Let’s see…I have three kinds of cereral in my kitchen. They all say one serving is ¾ cup, and also include nutrition facts if you pour ½ cup skim milk on it. Considering most people eat more than ¾ cup cereal with more than ½ cup milk, and not everyone uses skim milk (I buy 2%), the nutrition facts can be misleading.
That said, Cruch Berries has 12g sugar, 1g protein, and 25% DV of six vitamins and minerals (without milk). It has 100% DV of folic acid. No vitamin A, C, or calcium. 100 calories. No dietary fiber.
Honey Nut Cheerios has 110 calories, 9g sugar, and 10–50% DV of the listed vitamins and minerals, plus 2g protein. 2g fiber. (without milk)
Berry Berry Kix has 100 calories per serving, 8g sugar, and 10–25% DV of the listed vitamins and minerals, plus 1g protein and 1g fiber. (without milk) It’s also made with no artificial preservatives or flavors.
Too bad I don’t have any “grown up” cereal to compare it too. Usually when I buy breakfast cereal, I look at the sugar content. It if has more than 13 grams, I don’t buy it at all. My kids get to pick the cereal they like, but the rule is no marshmallows and no chocolate. That rule is hard for me because I looooooove Lucky Charms. And Cocoa Puffs. My kids don’t eat cereal for breakfast more than once or twice a week, but they do like to snack on it dry now and then.
I read somewhere once that the vitamins and minerals added to cereral are usually in the form of a powder, which comes off in the milk. This is why you should always slurp the milk out of the bowl when you’re done with the cereal. :)