Figurine bars! A staple as my mother always was trying to lose weight and wanted me to do the same. 
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When our kids started to request sweeter cereal, we came up with a policy that they could mix (half sweet-splurge cereal, half with Cherios or other less-sugar options). But but in high school when they wanted to skip breakfast, I really encourage anything theyâd be willing to eat before school (though they still often declined).
My aunt is a health food nut from California but who transferred to MA and NY so was a stand out health food nut. She made her own yogurt which I thought was just awful (and made her kids eat it, claiming they liked it - canât fool me!)
But sheâs had a bowl of Cheerios and a banana every morning of her life for breakfast. Even if sheâs having something else or going out for breakfast or brunch, she eats the Cheerios and banana.
She 84 I think and looks 60, sort of a Diane Keaton look-a-like. She walks quite a bit.
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We grew up eating Fruit Loops, Rice Krispies and Frosted flakes and Alphabets. We wanted Captain Crunch but my Mom said it was too expensive. I limited the sugar cereal for my kids but they all begged and I would give them a box of sugar cereal as one night of Chanukah present.
My husband likes the no sugar wheat bites from Whold Foods as a snack with no milk. I like the Seven Sunday cocoa cereal that @abasket linked as a snack. I eat it dry.
My grandson likes Cheerios as an after dinner snack.
That looks good. (Iâve enjoyed other Seven Sundays cereals). I like a sweet cereal now and then for snack. Sometimes I buy Cracklin Oat Bran and take out a small handful out as a âcookiesâ snack.
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I didnât read the article, but hasnât sugary cereals always been marketed to children??
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Not always, but throughout our lifetime. One difference is in earlier decades, childrenâs cereals were often more blatant about high the sugar content in marketing with cereal names like Sugar Smacks (became Honey Smacks), Sugar Frosted Flakes (became Frosted Flakes), Sugar Crisp (became Golden Crisp), Sugar Pops (became Corn Pops), Sugar Coated Rice Crinkles, etc. Some of these were >50% sugar by weight as early as the 1950s. Note that the original Sugar Smacks ad below says Sugar Smacks are wonderful for kids because of âsugarâs healthful energy.â
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The kid I was a nanny to watched mostly PBS and I think ONE show on Saturday mornings. His mom always said she could tell what the commercial was (yes, even on PBS) by what he asked for. âMom, can I have milk? Mom, can I have Kelloggâs Frosted Flakes? Mom, can I have a pop tart?â He didnât even know what a pop tart was.
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Itâd be interesting to compare with the EU formulation.
I had friends whoâd buy stuff in France because the sweetener wasnât corn syrup and.. I forget why else. Theyâd also compare British and âcontinentalâ contents.
There also was an article about Poles complaining their products were not made the same as in Western Europe.
So, it can be the same name but different types and amounts of sugar.
(American cereals have taken over breakfasts, why why have Kelloggâs over croissants or baguette with French butter and jam? 
).
I could try and take pictures tomorrow if anyone would find that fun.
Also, thereâs been something called âNutriscoreâ on everything (itâs not mandatory but if thereâs none you know itâs bad). It depends on the amount of sugar, fat, salt, processed components, I think. Agribusiness changed product content to avoid D or E scores and weâre pushed to find recipes that met the A or B scores.
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Yes, the European cereals often differ. Corn syrup is rarely used in many areas of Europe because it is typically more expensive than US, European consumers often perceive it more negatively, and tradition with past history of sugar quotas negatively impacting HFCS more than other sugars. Many European cereals also have less total sugar and different product names.
For example, a comparison of major ingredients in Cocoa Krispies (US) and Coco Pops (France) is below. The mascot also differs. In France the mascot is a âmischievous monkeyâ named Coco, which relates to why the product name is âCocoâ. In the US, the mascot is the Snap, Crackle, and Pop elves.
