I have a friend in the industry. Back in the 90's when I was growing up, they mixed the sugar right into the dough. Now it's a glaze added on the surface, which dramatically reduced overall sugar content.

Is it a healthy breakfast? There are certainly better options with a little bit more effort. But it is far less unhealthy than it used to be.

For what it's worth, I stumbled on oatmeal with a bit of honey and berries as my go-to meal. A diabetic friend brought that up as a breakfast recommended by their dietitian, and I've seen it recommended other places as well. It takes 5 minutes to prepare in the microwave at 50% power to prevent overflowing, in which time I could have completely finished a bowl of cereal.

Oats has been one of my primary breakfasts for years. I use the microwave cooking time to brew a cup of pourover coffee.

It’s a bit pricey but in addition to berries I’ll also mix in freeze dried fruit, which is immensely more shelf stable than fresh without adding sugar.

I love overnight oats because it takes so little prep. Takes 10 minutes to prep, including making a batch of chopped fresh fruit, and lasts 5-7 days (I use non-dairy milk to reduce spoilage). I do eat it cold each day though.

If it microwaves in 5 minutes it's rolled oats, not oatmeal. Rolled oats are still pretty darned processed -- the milling and steaming process convert many of the complex starches and a good portion of the cellulose into easily-digested sugars and simple starches. The gelatinization in the microwave completes that process.

I imagine it's still better for you than a vat of Rice Krispies with milk and sugar but that's a low bar.

Agree. Also as a vegetarian that often picks vegan options, breakfast cereal is an important source of B vitamins and other nutrients for me as it's all fortified

I solved that by integrating nutritional yeast into all of my cooking. You can sneak a bit into almost everything.

But it's still a ton of carbohydrates and not much else, even if you reduce sugar

The solution is to eat dull cereal.

My cereal of choice is Grape Nuts with sliced banana. Is that dull enough?

The name Grape Nuts is one of the most deceptive names in food history. As a kid definitely not what I expected.

Grape Nuts are actually pretty low on the nutrition scale (don't read the ingredients/nutrition box if you don't want to be depressed). Upgrade to Ezekiel 4:9 which is similar in concept but 100x more healthful.

Just steer clear of Ezekiel 4:12.

Weird name to use; even if you want something biblical, there are probably less offputting references to bread.

Grape nuts are highly underrated!

"Ever eat a pine tree?"

Nope, don't like gin

Jesus, please stop spreading this kind of nonsense. It’s totally fine for people to eat a banana 7 days a week, 365 days a year as part of their breakfast.

Also, their nutrient density is perfectly fine. It’s high in fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6.

Bananas are OK, but slightly green bananas are far better for us than the sweet tasting ones that are starting to turn.

that sugar comes with fiber though so it's okay. the problem is the sheer amount of just sugar, which eg frosted flakes has an overabundance of. A banana is fine.

One banana with breakfast is not going to kill you.

If you’re worried that bananas have too much sugar for you personally you have bigger fish to fry than cereal.

I’d rather eat a slice of bread with a multivitamin, which is essentially the equivalent to what dull cereal is, no?

they have a filter at the sewage plant specifically the right size to take out the multivitamin pills

if you take a vitamin pill, make sure it's bioavailable, ideally using EDTA, or some other polydentate ligand.