Review: General Mills Cereal

My husband and I will be married for 15 years this April 29. When we first got together, he's frequently stop at my house on his way home from work. Every day, he'd have a bowl of cereal for a "snack". We joke now that my husband fell in love with me for my cereal because I always had at least three different boxes...cereal is something I always have on hand and a lot of.

When my oldest sons were in school, cereal was a mandatory breakfast item before they left the house. I never felt good unless they left the house with something in their stomach before school and cereal was filling, quick and simple. Studies also say that children who eat breakfast before school perform better on tests, are less likely to be tardy or miss class, make less trips to the school office, and have fewer discipline problems than children who skip breakfast. Now I only have to police my 13 year-old daughter in the morning but it's an easy job. She loves her cereal and usually has a bowl before she even gets herself dressed for school. Sometimes she's so sleepy when she pours a bowl, I've found the cereal box in the refrigerator after she's left for school!

Cereal also provides important vitamins, minerals and fiber. Cereal is the #1 source of whole grains in a child's diet. Cereal eaters also tend to consume less fat than their counterparts. Studies have shown that people who eat cereal in the morning for breakfast tend to weigh far less than those who don't eat cereal or even skip breakfast entirely.

And heck, it just tastes good! It's one of my favorite after-work snacks before I go to bed. I work second shift and if I tend to eat dinner earlier or eat a light dinner, I need something to eat before I go to bed and cereal always fits the bill. It's filling without causing tummy-trouble when I lay down; the last thing I need when I go to bed is heartburn.

General Mills and MyBlogSpark sent me coupons to buy try four General Mills Cereals for free. There are four of us in the house now: me, my husband, my 22 year-old son and my 13 year-old daughter. I let each of use pick our favorite cereal using our free coupons. My daughter chose Lucky Charms which is one of her favorite cereals. My son loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch, one of the cereals I almost always have in my cart when I grocery shop. My son is a large boy: 6'1" and 280 pounds. He doesn't just eat a bowl of cereal, my son has a trough. I've actually seen my son walked by a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, grab a fistful and eat it straight without any milk.

My husband wanted to try something different so he picked Strawberry Chex and declared it a keeper. Strawberry Chex isn't a frosted cereal and it had a nice, light strawberry flavor to it. I picked the Banana Nut Cheerios since I'd never had them before. Another winner from General Mills; while I always add a teaspoon of sugar to my cereal, I could have easily gone without and still enjoyed the Banana Nut Cheerios. It reminded me of my Nana's banana nut bread. My daughter also gave the Banana Nut Cheerios a try and said she'd like me to buy it again. Two thumbs up for Banana Nut Cheerios.

General Mills is committed to further reducing sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain. Less sugar and more nutrients means far healthier kids..and adults.

You can print a coupon good for $1.00 of one box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms or Trix General Mills Cereals by clicking here. The coupon is good until 02/23/2010. Take advantage of the countless benefits cereal has to offer courtesy of General Mills.

My thanks to MyBlogSpark and General Mills for providing me with the free coupons to try their cereal and the information on their commitment to better health for children.