Cereals & Sugar

A survey conducted by Consumer Reports found that many kid-friendly cereals are loaded with sugar. Some of these contain up to 50 percent sugar in weight, that's way too much for a child to consume in just a cereal meal. Consumer Reports found that 23 of the top 27 ceral brands geared towards children were rated a mere Good or Fair. Most of these cereals are not only high in sugar, but they are low in fiber and have very poor nutritional value.

When shopping for kids' cereals, look for brands that contain about 12 grams of sugar or less and opt for a high fiber content. Some of the better cereals that scored Very Good in the Consumer Reports rating system are Kix, Life, regular Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios. The regular Cheerios have just 1 gram of sugar and 3 grams of fiber. There are also many natural brands such as Kashi which, while not marketed to children, are still tasty for kids and have better nutritional values.

Another alternative for a good breakfast is oatmeal; again read the nutritional labels and look for low sugar and low sodium amounts, high fiber and natural ingredients. Whole grain oatmeal is best.