Do you want your children to eat cereal for breakfast, but do it in a healthy and nutritious way? We discover the most nutritious and healthy ones, totally recommended.
We visit a supermarket, we go to the cereal area (for breakfast, for lunch or dinner), and we find a wide variety of brands, many of them especially aimed at the little ones in the house. But do you know what they all have in common? As we already mentioned in the article why your children’s breakfast cereals are not as healthy as you think, they are all characterized by containing a horrible and exaggerated amount of sugar.
The result is more than obvious, as well as dangerous and alarming: every time your child eats a bowl of these “breakfast cereals” he is in turn consuming an average of between 24 to 35 grams of sugar; so that, each time they consume them, they cause a spike in the hormone insulin, which is responsible for converting glucose into fat.
And what is the end result? In the last 40 years the number of children and adolescents with childhood obesity has multiplied by 10. While, in Spain, it is estimated that childhood obesity has increased between 2% to 8% for girls, and between 3 % to 12% in children.
Therefore, it becomes clear that most of the world’s population has a serious health problem, especially when we are not aware of the enormous amount of sugar in most of the food products that we consume every day. In the case of baby food or food products, in fact, the problem is even worse (and obviously more serious).
That said, there is no doubt that the most appropriate solution is to banish the breakfast cereal aisle from the supermarket, and make a visit down the aisle where you will find cereals that are much more nutritious, healthy, and suitable for our children. But, before doing so, below we can summarize in a single image which are those breakfast cereals that you should eliminate right now from your pantry:
What are the healthiest cereals, ideal for our children’s breakfast?
The truth is that we do not have to look long to find cereals in the supermarket that are nutritionally adequate, and that in fact become a healthy and recommended option not only for our children, but also for ourselves.
The flakes of whole grains are an option more appropriate than typical breakfast cereals because it is the healthiest way to process cereals in its full version. And what does it mean that a cereal is whole? It basically indicates that we are dealing with a cereal that contains the whole cereal grain.
In fact, we could say that all cereals are whole in a natural way, just before the moment in which they are processed, when they are ground and the bran and the germ are separated, leaving only the endosperm, thus becoming a refined cereal.
When choosing them, it is enough to pay attention to the label that we find on the back or side of the product, with all the nutritional information about it. The ideal are those whole grains with at least 5 grams of fiber for each serving, and with less than 5 grams of sugar.
Of course, the key is to find an ingredient of the whole wheat or wheat bran type on the label, always remembering that the ingredient that comes first is the one with the most content in the product.
The Oats is a wonderful cereal, which includes interesting nutritional properties, and it becomes an ideal choice for our children. For example, it contains a higher amount of protein than other cereals, but it does not have proteins of high biological value
However, it provides slow absorption carbohydrates, which are ideal to provide energy to our little ones little by little, without causing glucose peaks. In addition, it is a very rich cereal in fiber, actually containing both soluble and insoluble fiber
Finally, we cannot forget its content in healthy fats, especially unsaturated fats, which protect the health of our arteries and heart. Of course, it does contain gluten, so its consumption is not recommended in children who have gluten intolerance and are celiac.
A quick recipe to prepare our children’s breakfast is in the form of porridge, the traditional English breakfast, tremendously nutritious and very versatile in that it gives us the possibility of adding a wide variety of healthy ingredients. Its preparation is very simple: you just have to put the equivalent of a cup or glass of milk in a saucepan on the fire, and add 3 tablespoons of wholegrain oat flakes (it is preferable thin, otherwise you can crush them a little with the glass of blender). Cook them on the fire, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, until it thickens a little. Then remove from the heat and let it cool down. If you wish, you can accompany it with some pieces of banana, raisins … In short, and your little one’s favorite fruits.
Wheat bran
Today it is extremely easy to find packages of wheat bran in many supermarkets. It consists of the part of the milling of the wheat grains, standing out precisely for being the husk of the cereal grain pulverized during the crushing process. It is therefore constituted as the most fibrous part of wheat.
We can also enjoy the bran of other cereals, as for example is the case of oat bran. However, wheat bran also stands out from a nutritional point of view due to its high content of insoluble fiber, as well as B vitamins and complex carbohydrates.
When it comes to taking it for breakfast it is very simple, although it is advisable to first soak it a little in water, so that it softens and its texture is more pleasant for the little ones. Then, if you want, you can add 2-3 tablespoons of wheat bran to the milk or yogurt. Of course, it also has gluten, so it is not recommended in children with celiac disease or related food allergies.
Rye
The rye also becomes another nutritious and also very delicious option. It becomes, in fact, one of the best options, along with other nutritious cereals such as oats. From a nutritional point of view, rye is very rich in dietary fiber, a higher quantity than that provided by whole wheat. In addition, it is rich in slow-absorbing carbohydrates and healthy fats, B vitamins (especially folic acid) and vitamin A, among others. For our little ones to enjoy it at breakfast, we can choose the rye flakes, and by the same steps that we have followed to make the oatmeal porridge. In fact, we only have to substitute the rolled oats for the rye ones. Of course, since these tend to be somewhat thicker, it is possible that when they are cooked they appear to be somewhat harder.