Fill your breakfast bowl with cereal

Today’s hectic lifestyles make it easy to neglect healthy eating habits, especially in the morning. Although breakfast is the most commonly skipped meal, it’s important to get your day started right with a well-rounded helping of protein and nutrients – which you can find in the easiest of breakfasts, a bowl of cereal with one cup of skim milk.

Affordable and convenient, a breakfast of cereal with milk offers a tasty combination of protein to rebuild and grains to refuel, and many more important nutrients that you may miss if you skip the breakfast bowl.

Low in calories and nutrient-dense, cereal is one of the best breakfast choices available. Consider, for example, that a serving of Kellogg’s cereal and one cup of skim milk can provide protein and four nutrients most people don’t get enough of: fiber, calcium, Vitamin D and potassium. In its proposal to update the Nutrition Facts label on food packages, the Food and Drug Administration recommends adding Vitamin D and potassium to ensure a focus on those valuable nutrients.

Many available cereals are a good source of fiber (3 grams or more) – good news for the 90 percent of people in the United States who do not get the recommended amount of fiber in their diets.

In addition, study after study has shown that people who start the day with a cereal breakfast tend to weigh less.

Not all cereals are created equal, however, and with entire grocery aisles dedicated to boxes of flakes, puffs, rings and more, it can be hard to know which cereals pack the nutritional punch you seek. The experts at Kellogg’s offer these tips for selecting the right cereal:

Understand nutrition labels. Paying attention to the serving size, calories, protein and vitamin and mineral percentages will make you more informed about just what you can get out of each particular cereal.

Look for options that are a good source of fiber (at least 3 grams per serving) to help you get a jump start on the fiber you need each day.

If you find yourself wanting variety in your cereal before you finish the box, experiment with additions such as fresh or dried fruit, or nuts, to create even more nutrients.

Cereal with milk is part of a complete breakfast that allows you to easily include important nutrients in your daily diet. Visit www.kelloggs.com for more information to help you choose the best cereals for you and your family.