Build a Better Bowl of Cereal

As I said in my Supermarket Survival Guide on cereal, there are a lot of Sneaky Peters out there in the cereal aisle - cereals that promise low-fat, wholesome goodness but rarely deliver. Don't get me wrong - I think cereal is an easy, nutritious way to start the day, as long as you build your bowl right. The following are some tips I got from Mairlyn Smith and Liz Pearson's great book, The Ultimate Health Eating Plan That Still Leaves Room for Chocolate. Though it was published in 2002, it's packed with meticulously researched nutrition information (conveniently decoded for the regular Joe), sensible, non-neurotic advice for eating well and delicious recipes.

Here's an easy way to build your best breakfast:




Build the base: 3/4 - 1 cup of whole grain cereal (I like one that contains less than 4 grams (one teaspoon) of sugar and more than 2 grams of fibre.)

Add the fibre: Top with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of very high fibre cereal.

Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon ground flax or whole chia seeds. 

Add 1/2 cup of fresh fruit (blueberries or 1/2 a banana are a convenient option) or 1/4 cup of dried fruit.

Liz and Mairlyn also point out that this bowl is healthy enough to have for dinner instead of ordering fast food (you can even have two.) To make it even more filling for dinner, I'd throw on some chopped nuts.

There you have it! A bowl of cereal you can feel virtuous about. 

photo credit: ralph and jenny via photopin cc