9 Healthiest Breakfast Cereals To Enjoy And 6 Unhealthy Options To Avoid At All Costs

Attune Foods makes an impeccably healthy breakfast cereal dubbed Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam includes whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed, salt, barley malt, and nothing more. Thus, a ¾ cup serving contains 190 healthy calories composed of five grams of healthy fats (thanks to the inclusion of flaxseed), 38 grams of carbs (10 grams of dietary fiber and less than one gram of sugar), and seven grams of protein. Your bowl, belly, and body will benefit from eating a serving or two of Uncle Sam in the morning.

Barbara's Cinnamon Puffins have a cinnamon flavor (would you have guessed it?) and only six grams of sugar (you may not have guessed that). If you are watching your calorie intake, this cereal is the perfect option seeing as it comes in at only 90 calories per serving. Six grams of fiber and two grams of protein round out this wheat- and dairy-free cereal's impressive nutritional content.

Each serving of Cascadian Farms Hearty Morning is 170 calories, composed of eight grams of fiber, eight grams of sugar, and four grams of protein from the granola, bran, and other whole grains that make up this cereal. It pairs nicely with nuts or fresh fruit, acting as a source of added flavor and crunch.

Food for Life's Ezekiel 4:9 line makes some of the most nutritionally dense breads, wraps, and cereals available on the market today. We'll list the ingredients to show you what makes this cereal different (and healthier) than other options:

organic sprouted wheat, organic malted barley, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted millet, organic sprouted lentils, organic sprouted soybeans, organic sprouted spelt, filtered water, sea salt.

Its incredible ingredients account for a 190-calorie, ½-cup serving. A serving has one gram of fat, 40 grams of carbs (including six grams of dietary fiber), and a whopping eight grams of protein. Oh, and the best part? It has zero grams of sugar.

There are only four ingredients in this delicious cereal, but the taste doesn't suffer. With six grams of protein and five grams of fiber per serving, the crunchy biscuits are made with whole-grain wheat. You can have 28 biscuits for only 180 calories and nine grams of sugar, which could also double as an on-the-go snack.

This cereal is sweet and has a whopping nine grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein for just one cup. This 170-calorie breakfast has nine grams of sugar and is the perfect way to get you through the morning and keep you full until lunch.

For every 3/4 cup of Nature's Path Heritage Flakes you consume, you receive four grams of protein, four grams of sugar, one gram of fat, and five grams of fiber. This cereal is full of whole grains including oats, spelt, barley, millet, and quinoa, making it a great option to add to your yogurt in the morning to replace the far more sugary granola you may be using.

This sweet and crunchy cereal is a gluten-free, whole-grain option with only 110 calories, one gram of fat, and seven grams of sugar. Pair it with your favorite dairy-free milk or use it in your Greek yogurt.

The ingredients list for Grape-Nuts is as simple and healthy as it gets. Whole grain wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt, and dried yeast add up to 210 calories made up of one gram of fat, 47 grams of carbs (seven grams of dietary fiber and five grams of sugars), and six grams of protein per ½-cup serving. Don't fear the calorie count — this cereal is as healthy as it gets.

You know there's a problem when the first ingredient listed on your cereal box is sugar, because that means that sugar is mostly what the contents of that package are made of. If you're looking to make this cereal even more unhealthy, seek out the variation where Kellogg's adds marshmallows to Froot Loops. More than 14 grams of sugar? Unfortunately, yes.

At 19.4 grams of sugar per serving, one dose of Kellogg's Honey Smacks is equal to two Krispy Kreme donuts. It may just be better to steer clear of Honey Smacks, which were originally called Sugar Smacks. Don't let the honey fool you. 

With bran in the title, this cereal is put under the whole-grain category. However, all of the goodness disappears when you check out the nutrition facts label. With 19 grams of sugar per serving, this cereal doubles, and sometimes triples, the recommended amount for your breakfast cereal.

Ingredient one on the Fruity Pebbles box is rice. Sounds fine, right? Wrong — everything goes downhill afterward, with the next two ingredients being sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil. A-¾ cup serving has a lackluster one gram of protein, one gram of fat, no dietary fiber, and 23 grams of carbs. You may have had this cereal as a child, but we suggest giving your children (and yourself) something less sugary.

It should come as no surprise that Golden Crisp was originally called Sugar Crisp — it has a whopping 18 grams of sugar per serving. Out of the cereal's six ingredients, two of the first three are sugar and corn syrup.

We get it, Cap'n Crunch Crunch Berries and the other cereals in the same line taste good. Why do they taste good, though? We think it may have to do with the fact that their second ingredient is sugar (in total, a serving contains 11 grams of sugar). A ¾-cup serving has 110 calories composed of 1.5 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs (half of which are straight up sugar with only one gram of dietary fiber), and a measly one gram of protein. Crunchatize someone else please, Cap'n.