It is quite clear that there is a lot, even too much choice of breakfast cereals. I often get the question; What is the best grain? In fact, there are several good choices of cereals and the way to choose them is quite simple! Here are the golden rules to choose a breakfast cereal.
1. THE LIST OF INGREDIENTS
Look for a list of simple ingredients, with words you know and of course a whole grain: whole wheat, quinoa, whole oats, etc.
2. THE NUMBER OF INGREDIENTS
It is important to remember that the basic ingredient for making breakfast cereals is, of course, the cereal itself (1 ingredient). Try to choose a cereal with the fewest possible ingredients (ideally less than 5). One advice would be to gradually reduce. Begin by counting the number of ingredients on the box that you have at home. If there are 20, reduce to 15 or 10. We can reduce until we find a cereal that suits us with the least possible ingredients.
3. ATTENTION TO ADDED SUGARS
A breakfast cereal should not be sweet. Think about your bread that you eat in the morning, does it taste sweet? You have to reduce the amount of sugar added by the industry in the grain and promote the real food. Learn how to sweeten your cereal yourself, add nuts, herbs, fruits ... Become aware of what you put in your mouth. You can find on cereal tablets with 0g of sugar!
4. INCREASE FIBERS
Find a cereal with over 4g of fiber from whole grains. Watch out for inulin and oat bale fiber, which will not have the same effect on your satiety.
Here are some examples of cereals meeting these criteria: Filtered Wheat Cereals (Shredded Wheat, Muffets (Quaker)), Instant Oatmeal, Flakes of Sound (Nature Path, Blue Menu, All Bran), Alpine (No Sugar Added).
Remember that a full breakfast must include a protein, a fruit or a vegetable. Add nuts, Greek yogurt, apple, berries. You can also complement your meal with an egg, vegetables and hummus. Be creative!
Geneviève Ledoux
genevieve.ledoux@provigo.ca
Nutritionist
