I've been keeping a spreadsheet of information on breakfast cereals, starting with ones from Jenny Craig, the diet program I've been on for over a
year, which says what (if anything) to add to their cereals to make a breakfast. Here are my conclusions. How about pull out the cereal in your cabinet and
see how it stacks up?
In my opinion, cereal, with milk on top, and a piece of fruit, should be a full breakfast. I hate commercials that say "part of this complete breakfast" and the breakfast would be complete without the cereal. That makes it a dessert!
Here's what I've figured out.
Serving size - cereals like to say a serving is a cup. If the cereal is full of air, like Cheerios, Rice Krispies, and most sugar bombs, a cup is only 30g, which would not fill you up or hold you to lunch. You would eat more without realizing it. A reasonable serving size is 43-56g, even if that would be a cup and a half or whatever volume wise. If a box says a serving is 30-35g, you need to double the calories, etc (or multiply by 1.5).
Calories - a serving (as defined above) should be 170-220 calories.
Fat - 1-5g is fine.
Grain - a serving should have
35-40g total carbohydrates, 5-10g fiber, GOOD Carbs (total carbohydrates minus sugar) 20-30g.
Otherwise you need to add a starch (toast) to the meal. (Note this will increase the meal's calories.)
Protein - a serving should have 4-10 grams of protein, or you will need to add lean meat to the meal. (This will increase the meal's fat and calories.)
Vitamins - Best I can tell, the most important thing on cereal is to get 10% or more of the RDA of iron.
In my opinion, cereal, with milk on top, and a piece of fruit, should be a full breakfast. I hate commercials that say "part of this complete breakfast" and the breakfast would be complete without the cereal. That makes it a dessert!
Here's what I've figured out.
Serving size - cereals like to say a serving is a cup. If the cereal is full of air, like Cheerios, Rice Krispies, and most sugar bombs, a cup is only 30g, which would not fill you up or hold you to lunch. You would eat more without realizing it. A reasonable serving size is 43-56g, even if that would be a cup and a half or whatever volume wise. If a box says a serving is 30-35g, you need to double the calories, etc (or multiply by 1.5).
Calories - a serving (as defined above) should be 170-220 calories.
Fat - 1-5g is fine.
Grain - a serving should have
35-40g total carbohydrates, 5-10g fiber, GOOD Carbs (total carbohydrates minus sugar) 20-30g.
Otherwise you need to add a starch (toast) to the meal. (Note this will increase the meal's calories.)
Protein - a serving should have 4-10 grams of protein, or you will need to add lean meat to the meal. (This will increase the meal's fat and calories.)
Vitamins - Best I can tell, the most important thing on cereal is to get 10% or more of the RDA of iron.
