Candy Disguised As Breakfast :

My one daughter is a healthy eater. She's nine but I notice that she's getting a very big belly. I buy Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Pebbles (sugary cereal). What can I buy that she would eat, or is this cereal fine?
--Worried in Wisconsin

Your question brings up a lot of issues, including the difficult one of how to keep your kids healthy in the face of advertising directed at kids. My pet peeve is cereals that start out healthy, but then get "crunchy." Crunch means manufacturers add sugar, which means more useless calories.

The cereal manufacturers know that it costs them almost nothing to add sugar, and children are naturally drawn toward the sweet taste. The cereal aisle is full of candy disguised as breakfast cereal, so you need to be a smart but firm shopper.

Choose healthier cereals for your kids to eat, but make cereal more fun and nutritious by adding fruit and maybe some crunchy nuggets of slivered almonds or nutty cereal such as Grape Nuts. If your child is gaining weight too quickly, she can be at risk for diseases associated with adult overweight and obesity, namely type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Are you within a normal weight for your height? Health at home takes a team effort, with you the Mom as team leader. Here's the plan. There are lots of breakfast options that are tasty and healthy, too, such as hot oatmeal, whole-grain waffles with unsweetened preserves or a drizzle of real maple syrup, easy-to-prepare muffins, or whole-grain pancakes or French toast made from whole-wheat bread.

Cold cereal is quick and convenient, so buy healthy, not-too-sweet cereals, such as regular Cheerios, Kashi (NOT Kashi Crunch), low-sugar and low-fat granola, or mini Shredded Wheat, and put out fresh and/or dried fruit, small cups of plain or sugar-free yogurt. Teach your daughter that she can control the sugar by allowing her to add a teaspoon or two. Ask her to taste the cereal each time she adds a teaspoon of sugar, because she will probably be satisfied with just one or two.

Here's a recipe for healthy muffins that can feed the whole family:

Fruity Muffins (makes 12 muffins)
1.5 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup of whole oats
0.75 cup unbleached flour
0.25 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp. baking soda
0.5 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins
0.5 cup diced dried apricots
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. honey

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine buttermilk and oats in a small saucepan; heat just until warm; set aside. Spray nonstick muffin tin lightly with cooking spray, or line with paper muffin liners.

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