- Cocoa Krispies (US) â Rice, Sugar, Cocoa (37% sugar)
- Coco Pops (Australia) â Rice, Sugar Cocoa (32% sugar)
- Coco Pops (France) â Rice, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder (17% sugar)
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In the US, corn is one of the best ways for farmers to harvest government subsidies, which results in a plentiful supply of corn, some of which gets used for corn syrup, corn ethanol, etc.
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In addition to consumer preference for lower sugar, perhaps there is additional incentive in France to develop and sell a lower sugar product because of the large brightly colored âNutri Scoreâ that appears on the box? I was curious, so I googled that. Nutri-Score - Wikipedia
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Yes, we discussed Nutri-Score in the health thread, which is the primary component of Yuka food rating. I expect this contributes to Kelloggâs choosing to have a lower sugar content in French version. I initially couldnât get a B score (mostly healthy), until I later changed to using an older version of NS formula from previous years, which is listed below. They seem to be gaming the formula to get a B rating. Under 2023+ scoring, the French version would decline to C, which seems more appropriate. US version would be on the border of D and E, probably E.
386 calories = +4* (US = +4)
17% Sugar = +3* (US = +8)
0.65% Salt = +2* (US = +4)
0.9g Sat Fat = +0* (US = +1)6.3g protein = -3 (US = Not counted)
3.8g fiber = -4* (US = -1?)
Total = 2* = B (US = D)
*Just under threshold for worse score
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Thank you, I had no idea there were so many differences (I donât buy cereals except for plain oatmeal).
We fed that cereal to our daughter growing up. When she was a senior in high school, she was the one to tell us itâs unhealthy. So we started eating more healthy meals.
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My dad was T1 diabetic so my mom did not allow any cereals except Cheerios, unless they were a treat. And always had to have fruit or something on them.
I bought Crackling Oat Bran for my D when she needed to gain weight in middle school. But we typically stay away from cereals. I need more protein in the morning, if I have Cheerios I feel a plunge in my blood sugar at 10:00. Currently I have steel cut oats with chia seeds every morning. LOL now I sound like an old person.
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Under the current Nutri-Score rules, the lowest and highest rated US cold cereals (excluding oatmeal and granola/seeds) that appear in a supermarket database I found online are below. Capân Crunch didnât have the highest sugar content (Honey Smacks was highest). Instead its poor Nutri-Score relates to a combination of high sugar, higher salt than all other popular childrenâs cereals, some saturated fat, and no fiber. The Malt-O-Meal and Momâs Best brands are owned by Post.
Worst Nutri-Score
1 . Capân Crunch Original / Crunchberries (42% Sugar)
3. Malt-O-Meal Capân Crunch Like Cereal (45% Sugar)
3. Malt-O-Meal Cocoa Krispies Like Cereal (44% Sugar)
3. Post Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles (45% Sugar)
3. Capân Crunch Peanut Butter (33% Sugar)
7. Momâs Best Cocoa Krispies Like Cereal (43% Sugar)
8. Malt-O-Meal Cocoa Puffs Like Cereal (49% Sugar)
8. Corn Pops (38% Sugar)
10. Malt-O-Meal Lucky Charms Like Cereal (41% Sugar)
Best Nutri-Score
1 . Shredded Wheat (Several Brands), (~100% Wheat)
2. Love Grown Power Oâs (Beans, Brown Rice, Salt)
3. Ezekial Golden Flax (Wheat, Flax, Barley, âŠ)
4. Kashi Organic Vegan Berry / Autumn (Wheat, Cane Sugar*)
6. Ezekial Almond (Wheat, Barley, Almonds, âŠ)
7. Fiber One (Wheat, Bran, Starch)
8. Kashi Organic Vegan Cinnamon / Vanilla (Wheat, Cane Sugar*)
10. Kashi Dark Cocoa Karma (Wheat, Cane Sugar*, Cocoa)
*Has high levels of protein + fiber, which cancels out sugar penalty
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Pretty impressive that @Lindagaf nailed it in post #5! 
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