# How bad are Cheerios?



## Beauchamp (Jan 12, 2009)

DD always wants to eat "Os"...should I try to switch her to something else? Something healthier? DD has really taken to eating Cheerio-type cereals. (Dry, in a bowl, multiple times per day.) I usually feel okay giving her an organic/natural brand, and sometimes get them at Trader Joes or Whole Foods. But those stores are an hour away and often times I do have to get a regular box of Cheerios from the grocery store. (I tried the Cascadian Farms organic brand and she wouldn't eat those.)

What's another very good toddler snack that a toddler will accept as a substitute for the Os? Ideas?


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## love4bob (Apr 30, 2008)

My kids love them, and I don't have a problem with them, especially the plain 'ol ones in the yellow box.


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## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I don't have a problem with them either. DS also likes the Earths' Best snack rings (can be found even at Walmart) but these can get pricier than just cereal I think.


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## Honey693 (May 5, 2008)

I have no problem at all with plain Cheerios except for the fact that they're all over my car right now.


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## callahansmama (Mar 21, 2011)

Just watch the Multigrain ones as they have 6 grams of sugar per serving!!! The regular ones only have 1 I think


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## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Honey693*
> 
> I have no problem at all with plain Cheerios except for the fact that they're all over my car right now.


THIS! When my son gets "ee-ooh" (cereal) it ends up everywhere by the end of the day!


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## les_oiseau (Apr 9, 2010)

Hmm I'm the odd one! We don't do cheerios because of the modified corn starch. It's genetically modified. There has been a little research done on the effect of GMOs on the bodies of animal and it goes something like.... fertility rate in the children of animals fed GMOs dropped from close to 100% to 50-60%... fertility in the next generation went down to like, 15-30%. That is the most recent info I've read on GMOs, I have read a lot before that that doesn't come clearly to memory enough to state it. We try to steer seriously clear of GMOs. For dry cereal I usually just look through the ingredients of the cheapest ones in the health food section. My kids aren't too attached to any one cereal.

Oh! you mentioned you go to trader joes, they have this shredded wheats with maple and brown sugar frosting, my kids loved those!


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## les_oiseau (Apr 9, 2010)

Whoops. Meant to say "offspring". Can't edit for some reason.


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## Beauchamp (Jan 12, 2009)

Wouldn't the "Trader Joes Os" not have GMOs? I could be wrong, but I was thinking Joes didn't stock anything* (anymore) that had any GMOs.

*with the TJ label, that is.

I was kind of thinking along the same lines, as in HFCS and such, too. The Cascadian Farms organic Os are weird and taste like styrofoam. They even look different and DD won't eat them. Too bad the "healthy" Os are not as tasty as Cheerios.


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## beebalmmama (Jul 21, 2005)

My boys only like the Whole Foods O's. Ds 1 grew up with the Cascadian Farm, but now that we've switched he doesn't like them anymore (they are sweeter). I thought I'd buy Cheerios when we got back on WIC, because all the approved cold cereal is crap. But he hated them and dh had to eat the whole box. Plain Cheerios taste and texture are more airy, they seemed less wholesome to me. Although if it were my only option I might buy them. Otherwise I would just stock up on several boxes when you get to Whole Foods or Trader Joes.


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## ellemenope (Jul 11, 2009)

We have been a cheerio free house for at least a year now. DD used to snack a bit on Daddy's GoLean Crunch (Kashi). Now, I will get a box of TJ's just the clusters with maple and pecan for her every now and then. I don't want DD snacking on cereal anyways. At least the granola type cereal seems less processed, (although it is very sugary.) It fills the cereal void and she won't eat as much of the stuff in one sitting. And, she would eat cheerios all day long. I try to keep snacks simple and fresh, fruit, nuts, cheese, nutrient dense. My kid might be a toddler anomaly, though, because she is not a snacker!

I remember reading something about how the process used to make all those "puff" cereals denatures or nullifies any nutrition that went in.


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

We dont do cold cereal. DS has had cheerios once, at a restaurant last weekend at 19 mos. I would rather feed him Annie's bunny grahams, which while still processed do not undergo the extrusion process that cereal does.


