Awarded
to: Weetabix
and porridge
The
Children's Food Awards
 Everyone
knows that having breakfast is a great start to a child's day. It is an
excellent opportunity for children to eat healthy complex carbohydrates
in the form of wholemeal or granary toast, or whole-grain cereals.
Sadly, most branded
cereals aimed at children are jam-packed with added sugar - sometimes
as much as 49% - almost half sugar! And many of the least healthy options
are also made irresistible to children with free toys, cartoon characters,
link-ups with popular children's movies, quizzes or games and special
offers.
Parents praised breakfast
cereals that didn't have a lot of added sugars and other ingredients -
Rice Krispies and Ready
Brek were two cereals popular with parents. As some mums and
dads pointed out - even if a child adds sugar at the table, at least the
parent can see how much. They can also choose to sweeten the cereal with
healthier options such as a sprinkling of sultanas, raisins or bananas.
In this category,
two breakfast cereals came out as clear joint winners. The Parents Jury
decided that the winners in the Better Breakfast award were Weetabix
and porridge.
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Expert
Opinion
Both of the winning
cereals nominated by parents are high in complex carbohydrates and low
in sugar (see the table below) and are therefore a good start to a child's
day. A healthy balanced diet is rich in whole-grain foods, fruit and vegetables
and low in refined sugar, fat and salt.
Foods rich in complex
carbohydrates, rather than simple sugars, release their energy more slowly
and therefore provide sustained energy throughout the morning. Adding
dried, pureed or chopped fruit or even honey will sweeten the cereal,
but it's still a good idea for children to brush their teeth after breakfast.
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Salt
in your cereals
Did you know that most salt in children's diets comes from cereal products
- that's breakfast cereals, bread and pastry products. Parents are often
very surprised to learn that sweet breakfast cereals often contain lots
of added salt. Weetabix and porridge are low in salt compared to many
other children's breakfast cereals.
| Carbohydrate,
sugar and fibre content of Weetabix and Porridge |
| Cereal |
Total
carbohydrates (per 100g) |
Of which
sugars (per 100g) |
Fibre
(per 100g) |
Salt
(per 100g) |
| Weetabix |
67.6g |
4.7g |
10.5g |
0.75g |
| Porridge
Oats |
62.0g |
1.1g |
7.0g |
0.50g |
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Here
are two ways to help you judge if a breakfast cereal is a healthier option
Most cereals now carry a nutrition information panel. Check that
the cereal contains less than 10g of sugar per 100g, and that the
cereal contains less than 0.5g of sodium (1.25g of salt) per 100g
(sodium is the component of salt which is linked to heart disease and
strokes).
Tip: You
can work out the salt content by multiplying the sodium
content given in the nutrition panel by 2.5
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What's
in Weetabix?
Ingredients: Whole
wheat, malt extract, sugar (4.7%), salt (0.75%), Niacin, Iron, Thiamin
(B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic acid.
And
what's in porridge?
Plain and simple:
oats.
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The
Children's Food Awards 2002
The
Children's Food Awards 2003
Join
The Parents Jury
Home
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Weetabix
is a great cereal - low in sugar, high in fibre and popular with children.
mother of one, from London
Our
children always enjoy Weetabix (with a little sugar sprinkled on).
It usually has no gimmicks. It is high in fibre, low in fat and salt,
and needs lots of milk which is good for children.
parents of two, from Caterham in Surrey
It
would help if the adverts for Weetabix could be aimed a little more
at children.
mother of two, from Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands
Weetabix
and porridge are the only cereals I am really happy about my children
eating. Most of the others are overprocessed, incredibly sugary, salty
and generally full of junk.
mother of two, from Tonbridge in Kent
Sugar
free, natural, no additives, keeps blood sugar levels stable, what
more can I say? Porridge is cheap and easy to prepare - why waste
money on branded cereals full of rubbish?!
mother of one, from Bath
Porridge
is great and easy to make and seems to go down in bucket loads!
mother of one, from Milton Keynes
Porridge
can be jazzed up in many ways - filling, tasty and nutritious... What
more could you want? If you want the energy to toss the Caber, this
is the one!
mother of one, from Norfolk
Made
with milk it is so nutritious and a spoonful of jam or honey makes
porridge into a tasty treat.
mother of two, from St Albans in Hertfordshire
Porridge:
No additives, no sugar, whole grain, complex carbohydrates and the
whole family can eat it.
mother of one, from Wakefield in West Yorkshire
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