My goal for this year was to keep up with eating healthy and getting my body in better shape. I have tried to get better at reading food labels and seeing especially what are in the first ingredients listed. I am also trying to get better at looking at my kids foods. They are really picky about what they eat and I know part of that is my not at least making them try new things.
One thing my kids can’t seem to get enough of is cereal!! If I would let them eat it all day everyday, they certainly would and try to. Thankfully I have been pretty good at making sure they are not getting cereals that are super high in sugar and I try to find ones that give them enough fiber.
With all the health messages facing grocery store shoppers, it can be confusing to translate what appears on food labels into nutritional needs, and hard to determine which foods have a meaningful amount of whole grain. Dr. Stork of the show “The Doctors” has some additional recommendations to help you include whole grain easily into your diet. They include:
- Start Early! The Dietary Guidelines recommend people get at least 48 grams of whole grain in their daily diets. Get a jump-start on the day’s nutrition by incorporating whole grain into your morning routine. For instance, when choosing cereal make sure whole grain is listed as the first ingredient. One easy choice is cereal with the white check, which have more whole grain than any other single ingredient.
- Make Simple Swaps. Choose whole grain versions of the foods you love. Great options include whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread or even whole grain crackers. Also, try different types of whole grain. Use brown rice instead of white rice as a side dish at dinner or popcorn, which is a whole grain, for a snack.
- Don’t Judge a Food by Its Cover. The front of food packages provide good nutritional cues, but don’t forget to read the ingredients and check the nutrition label and side labels for additional health information. Cereals with the white check even include the amount of whole grain per serving on packaging.
I was sent 5 of General Mills Cereals to try out that have Whole Grains as their first ingredient. Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Total, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms.
My kids were happy to see so much cereal in the house!! Of course, they knew which ones I didn’t really want them to have that had the highest sugar content, but let them have a treat for this time around. It is nice to see that they all had whole grains as the first ingredient, but it would be nice if some of them didn’t have such a high sugar content. Overall, we were pleased with the cereals and a couple of them we would buy again.
You can find more information about the General Mills and why whole grains are important on their website www.WholeGrainNation.com
I will be giving away a 5 pack of these cereals to one of my lucky readers!! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below to be entered to win! Giveaway will be open until 2/12/14 at 12:01 am EST.
The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I liked the Heart health,Reduce cancer risk, Manage diabetes,It helps maintain good digestive health, and<br />Weight management<br /><br /><br />Jeana O'donnell-Murphy
The cereals have antioxidants!
I liked the video about why whole grain.
General Mills delivers almost 35 million whole grain servings per day via Big G cereals alone.
I like 5 ways whole grains can change your life. I just wish that Lucky Charms had less sugar
I found out that the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that at least half of your grains are whole! I did not know that!<br /><br /><br />Christyn M
All Big G cereals have at least 9 grams of whole grain per serving; at least 48 grams recommended daily.
I've learned that "The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 48 grams daily." :-)<br /><br />(Fiona N – iceyogurt@gmail.com)
"The Whole Deal With Whole Grain<br /><br />Whole grain cereals use the entire grain seed of wheat, rye, rice, barley, corn, or oats without milling out the bran and germ. “Whole grain” means it’s the complete grain, including the bran, the germ and the endosperm. The health benefits of whole grain come from those three components working together in their natural proportions.<br /><br />The
that whole grain contains vitamins & minerals!
I didn't realize there were over 20 general mills cereals with 16 grams of grain or more
whole grains can lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and helps with wt management
I found it useful to know that whole grains help prevent heart disease.
I found the following useful since I am diabetic<br /><br />Manage diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends whole grain as part of a diabetic diet.
When grains are milled, or refined, the bran and germ are removed, leaving only the endosperm.