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## Magali (Jun 8, 2007)

While not my first choice for food, I don't think they are really all that bad. My son is really healthy and he eats them, along with a whole bunch of sugary GMO cold cereal that daddy likes to keep stocked up.


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## shnitzel (Jan 6, 2010)

I prefer real food to cheerios. Our box of "o's" lasted 6 months until DD dumped the bag on the floor. I don't think cheerios are evil but I prefer snacking on peas and corn or bread and butter which are not as processed. That being said our diet hasn't been great the last month or so I don't think I am one to speak.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

I think their fine. We think the private label from Whole Foods (inexpensive, organic) is the tastiest on the market. Trader Joes doesn't make an organic regular O and the high fiber ones are not tasty. TJs private label has no-GMO. The Cascadian Farms version is not as tasty and a lot sweeter. I would probably limit it to 2 snack portions a day though. Probably the lowest sugar snack on the market; easy to chew; easy to pick up. You could also make a mix but frankly most things you mix with them are going to be less good.

When I was a kid and I wanted to eat a new cereal or snack I had to get a box of cheerios and compare the sugar content and ingredient list. If I couldn't come up with a good explanation X had 40 times the sugar I was out of luck. Bah ha ha. Taught me a great deal about nutrition.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

For what it is worth, I am looking at a box of Annie's Cheddar Bunnies and WF Organic Os. Pretty similar profile except the cherrios have less fat, more protein, and 2g of fiber. And only one gram of sugar per serving.


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## ScottyG (Jan 6, 2011)

We're fine with Cheerios. Whole grain, reasonably healthy.

Where did you get the info that the modified corn starch contains GMOs? Modified corn starch just means they took corn starch and used some chemical process to break it down further. Has nothing to do with genetics.


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## marispel (May 27, 2008)

We do Cheerios. I grew up on Cheerios, one of the lowest sugar cereals on the market. I also like the multigrain ones and will mix them to cut the sugar but still be a nice snack.


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## HidaShara (Jan 7, 2008)

We're okay with Cheerios, but they are a snack or treat - not an all-the-time food. They're like our version of chips, I guess.  Almost a treat. Even if we wanted to substitute a more natural version of Os, I think we'd treat them the same way. They're filler, not really food, ykwim?


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## lovepickles (Nov 16, 2010)

nak

whole foods "teddy puffs" are organic and low in sugar and sodium ... also have a great teething texture we go with original flavor after reading labels


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ScottyG*
> 
> We're fine with Cheerios. Whole grain, reasonably healthy.
> 
> Where did you get the info that the modified corn starch contains GMOs? Modified corn starch just means they took corn starch and used some chemical process to break it down further. Has nothing to do with genetics.


Unless the corn is organic, I think it is safe to assume that it is GMO. That is pretty much true for all corn and soy products in the US. There is almost no commerical crop of non-GMO corn that is not also organic. Maybe a few stands at the farmer's market...


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## Raggedyrose (Sep 30, 2010)

You are not the only mom that refuses to buy Cheerios. I will not purchase them either because of the GMO's. I won't even let my son eat them at someone else's house. My son is not attached to any certain one and I usually look for the least expensive organic cereal for the times that he wants some.


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## lucy_v (Jan 21, 2009)

I don't want to give DD regular Cheerios (on a regular basis) also because of the GMO/non-organic aspect. Other than that, they are the healthiest O option at our Whole Foods (I think most of the other brands have more sugar and/or sodium). But I found another brand at the smaller local health food stores which is organic and not high in sugar or sodium. They're called Oatios (by New Morning) and here's how they compare to Cheerios:

Cheerios:

100 calories

2g fat

160mg sodium

1g sugar

3g protein

Oatios (organic):

110 calories

2g fat

125mg sodium

2g sugar

5g protein

I prefer the flavor & texture of the Oatios, but I was never a huge Cheerios fan anyway. DD loves the Oatios. I don't know why Whole Foods doesn't carry them.


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