Whole Grains First Ingredient - giveaway

I know that I have said more than once that I really enjoy cereal. To me, it is great for breakfast, snack or even dinner (although, certainly not every day!). In fact, my kids even know that I like cereal for dinner and will sometimes request it when I am unsure of the dinner plan (or if something didn't work out as planned). I like a lot of different cereals and have been eating many of them for years. Fortunately for me, my habit of eating cereal seems to be getting better for me as the cereal companies have been working to improve the healthiness of their products in recent years.

Take, for example, the changes that General Mills has made, updating their products and offering many of their cereals with whole grains in the first ingredient.

They've even made it easier for the consumer to find, but marking them with the white check mark.

Ringing in the New Year often means new eating habits. We know whole grain is important to you, and the Dietary Guidelines recommend choosing products with a whole grain listed as the first ingredient. Now every cereal with the white check has more whole grain than any other single ingredient with the same great taste. You will see “whole grain” as a part of the first ingredient on the ingredient list, indicating that whole grain is the first and most prevalent ingredient.

According to Dr. Travis Stork, emergency room physician and host of “The Doctors,” identifying whole grain products can be challenging. Shoppers can look for nutritional cues on the front of the box, but they need to read the ingredient list to know if they are getting enough whole grain. Ingredient lists detail ingredients in order of prevalence, and if the words “whole grain” are followed by a grain like wheat or oats, it means the food contains more whole grain than any other single ingredient. Here’s how to determine if your cereals have whole grain as a first ingredient:

With all the health messages facing grocery store shoppers, it can be confusing to translate what appears on food labels into nutritional needs, and hard to determine which foods have a meaningful amount of whole grain. Dr. Stork has some additional recommendations to help you include whole grain easily into your diet.

They include:
Start Early! The Dietary Guidelines recommend people get at least 48 grams of whole grain in their daily diets. Get a jump-start on the day’s nutrition by incorporating whole grain into your morning routine. For instance, when choosing cereal make sure whole grain is listed as the first ingredient. One easy choice is cereal with the white check, which have more whole grain than any other single ingredient.

Make Simple Swaps. Choose whole grain versions of the foods you love. Great options include whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread or even whole grain crackers. Also, try different types of whole grain. Use brown rice instead of white rice as a side dish at dinner or popcorn, which is a whole grain, for a snack.

Don’t Judge a Food by Its Cover. The front of food packages provide good nutritional cues, but don’t forget to read the ingredients and check the nutrition label and side labels for additional health information. Cereals with the white check even include the amount of whole grain per serving on packaging.

To help with choosing products with whole grain, General Mills developed “Fast Lane for Whole Grain,” an online educational game. Consumers can navigate virtual grocery store aisles and identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient, with the option to enter a sweepstakes to win one of each of the 50 cereals with the white check.




Make a commitment to add more whole grain to your diet by simply pouring a bowl of cereal with the white check including Cheerios®, Lucky Charms®, Cinnamon Toast Crunch®, Honey Nut Cheerios® and Total®.

For more information on the importance of whole grain and a chance to enter the “Fast Lane for Whole Grain” sweepstakes, visit www.WholeGrainNation.com.

Want to pick up some Whole Grains First cereal? Click here for a coupon that is good for $1.75 / 2 boxes.

Giveaway!

General Mills, through MyBlogSpark is providing a Whole Grains First Prize pack to one A Busy Mom of Two reader.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway will remain open through February 19. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. A Whole Grains First Prize pack and information was provided by General Mills and MyBlogSpark. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.