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Weet-Bix Little Kids Essentials | Chewsday Review

If you have been following me for a while, you know I love and recommend Weet-bix regularly. But I still often get asked what the difference between Weet-bix Little Kids Essentials and the old version of Weet-bix Kids is, and whether you should choose regular Weet-bix or Weet-bix Little Kids Essentials for your family. Read on to find out!

Ingredients

Wholegrain cereals (97%) [wheat (77%), rye (10%), sorghum (10%)], raw sugar, calcium rich seaweed, barley malt extract, minerals (iron, zinc), vitamins (B3, B2, B6, B1, folate).
The addition of rye and sorghum grains is new to this product. However, the overall wholegrain content is the same as regular/kids Weet-Bix and it is still largely made up of wheat.
Calcium and Zinc are the other new minerals added. But don’t worry, your little one won’t see or taste any seaweed in this product!
Barley malt extract is a sweetener made from sprouted grains (it’s just another form of sugar). You will find this in all Weet-Bix products.

Positives

No added salt, making it a low sodium food (12mg/100g). This product has even less sodium than Weet-Bix Kids (45mg/100g), which was already significantly lower than regular Weet-Bix (270mg/100).
Very low sugar at 2.9g per 100g. This is the same as Weet-Bix Kids, which is just slightly less than regular Weet-Bix (3.3g/100g).
Low fat and saturated fat content (1.8g/100g), well within the healthy guidelines. It is ever so slightly higher than regular/kids Weet-Bix (1.3g/100g). This is likely from the variety of grains and certainly nothing that should concern you!
An excellent source of fibre with 4.1g per/serve! This provides roughly 25% of your little ones recommended daily fibre intake. Again, it’s a little more than Weet-Bix Kids/regular (3.3g/serve).
High in iron, which is often a priority with babies and young children- about 8% of Australian children up to 4 years of age are thought to be iron deficient. This product provides 3mg/serve, the same as Kids and regular Weet-Bix. This contributes about 33% of daily requirements.

Negatives

Marketing

There’s a lot of marketing going on here! I’m totally ok with that when the product is nutritious and the claims aren’t misleading, which is the case here.
Recommended by Kid’s Dietitians- hey that’s me (except not actually me!)! It’s great that Sanitarium consulted dietitians in the making of this cereal, and you can tell. They have created an exceptional product that puts most ‘kids’ cereals to shame.
5-star health rating- well deserved.

Alternatives

Overall when comparing to Weet-Bix Kids there are a few small changes to the ingredients and nutrition- some variety of wholegrains, additional minerals, less sodium and slightly more fibre, but it’s not substantially different.
After 12 months of age when we are less worried about salt you can move to regular Weet-Bix, particularly if this is more friendly for your food budget! It has a bit more salt (but still not heaps), is still high in fibre, contains added iron and is low in sugar.
Vita Brits are another similar option to regular Weet-Bix (low salt and sugar), however they don’t have added iron.