I’m participating in a blog tour through the Mom Bloggers Club for General Mills, to help promote their Big G line of kids’ cereals. General Mills wants us to spread the word that their 9 Big G Kids’ cereals- Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Chocolate Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Trix, Kix, Golden Grahams, Reese’s Puffs, and yes, even the one I have steadfastly refused to purchase, Cookie Crisp – are a good source of calcium and Vitamin D, nutrients that growing kids need.

I grew up with a diabetic Mom and a diabetic brother. My Mom was absolutely against sugar cereal. She bought plain corn flakes, plain rice krispies, and plain cheerios, and that was IT.  When I started buying cereal for the boys, I had a really hard time buying anything other than those 3 types of cereal. But kids see commercials, and the bright displays at the grocery store, and soon I found myself picking up the packages to see how much damage I’d be doing to their little bodies if I bought anything sweetened. Turns out, not as much as I thought.

A recent report in a leading consumer magazine ranked kid cereals by nutritional content, and all nine General Mills Big G kid cereals included in the report were ranked in the top half. All Big G kid cereals have at least eight grams of whole grain per serving (at least 48 grams are recommended daily), and all have 12 grams or less of sugar per serving. Cereal is low calorie and provides as many as 10 important nutrients, and kids like eating it! When you consider how much sugar is in juice and other types of breakfast foods like toaster pastries, a serving of Big G cereal turns out to be a pretty nutritious choice!

For my personal review, General Mills sent me a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, one that I’ve only purchased a few times. I tasted it straight from the box, and WOW, is it cinnamon-y! But once it’s in a bowl and topped with milk, some of the cinnamon goes into the milk leaving crunchy little squares of cereal, and deliciously drinkable milk. Between the boys and Kaitlyn, one box was gone in 2 days. A 3/4 cup serving of Cinnamon Toast Crunch has 130 calories, 3 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber, and 15 vitamins and minerals including calcium, iron, and vitamin D. And that’s before adding milk!

For more great information on General Mills’ Big G Kids’ Cereals, visit http://www.growupstrong.com/. There’s a link at the top of the page to print a coupon good for $1.00 off 2 General Mills cereals (only the varieties listed in the coupon though). You’ll also find nutrition info, recipes, and information about the Box Tops for Education program (I’ve been clipping Box Tops from my General Mills products since Ryan was in Kindergarten!).

And next time you’re at the grocery store and the kids are begging for Trix or Cookie Crisp or any of the Big G Kids’ Cereals, take another look at the nutritional info. You’ll be surprised at how much nutrition they provide, and just think how thrilled your kids will be to get a cereal “treat”!