Big G Cereals Have Whole Grain As First Ingredient & Prize Pack Giveaway!

Were you aware ready-to-eat cereal is the leading whole grain source for Americans – and the top source of whole grain in children’s diets?  I know my son doesn’t consume very much bread or products containing whole grain besides cereal.  For this reason it’s essential for me to choose cereal products with whole grain listed as the first ingredient to help him get the maximum amount of whole grain within his diet as is possible. Eating adequate whole grain has been connected to healthier body weights, lowering the risk of heart related illnesses, and much more! I want to make certain my munchkin is getting as much as he should!

In all honesty, when I’m inside the store shopping and I’m scrambling to leave,  I don’t always check out the product labeling as often as I ought to.  Even so, I don’t need to worry when I’m selecting General Mills Big G cereals, since there is a big visible white check on the brand new product packaging expressing that whole grain is the first and most prevalent ingredient.  I should still make it a good habit to check the side panel, but the white check does make it much easier to spot the cereal containing whole grain in the grocery store aisle.  You can find over 50 cereal products with the white check including family favorites like Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Total, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cheerios.  Every General Mills Big G cereal features a minimum of nine grams of whole grain per serving, and more than 20 General Mills cereals provide 16 grams or more.  The wonderful news is although the cereals are packed with all that wholesome whole grain, they continue to have exactly the same great taste your family enjoys!

Here is what MyBlogSpark has to say about the importance of whole grain and how to easily include more of it in your diet.

According to Dr. Travis Stork, emergency room physician and host of “The Doctors,” identifying whole grain products can be challenging. Shoppers can look for nutritional cues on the front of the box, but they need to read the ingredient list to know if they are getting enough whole grain. Ingredient lists detail ingredients in order of prevalence, and if the words “whole grain” are followed by a grain like wheat or oats, it means the food contains more whole grain than any other single ingredient. Here’s how to determine if your cereals have whole grain as a first ingredient:

With all the health messages facing grocery store shoppers, it can be confusing to translate what appears on food labels into nutritional needs, and hard to determine which foods have a meaningful amount of whole grain. Dr. Stork has some additional recommendations to help you include whole grain easily into your diet. They include:

Start Early! The Dietary Guidelines recommend people get at least 48 grams of whole grain in their daily diets. Get a jump-start on the day’s nutrition by incorporating whole grain into your morning routine. For instance, when choosing cereal make sure whole grain is listed as the first ingredient. One easy choice is cereal with the white check, which have more whole grain than any other single ingredient.

Make Simple Swaps. Choose whole grain versions of the foods you love. Great options include whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread or even whole grain crackers. Also, try different types of whole grain. Use brown rice instead of white rice as a side dish at dinner or popcorn, which is a whole grain, for a snack.

Don’t Judge a Food by Its Cover. The front of food packages provide good nutritional cues, but don’t forget to read the ingredients and check the nutrition label and side labels for additional health information. Cereals with the white check even include the amount of whole grain per serving on packaging.

Fast Lane for Whole Grain – Play and Enter To Win ALL 50 Big G Cereals!

To help people make clearer choices, Dr. Stork has partnered with General Mills to help with whole grain education, including introducing Fast Lane for Whole Grain, an online educational game. Consumers are challenged to quickly identify products that have whole grain as the first ingredient while shopping virtual grocery store aisles. Players have the option to enter a sweepstakes to win one of each of the more than 50 cereals with the white check. The sweepstakes runs through March 18, 2012 on www.WholeGrainNation.com and 50 winners will be selected during the 10-week sweepstakes.

Big G Cereals Prize Pack Giveaway!

General Mills would like to give a reader a prize pack containing cereals with the white check including Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Honey Nut Cheerios and Total.  TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY PLEASE USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM INSTEAD OF LEAVING BLOG COMMENTS HERE. Any comments are welcomed below, but won’t count towards the giveaway. Only entries using the Rafflecopter form will be eligible for prize. Thank you!

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“Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”