Cereal Lovers Rejoice: General Mills Slashes Sugar!

CORRECTION: General Mills hasn't  lowered sugar to single digit grams just yet. (No wonder I couldn't taste the difference!) Stay tuned. I'm still interested to see if I can still satisfy my sweet tooth with a nice bowl of cereal!

I am a cereal lover. Maybe the term "lover" isn't quite strong enough. I could eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of my life. General Mills recently announced that their much loved cereals are now lower in sugar. Say what?! You mean, I can eat something sweet and not feel all that guilty?

When General Mills sent me coupons to try the new lower sugar cereal, I surely picked the most sugar-filled, sweetest tasting cereals I could find! I really wanted to put them to the test. I'm a sweets-freak. To me, cereal is like eating cookies and cake for breakfast- without the added guilt/fat/cavities. I selected Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese's Puffs, and Frosted Cheerios (hey, we're testing sweetness here, people).

I thought for sure, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch would be the true test- after all, there's "real cinnamon and sugar in every bite!" The final verdict on all three cereals was NO DIFFERENCE! I'm so excited! Now, for just 10 grams of sugar per serving, I can enjoy my Cinnamon Toast Crunch and not feel guilty for giving it to my little one!

You know they don't just say "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" for nothing. Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children’s diets.


Other cereal benefits:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children’s diets.
• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child’s diet today.
• More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

Right now if you visit here you will find a $1 off coupon for one of four General Mills cereals. Breakfast is important, wake up from good grains and sweet flavors, not a sugar high!