In keeping with my series on label reading, the next product I am going to look at it Honey Nut Cheerios.
Honey Nut Cheerios are made by General Mills and boast whole grain, natural flavoring and real honey.
But does that really mean what it sounds like? On the surface this cereal seems like a far better choice than many of the other options on the store shelves that appeal to kids, let’s take a look at the label and see if that is true.
Ingredients Breakdown:
Whole Grain Oats
Whole grain means none of the healthy stuff is removed like in refined products. Traditionally oats are not refined anyway, and oats have been shown to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. This is actually a good ingredient to find as the first one!
Sugar
The less added sugar the better as far as our bodies are concerned, and this product only has 9 grams of sugar, so while it is the second ingredient, they have not overdone the amount, and sugar is much better than processed high fructose corn syrup.
Modified Corn starch
Modified corn starch is used as a thickener or texture agent and it is a chemically processed ingredient. There is no evidence of it being harmful, but it is not a natural ingredient because it is processed.
Honey
Honey has numerous health benefits including being a source of vitamins and antioxidants and having anti-bacterial properties. It is a much better alternative to sugar in our diets. The only problem with honey is that there has been some discussions, though nothing proven that eating honey that isn’t local to your immediate area can cause a higher risk of allergies.
Brown Sugar Syrup
The best I can tell is that brown sugar syrup is brown sugar mixed with corn syrup. This would make this yet another added sweetener to this product, but again, the overall sugar content in this product is only 9 grams.
Salt
Salt is a natural preservative and flavor enhancer and there are very few things that don’t have added salt. The sodium in this product is 160 mg per serving (3/4 cup) which is about 1/10 th of the recommended maximum sodium intake per day.
Tripotassium Phosphate
Tripotassium Phosphate is a food additive that acts as an emulsifier, foaming agent or whipping agent. It is basically a preservative to make the cereal shelf stable and it is interesting to note that it is also used in fertilizer.
Canola Oil and/or Rice Bran Oil
Canola oil is almost exclusively genetically modified to create it. It is not a natural oil and you will be hard pressed to find it in an organic version. Rice Bran Oil is said to be a much better alternative and contains vitamin E and potentially can help reduce cholesterol but the studies are far from conclusive.
Natural Almond Flavor
The problem with saying something uses “natural” flavor is that it does not mean that the flavor wasn’t created in a lab, it just means that it was created from natural ingredients. It likely was processed and also likely that it wasn’t actually made from nuts.
The additional ingredients are all added vitamins and minerals.
Honey Nut Cheerios are certainly not the worst food out there. It appears as if they have attempted to make it a healthier choice for kids for breakfast than so many of the colored cereals with marshmallows and such in them. But as a parent, how hard is it to make oatmeal from scratch and put some local, organic honey in it? Sure the added vitamins are appealing but the reason for that is because we aren’t getting the vitamins in our diets because we are eating processed foods. If we were eating REAL food, including fruits and vegetables, we would be getting all the vitamins our bodies need from our food. And if we are lacking, a good vitamin supplement is better choice.
What cereal do your kids eat?
Up until a few months ago all my kids ever wanted for breakfast was cereal. Even when I offered to cook up pancakes or something from scratch they would always choose cereal. When I stopped buying it I was amazed at how well they took to eating oatmeal, homemade muffins, waffles, etc. It feels great to feed my kids healthy things that they like to eat and that I know what’s inside.
I made oatmeal from scratch the other day and it had 2 ingredients in it, oatmeal and brown sugar. The packaged kind had 10+ ingredients!
Isn’t it amazing that the packaged stuff has that many things in it when you can make it SO tasty with just 2 ingredients?
Cheerios is ONE processed food that I feel ok eating. I always top mine with Almonds and fruit to up the fibre content and protein for my meal. I don’t mind my kids eating these either…..there are so many worse things, especially if you were to compare ingredients on early finger foods for babies. Gerber puffs? UM gross.
I definitely thing this is one of the “better” choices if you are not going organic, you could do much, much worse!
I love that you do these in depth label reviews. My kids don’t eat so much cereal anymore, instead they want hot oatmeal.
Thanks Cat!
My son likes oatmeal (as do I ) but Abby doesn’t like the texture. She actually prefers waffles and pancakes so I’m working on making some organic and freezing them. I did buy her organic frozen waffles for now til I can do my own.
I’m actually quite pleased with this one – I don’t have to feel horrible about having it in my house for those mornings when I sleep in and kiddo makes her own breakfast!
I have definitely seen worse!
We don’t really eat cereal. Even aside from the health aspects to me it is way too expensive for the small amount you get, even if you buy store brand or have coupons. My daughter is on an egg kick right now, seems to be a big fan of boiled and has even commented that she doesn’t get hungry before snack from the added protein so double sore.
I’ve tried to do the steal cut oats but can never seem to get the consistency/texture right (always do that with grits too)…any tip? 🙂
I think steel cut oats are always going to be a bit grainier than say the instant oatmeal, but I love them with some pumpkin and cinnamon mixed in! I think you just have to get them boiling long enough.
My kids love Honey Nut Cheerios… right after their peanut butter sandwich or eggs or bologna sandwich or chicken nuggets… Yaa, not so much what I would choose for breakfast. But I was glad to read they are not on the bottom of the list of cereals. They can keep having it as a ‘snack’ after breakfast.
not only my kids, even I also eat cheerios LOL! Really love it!
Our cereal aisles just make me mad these days. How much color can you add into a piece food that is already loaded with sugar? This is a sour subject between my husband and I.. he chooses to eat those fruity looking things. Instead I opt for Multi-Grain Cheerios with fresh berries or banana slices. (which I still feel guilty because of the added preservatives) I told him once the baby is here, this is not allowed. Finally he has realized it on his own once he saw some extra pounds on the scale.. Fingers crossed it stays out!
I posted recently comparing store-bought oatmeal to homemade:
http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2012/03/homemade-vs-store-bought-flavored-oatmeal/
I made the home-made version again this morning an even my slow-eater downed it. It feels SO GOOD to feed nutritious food to my children. Great post on the labels! I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
-Tiffany [formerly of foryournursery.com 😉 ]
This is awesome! I think I love you! lol I really enjoyed how you “dumbed” or broke every ingredient down.
One word GMO’s…
Hi, just to say, I am prone to Migraine Headaches and after eating a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, ten minutes later got a Migraine. Do you know of any ingredient that is in the cereal that can cause this??? Thank’s VinnyC