Breakfast cereals

Breakfast Cereals are generally made from a base of oats, rice or wheat and eaten in the morning in a bowl with milk. The claim that many manufacturers make that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is not without a grain of truth. Eating in the morning helps to boost your metabolism and gives you the energy you need to start the day in a healthy and positive way. However, it greatly depends what kind of breakfast cereals you choose to eat. Many of them contain a far higher percentage of sugar, fat or salt than is recommended. Some contain as much sugar as a bar of chocolate. So you need to really have a look at the ingredients and nutritional information on the box.

Children, in particular, tend to love sugary cereals but this is not a particularly healthy way to start their day. It is unfortunately true that the plainer the cereal, the lower the calorie count is likely to be. A 100g of cornflakes contains 370 calories while bran flakes are even lower at 320 calories per 100g. When sugar is added to sweet cereals, this increases the calories. For example, coco pops contains 400 calories per 100g. Muesli contains slightly higher calories than plain cereal but if unsweetened, it can be a good source of vitamins and minerals. Try using semi-skimmed or low fat milk instead of full fat to keep your calorie consumption down.