Smart Start - yeah right!!

Smart Start. It sounds like a great way to start your day, right? I mean a cereal that is named Smart Start and has all the vitamin bells and whistles listed right there on the front of the box has just got to be healthy, right? Right????? Harrumph!! Read on!!

As most of my readers know, Caleb and Lizzie have sensory issues. One of the toughest challenges we face with these two is getting some kind of nutrition in them. I have to say that Lizzie actually eats a greater variety of "healthy" food than my poor Caleb does.

Caleb's OT once told me that she had seen many kids who had a fear of food, but that Caleb was by far the worst! GRREEAAT!!!

Sooooo, Caleb has a very limited menu of foods that he will eat. Dry cereal and in particular, SMART START (GRRR) is on his approved list and me, being the informed Momma that I am (I am slapping myself right now), was so smug about the fact that I was actually getting something that was nutritious in my sensory boy!!!

This is what I saw this morning on Yahoo News

WORST VITAMIN-ENHANCED CEREAL

Kellogg’s Smart Start Original Antioxidants (1 cup)



190 calories
0.5 g fat (0 g saturated)
3 g fiber
14 g sugars

Of all the cereals on this list, this is the best example of inflated marketing. This box is littered with words that attempt to make you think you’re getting a wholesome breakfast, but in reality you’re getting a run-of-the-mill bowl of highly sweetened cereal with a multivitamin tossed in on top. Don’t let the added vitamins persuade you into thinking that the sugar isn’t a problem. It most certainly is.

Eat This Instead!
Kashi Vive (1 cup)
135 calories
2 g fat (1 g saturated)
10 g fiber
8 g sugars

Kashi Vive?? Are they serious??? UGH!!!

So I guess it is back to the grocery store now to scour the shelves for something, anything that looks yummy but is healthy and that Caleb will eat!!! Do these cereal making people know how hard it is to get Caleb to even try something new!!!!! Sigh!!

The other cereal that was on the approved list was Multi Grain Chex!!!! Multi - Grain - Chex!!!! Healthy, right????? WRONG!!!!

WORST HIGH-FIBER CEREAL

General Mills Chex Multi-Bran (1 cup)



210 calories
2 g fat (0 g saturated)
8 g fiber
13 g sugars

Chex might seem harmless, but it’s the only brand that holds down two spots on this list. The slip-up with this box is the heavy load of sugar. (Notice that it’s even sweeter than the chocolate-flavored Chex.) General Mills calls it a “hint of sweetness,” but really it’s on par with some of the most indulgent boxes on the shelf. In fact, one bowl of this cereal has more sugar than a scoop of Edy’s Slow Churned Fudge Tracks Ice Cream. We applaud the fiber, but the sugar won’t cut it.

Eat This Instead!

Post Shredded Wheat Original Spoon Size (1 cup)
170 calories
1 g fat (0 g saturated)
6 g fiber
0 g sugars

Post Shredded Wheat, yeah right!!!!

The next cereal we actually do not eat but my Mom does!!! Hehe!!!

WORST ICONIC CEREAL

Kellogg’s Raisin Bran (1 cup)



190 calories
1.5 g fat (0 g saturated)
7 g fiber
19 g sugars

It'll be hard to find a more sugar-loaded cereal than Raisin Bran. It’s sweeter than even Lucky Charms, Reese’s Puffs, or Cocoa Krispies. Some of that sugar can be attributed to the raisins’ natural blend of fructose and glucose, but the real culprit is the sticky white armor of sucrose that enrobes each piece of fruit. Both Kellogg’s and Post are guilty of this raisin mistreatment, so what should be a legitimately healthy bowl of fruit and grains pours out closer to a candy-coated dessert.

Eat This Instead!

Kellogg’s All-Bran (1 cup) with a tablespoon of raisins
150 calories
0.5 g fat (0 g saturated)
7 g fiber
13 g sugars

Have you ever seen Kellogg's All Bran? Looks kind of like hamster food to me!

If you want to read the rest of the article go here

Can we get some truth in advertising people?????