Is breakfast cereal Weet-Bix (Weetabix) a healthy option to start your day?
There has been debate around the cereal’s nutrition as a breakfast choice because it is low in protein and fat.
At Healthy Food Guide, we have no problem with people – children and adults alike – eating Weet-Bix as part of a balanced diet. As breakfast cereals go, Weet-Bix is low in sugars, sodium and saturated fat, while being high in fibre.
To make a balanced breakfast, we’d recommend adding skim/trim milk. This increases the protein in the breakfast, as well as being a good source of calcium. As most people add milk to Weet-Bix, we don’t see the protein content in the cereal as an issue. We recommend skim/trim milk as dairy fat is high in saturated fat. We don’t advocate a low-fat diet – but we do need to watch our saturated fat intake.
Two Weet-Bix with a cup of skim/trim milk provides 834kJ (199cal), 13.6g protein, 32.6g carbs, 13.3g sugars (almost all from the milk) and 3g fibre. This is too light on its own for breakfast – doubling it would be better. We suggest having four Weet-Bix with two cups of milk. Then, add a piece of fruit and a few nuts for more fibre and a wider range of nutrients.
Weet-Bix with milk or yoghurt, fruit and nuts can be a good start to the day, but there are plenty of other options too. For a really simple change, swap out the Weet-Bix with oats. These can be made as overnight oats or porridge.
Eggs are a really satisfying way to start the day too, and there are lots of nutritious smoothie recipes which can be made quickly.
Eating a varied diet throughout the day and the week is important to ensure we get all the nutrients we need. Having said that, many people stick to just a few versions of breakfast as it just makes life simpler during the morning rush. So, if you’re doing that, make sure it’s a nutritious breakfast that will set you up for the day ahead.
Related links:
We compare Weet-Bix to toasted muesli
How much sugar is in that breakfast cereal?
Chia, raspberry and banana smoothie
For more ideas for using Weet-Bix try these:
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