Let’s talk about how much sugar you or your child can consume during breakfast. I am not a breakfast eater. I would just assume give my kids cereal, a Pop Tart or muffin and have a cup of coffee for me and be done with it. After taking a second look into what I was modeling to my kids and how eating this type of breakfast could promote an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity I decided to give breakfast the respect it deserves.
Below is a brief list of some popular cereals and breakfast food and some nutritional information that may make you change your mind, like I did mine.
Cereals (per one serving size):
Foot Loops: 13 grams of sugar and contains trans fat and high fructose corn syrup
Apple Jacks: 15 grams of sugar and contains high fructose corn syrup
Corn Pops: 14 grams of sugar and contains trans fat
Raisin Bran Crunch: 20 grams of sugar and contains high fructose corn syrup
Eggo Cereal Maple Syrup: 13 grams of sugar and contains trans fat and high fructose corn syrup
Smart Start Healthy Start: 17 grams of sugar and contains high fructose corn syrup
Oatmeal Crisp Crunchy Almond: 16 grams of sugar and contains high fructose corn syrup
If you still love a bowl of cereal why not try cereals low in sugar and high in nutrition such as Cheerios, All-Bran, Total, Fiber One, or Shredded Wheat.
Maybe you are a muffin eater in the morning. I love muffins. However, many muffins do not make sound health options. Here is a list of common muffins and idea of their nutritional content.
Muffins (per serving size of 2 mini muffins):
Banana Nut: 11 grams of fat and 12 grams of sugar
Blueberry: 9 grams of fat and 12 grams of sugar
Chocolate Chip: 11 grams of fat and 16 grams of sugar
Double Chocolate: 9 grams of fat and 17 grams of sugar
Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake: 11 grams of fat and 15 grams of sugar
I will warn you that even low fat muffins contain high amounts of sugar. Eat muffins sparingly! If you decide to have one try bran, oatmeal or one based in a whole grain.
Pop Tarts? Pop Tarts give me a sugar high just thinking about them. I looked into Pop Tarts and could not find one less than 10 grams of sugar per 1 serving of 1 pastry. Most Pop Tarts contained 16-20 grams of sugar in one serving.
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