Cereal is one the easiest breakfast options out there which can provide many nutrition’s and satisfy many of our diet requirements. But, how many calories are in a cereal bowl? Well that depends on what you’re looking for. Are you looking for something healthy or something that can satisfy your taste buds? Because while some cereals are healthy and full of vitamins and minerals others contain a lot calories and sugar.
Read more about Biscuit Calories and Spaghetti Calories with Sauce.
How many calories in a cereal bowl?
On average most cereals can have around 100 – 200 calories per bowl (1 cup). Again this depends on the quantity and the type of cereal you’re having. Let’s talk about some of the most popular cereals including Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Wheat- Bix, Froot loops and Rice Krispies.
According to CalorieKing here are the amount of calories of 5 popular cereal choices:
- Cheerios have around 116 calories per cup
- Corn Flakes have about 113 calories per serving
- Wheat – Bix have about 107 calories per serving (2 biscuits)
- Froot Loops have about 110 calories per cup
- Rice Krispies have about 130 calories per 1 ¼ cups
Note this does not include the calories in milk. Whole milk has approximately 146 calories per cup. Skim milk has 88 calories per cup.
While this may not be the answer you were hoping for, I can tell you how to enjoy the bowl of cereal you’re sitting in front of completely guilt free.
How do I burn off these Calories from the cereal bowl?
Let’s assume you ate a bowl of Cheerios (1 cup) with skim milk (1 cup). In total this is about 204 calories. This is equal to nearly an hour of walking OR 20 minutes of cycling OR 30 minutes of swimming. This doesn’t sound too bad and it really isn’t. The problem starts to rise when you have two bowls or three bowls of cereal. So eat as much as you want but be ready to burn those calories.
Note: The quantity per serve can be different for different cereal. Some cereals might say 30 grams per serve while others might say 35 grams per serve so make sure you check. If there isn’t an exact measurement, you can measure it yourself!
But there is more to just calories in a cereal bowl that you need to consider. You must take the carbs, sugar, protein and other nutritional facts into account. If you’re on a diet, I would suggest talking to a health or diet professional to design a proper eating program that ticks off all your requirements.
Did you know a simple 2 miles walk can help burn a lot of calories. Find out more here.
Other important Nutritional facts about cereal
Sugar in Cereals
Despite calories in a bowl of cereal, some cereals have excessive sugar. According to Calorie King, the amount of sugar in some of the most popular cereals are:
- Cheerios has around 4.4 grams of sugar per cup
- Corn Flakes have about 1.7 grams of sugar per cup
- Wheat – Bix has around 1 gram of sugar per serving (2 biscuits)
- Froot Loops has about 10 grams of sugar per cup
- Rice Krispies has about 4 grams of sugar per 1 ¼ cups
Out of these five popular cereal options, Froot Loops have the most sugar with 10 grams per serving. However, fruit loops is not the only cereal you should be thinking of cutting from your diet. In fact, most cereals, even those described as healthy, contain excessive amounts of sugar leading to various detrimental health problems increasing the possibility of obesity, heart problems and diabetes.
Carbs in Cereals.
Majority of the calories that are found in cereals come from carbohydrates and while some carbs are good for you, some can be really bad. Most cereals are highly processed and often contain a lot of refined carbs. In fact, the main source of refined carbs include white flour which is found in many cereals and an excessive consumption of refined carbs can lead to serious health issues.
Refined carbs contain less nutrients and are digested extremely fast which leads to rapid spikes in blood sugar levels and are linked with diabetes and heart diseases. Cereals made with whole grains contain complex carbohydrates that have more nutrients than refined grains. These are healthier than the traditional highly refined cereal choices.
Examples of Healthy Cereal Options
If you have a bowl of Froot Loops or some cereal that is high in calories, that’s okay but for future, here are just a few healthy cereal options:
Barbara’s Shredded Wheat Cereal
Per Serve (two biscuits): It has 140 calories, 31 grams of carbs, 0 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. The best part is that it is 100% whole grain which means you get the maximum nutrition with many more health benefits!
Uncle Tobys Shredded Wheat Cereal
Similar to Barabar’s Shredded Whet Cereal: two biscuits It has 167 calories, 32.9 grams of carbs, 0,9 grams of sugar, 4.3 grams of protein and 6.2 grams of fiber. It is also made from wholegrain wheat.
Kellogg’s All-Bran Original Cereal
Per Serving (½ cup): It has 97 calories, 23 grams of carbs, 6 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber. The cereal not only has a lot of fiber but is also made from whole grain wheat.
Per Serve (two biscuits 30 grams): It has 107 calories, 20.1 grams of carbs, 1 grams of sugar, 3.7 grams of protein and 3.3 grams of fiber. This cereal is made from 100% whole grain, and is thus healthy and the perfect way to start a day.
How do you make a bowl of cereal healthy?
While some cereals are really healthy, they might not taste that good. Making cereals healthy and tastier is the easiest task – literally just add any sort of fruit like strawberries, bananas or blueberries and there you have a healthy and tasty breakfast. Maybe some almonds or oats can help make your cereal more healthy and more delicious. The point is, that you don’t need sugary or unhealthy cereal to satisfy your taste, you can do that with a few fruits or even some honey!
