Cereals are one of the most widely preferred breakfast options all over the world. Healthiest cereals made with whole grains that are low in sugars, fat, and salt makes a healthful and balanced breakfast. Porridge oats, shredded wholegrain pillows, granola, mueslis, wholewheat cereal biscuits, and shredded pillows are a few such options. Choosing wholegrain is often recommended because of their high fiber and nutrient contents.
The reason cereal people chose cereal for breakfast is because of its luxurious fiber, iron, folic acid, and zinc contents with low fat, sodium, cholesterol, and sugar. Besides, it can fuel the body with energy and also curb hunger and food cravings for a long-time.
Health Benefits of Cereals
Most nutritional cereals exhibit numerous health enriching factors. Below listed are a few:
1. Weight loss
Most of the healthiest cereals aid in weight loss. Health experts and nutritions also recommend it for people suffering from obesity or abnormal weight gain. It is because of their high-fiber and low-calorie properties.
Eating cereals for breakfast also reduces the cravings for unhealthy foods or snacks later in the day.
2. Healthy Digestion
The high-fiber content in wholegrain cereals can improve the movement of food in the digestive system. It thus helps in regulating proper bowel movements. These can also help in enriching the environment by removing harmful toxins from the digestive tract and also enriching the environment for beneficial bacteria(1).
Nutritional Value:
Eating wholegrain cereal augments fuels the body with various essential nutrients.
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Other Health Benefits:
- Whole grains can reduce cholesterol in the body, which can, in turn, reduce the risk of cardiac disorders.
- It can reduce the risk of diabetes.
- Can help in reducing chronic inflammation
Healthiest Cereal Options
There are several options for cereals, but every product may or may not be healthy. So, checking it before can help you in deciding the best one. Below are a few factors that you can check for in a cereal:
- Go for wholegrain or wholemeal.
- Try not to chose refined grains as they may not have proper nutritional value.
- Check for fiber and protein content.
- Look for cereal products with lower GI value.
- Avoid products that may contain high sugars or additives.
- If looking for fats, choose the ones with healthy unsaturated fat.
- Check the calorie count and chose the product that fits your daily calorie intake.
- Add non-fat Greek yogurt, which can augment the cereal with protein.
- Add milk to get the benefits of calcium and also make the cereals easy to eat.
Besides, cereals are a non-perishable food item, which makes it easy to store.
Breakfast Cereal Recipes
Cereals are some of the quick to make and easy to eat breakfast items. Below listed are some healthy cereal recipes that you may consider:
1. Apple Oatmeal
A quick breakfast with healthy benefits.
Ingredients:
- Tart apples (chopped) – 2
- Oats – 1 1/2 cup
- Ground cinnamon – 1/2 tsp
- Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp
- Almonds (chopped) – a handful
- Milk
- Water – 3 cups
- Brown sugar – as per taste
How to prepare?
- Boil 3 cups of water in a large saucepan
- Add oats and apples to it.
- Cook for 5 minutes (stir it while cooking)
- After that, add cinnamon, vanilla extract, brown sugar to it.
- Leave it for 2 minutes.
- Now you can serve it with milk or any syrup by sprinkling almonds on the top.
2. Tasty granola
Added nuts, dried fruits, and honey makes this granola one of the healthiest and tastiest breakfast.
Ingredients:
- Oats – 5 cups
- Almonds – 1 cup
- Flaxseeds (ground) – 1/2 cup
- Honey – 1/4 cup
- Maple syrup – 1/4 cup
- Canola oil – 2 tbsp
- Cinnamon (ground) – 1/2 tsp
- Cranberries & apricots – 1/2 cup each
How to prepare?
- Take a saucepan and add maple syrup, honey, oil, and cinnamon to it.
- Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and put it aside.
- Take oats, almonds, and flaxseeds and mix them in a bowl.
- Now pour the prepared syrup over the oats mixture in the bowl.
- Bake it for 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown and stir it in while it is being cooked.
- Now you can serve it by topping with nuts and dried fruits.
3. Pumpkin-pie Oatmeal
A healthy oatmeal breakfast that benefits your health and treats your taste buds.
Ingredients:
- Oats – 1 cup
- Canned pumpkin – 1/2 cup
- Milk – 1 cup
- Water – 1 cup
- Pumpkin pie spice – 1/4 tsp
- Dried cranberries and mixed nuts – a handful
How to prepare?
- Take a pan and add all the ingredients to it, including milk and water.
- Boil it for 5 minutes while stirring it.
- Remove from heat, and sprinkle it with dried cranberries and mixed nuts.
Suggested Read:
• Is High-Protein Breakfast the Secret for Health and Weight Loss?
• High Calorie Foods That Are Actually Worth Eating
Side Effects of Cereals
Wholegrain cereals may have a lot of benefits. But, in some cases, people may also experience some adverse or negative side effects. It may be due to health conditions, allergies, or treatments.
Below listed are a few precautions that everyone should consider before adding cereals to a regular breakfast diet.
People with gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, and other similar disorders may avoid it. Grains or other ingredients in the product may trigger the condition and make it worse.
May cause irritable bowel syndrome.
Some high carb cereals may make the person feel sedated or drowsy.
Conclusion:
Breakfast cereals are one of the best options to maintain weight and improve overall health. But, the way to get the full benefits is by choosing products that are made with whole grains and do not contain high amounts of fats, sugar, and salt. Besides, one should not eat wholegrain cereals every day and must maintain diverse breakfast options. It also breaks the mundane breakfast chain and also helps in enriching the flor and active cultures in the digestive system.
