extra credit

Andrew works on snatch technique.

The easy days of the "All I want for Christmas" challenge are behind us. I forgot to write it up last night but todays is double unders. Hope you brought your favorite rope. Wanna know how many? solve this: do one less than the 16th centered pentagonal number.  (Yes, you can use Google)

Hope you didn't feed cereal to your kids for breakfast:

Bonbons For Breakfast? Most Kid Cereals Pack Enough Sugar To Be Dessert

To many a mom, you can't go much lower than a Twinkie. The famous snack sort of epitomizes nutritional bankruptcy.

So now we learn that breakfast cereals such as Kellogg's Honey Smacks are even worse — in terms of sugar content — than a Twinkie. One cup of the cereal has 20 grams of sugar, compared with 18 grams in the cake. (The recommended serving size on the label is three-fourths of a cup.) Well, that gets our attention.

A new report by the Environmental Working Group finds that that vast majority of popular cereals marketed to kids — 56 out of the 84 EWG looked at — don't meet the voluntary guidelines proposed earlier this year by the federal Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children.

The top offenders, including Honey Smacks, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, and Quaker Cap'n Crunch, all contain more than 41 percent sugar (by weight). The guidelines, meanwhile, for ready-to-eat cereals recommend no more than 26 percent added sugar by weight.

And sugar isn't the only concern. EWG also found in its evaluation of 84 cereals that many also contain more sodium and fewer whole grains than the guidelines call for.

So, cereal companies, what say you? Well, Kellogg's vice president of nutrition, Lisa Sutherland, responded to us with a e-mail statement. She says Kellogg's has reduced the sugar content of its U.S. kids' cereals by 16 percent since 2007. Plus, she says Honey Smacks are not marketed to kids and are "seldom eaten by them."

Comments

[Jack Richards]

To think Andrew almost sweat in my sauna suit. I wouldn't have washed that...EVER!

[Jack Richards]

Is it just me or does Andrew look like Bisping? A non-douche nozzle version.

[Sharon]

I KNEW my Mom was on the right track when I was growing up! People think my childhood was weird because I DIDN'T eat sugary cereals for bfast (in fact--I kinda think they're nasty). Mom always insisted on a hot meal--oatmeal (no sugar there either--butter and milk), eggs, etc.