4 grams of fiber, LESS THAN 4 grams of sugar, and contain no aspartame or other artificial sweeteners. Read the labels; you will be shocked at the ingredients of cereals that seem healthy at first glance. Cereals I have found that meet these requirements include Uncle Sam Cereal (with added flax; unfortunately it tastes like cardboard), one of the cereals made by Kashi (‘GoLean,’ which tastes the most like sweetened cereal in this list so choose this one if you have a hard time with foods that taste “healthier”), one by Trader Joe’s (‘Hi Fiber Cereal’) and three by Nature’s Path (‘Heritage Flakes,’ ‘FlaxPlus Multigrain’ and ‘8 Grain Flakes’). My personal favorite of all dry cereals in terms of health value and taste is Heritage Flakes. I eat this when traveling for breakfast and in a zip lock bag with dried fruit and nuts as a snack. At home I eat oatmeal with almonds, fresh fruit and milk for my first breakfast.

To meet the guidelines of (2) above, eat oatmeal, which contains 27 grams of carbohydrate with 4 grams fiber and zero sugar and no artificial sweeteners. There are several other good whole-grain hot cereals such as Hodgson Mill’s Multi Grain with flax and soy.

Add almonds or walnuts to any cereal (hot or cold) for a healthy fat source. The amount of healthy fats in cereals is too low even when almonds or other nuts are in the ingredients (you want around 25% of your total calories per meal to be healthy fats). Also add milk or soy milk as a protein source and fruit such as berries, apple, or a SMALL banana (small for reasons described below). Do not use sweetened soy milk.

Eating a breakfast consisting entirely of cereal and milk, even when the cereal is made from whole grains (such as Cheerios and Shredded Wheat) still puts a lot of carbohydrate into your body relatively quickly and can therefore result in lower energy and greater hunger 1-2 hours after breakfast as well as higher body fat levels. Slow the digestion process down with healthy fats, some protein (the milk) and high-fiber fruit. Bananas are a high-glycemic index fruit so you should buy small bananas so your intake per meal is limited. That is not to say that you should not eat bananas. I eat a banana almost every day, but I do so with high-fiber foods, healthy fats and some protein. I do not eat bananas by themselves and I do not buy large bananas.