Last Updated on May 31, 2022 by Jim Edwards
Contents
What is Cereal?
Cereal is a breakfast snack that is used globally. It is a ready-to-eat product that is soaked in milk or eaten with cream. A fast and swift breakfast that is found in many flavors. The cereal can be made sweet according to your preference by adding fruits (if you want to opt for a healthier way), syrup, or sugar.
When we talk about cereals, we need to understand that there are four general kinds of cereals.
1. Flaked Cereals
These are made from rice, wheat, or corn. These ingredients are broken down into small grits, and they are processed by adding syrups and different flavors. Then they are pressed by cooled rollers into flakes.
2. Puffed Cereals
To make puffed cereals, rice or cooked wheat is used. The cooked wheat or rice are exploded due to a pressure chamber. This helps to expand the grain and make it exceed its original size.
3. Shredded Cereals
The shredded cereals are mainly wheat-based. The wheat undergoes a process of
being pressure-cooked; then heavy rollers are used to squeeze them into strands. After this, it is in the shape of biscuits and left to dry.
4. Granular Cereals
When granular cereals are made, the mixture of wheat and malted barley flour, yeast, salt, and water is put to ferment – this makes a stiff dough.
Then they are further baked properly. After this, the dough is crumbled and again rebaked. When these procedures are done, this is ground into tiny and rough grains. Finally, the cereal is treated with vitamins and sweet flavoring.
What is the Healthiest Cereal?
When you are searching for a healthy and quick breakfast option, cereals can be your best call. You need to make sure that it should have 100% whole food or whole-grain – some options are wheat, buckwheat, rice, corn, legumes, and oats.
The cereal should also contain around 3 grams of fiber and protein. The sugar amount in the cereals should fall below 10 grams or less, and the sodium levels should be below 200 mg.
To give it a healthy boost, you can top the cereals with fruits, nuts, or yogurt.
Here are a few healthy options when it comes to cereals:
1. Post Great Grain Cereal: Crunchy Pecan
These cereals consist of crispy and crunchy flakes that are tossed with whole pecans for your healthy boost. It consists of 5g of sugar and 5g of proteins and fibers. Have this cereal before you leave for work so that you have a healthy start to the day.
2. Alpen Muesli – No Sugar Added
This cereal is based on Swiss-style muesli. It is a power cereal with just a few ingredients – whole grain oats, raisins, almonds, hazelnuts, and whole-grain wheat.
This nutritious cereal gives you the energy for an active morning.
3. Uncle Sam Toasted Whole Wheat Berry Flakes
A healthy and yummy breakfast cereal, plus a quick fix! What more can you ask for? With 10 grams of fiber, it helps you to kickstart your day and also contains omega-3 fatty acids that are present in flaxseeds. These omega-3 fatty acids are heart-healthy.
4. Back To Nature – Gluten Free Granola
A perfect treat for the people who are sensitive to gluten – Back to Nature – Gluten Free Granola is plant-based and does not contain any hydrogenated oil. It does not even contain high fructose corn syrup. This breakfast cereal has 7 grams of fiber in one serving.
5. Forager Organic Grain-free Os
This breakfast cereal is also gluten-free and is made with navy beans and cassava flour. The navy beans and cassava flour helps to stack the cereal with fiber and protein. There are three flavors: plain, chocolate, and cinnamon. Garnish your bowl of cereals with some sliced berries or bananas and enjoy a yummy and healthy breakfast.
6. Purely Elizabeth – Ancient Grain Granola (Pumpkin Cinnamon)
If you want to enjoy a beautiful fall in each and every bite, get Purely Elizabeth – Ancient Grain Granola (Pumpkin Cinnamon) and enjoy it as your breakfast. It comes all year round, so you can enjoy the fall goodness whenever you want. It has a lower amount of fiber comparatively, but the ingredient list consists of wholesome and healthy ingredients. The different flavors of Purely Elizabeth have different amounts of sugar; the Pumpkin Cinnamon, in particular, has 5g of sugar.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Cereal Brands
What Cereal is Gluten-Free?
You can find many breakfast kinds of cereal that are gluten-free. Some of them are:
- Cocoa Pebbles
- Barbara’s Bakery Puffins Protein, Berry Burst
- Honey Bunches of Oat
- Thrive – Coconut Flakes
- Rice Chex
- Chocolate Power O’s
- Gluten-Free, Non-GMO Granola, Cranberry Almond Maple
- Organic Brown Rice Crisps Cereal
- Forager Organic Grain-free Os
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Bran Hot Cereal
- Van’s Cinnamon Heaven
- Nature’s Path Fruit Juice Corn Flakes
- Corn Chex Gluten-Free Cereal
- Honey Nut Cheerios
- SunriseAnnie’s Cinnabunnies
- Crunchy Vanilla Cereal
- Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain Original Granola
- KIND Oats & Honey Clusters with Toasted Coconut
- Nature’s Path Golden Turmeric Cereal
- Lucky Charms
- Gluten Free Muesli Cereal
Cereals – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who Invented Cereal?
The first time, cereal was invented by a religious and conservative vegetarian who went by the name of James Caleb Jackson. He invented it in 1863 from graham flour dough, and it was set out to dry and broken into pieces. The pieces were so hard that they had to be soaked in milk for the entire night so that they could be used. This invention was termed granula.
Why Was Cereal Invented?
The purpose of inventing cereal was to render it a digestive aid; it acquired several religious overtones and later on was used as a sweet snack to satisfy your sugar cravings. Now, it is used as a variation between sweet luxury and healthy food.
When Was Cereal Invented?
Cereal was first invented in 1863.
March Milkness Taste Test: Sugary Cereals
March Milkness is officially underway! What’s the sweet breakfast favorite from the Sugary Region?!
Join Rhett and Link as they explore 32 different kinds of cereal.
Summary
In this post we have reviewed cereals in a comprehensive way. We have explored all of the different cereal types in the market.
We hope you have learned about some new cereal options to try next time you go shopping!
Related Articles
Fruity Pebbles Candy Bar – The Ultimate Cereal Candy Bar
A Complete Guide to Pebbles Cereal
Everything You Need to Know about National Cereal Day
I’m Jim Edwards and I started this website to share my love of Junk Food. We cover new junk food, desserts, snack foods, fast food secret menus, candy (of course!) and other related news. We love trying “secret menus” at restaurants. And we love trying new products too. So, we are trying to have some fun with our hobby and share some useful information with you, our community. Please feel to send us your suggestions and feedback through the contact form. And if you have products you would like us to try, let us know…!