Healthy Breakfast Ideas

Repeat after me …

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

As a former breakfast chef, and maybe one of the biggest breakfast fans in the entire world, I whole-heartedly believe every single word in that sentence. Not only because I wake up hungry and need something to eat, or because eating breakfast can be like eating desert (isn’t breakfast the most delicious meal of the day, besides desert?) but because we need to put nutrition into our bodies first thing each day, and stat!

Once upon a time there were the four food groups: dairy, meat, grains, and fruits and vegetables. In 2010, the USDA changed the food pyramid to include five food groups: fruits, grains, vegetables, protein and dairy.

To make a healthy breakfast each day, remember to choose one item from at least three of the food groups.

• Fruits – Fresh fruit, 100 percent juice without added sugar.
• Vegetables – Add onions, mushrooms, or peppers to your eggs. Drink a V8.
• Grains – Whole-grain rolls, bagels, hot or cold whole-grain cereals, low-fat bran muffins, crackers, or melba toast.
• Dairy – Skim milk, low-fat yogurt cups or low-fat cheeses, such as cottage and natural cheeses.
• Protein – Hard-boiled eggs, peanut butter, lean slices of meat and/or poultry.

HEALTHY BREAKFAST IDEAS:

• Eggs
• French toast, waffles, or pancakes (try wheat or whole-grain varieties)
• Cold cereal and milk
• Hot cereal, such as oatmeal or cream of wheat (try some dried fruit or nuts on top)
• Whole-grain toast, bagel, or English muffin with cheese
• Yogurt with fruit or nuts
• Fruit smoothie, such as a strawberry smoothie

SOME FUN BREAKFAST IDEAS:

• Banana Dog (peanut butter, a banana, and raisins in a long whole-grain bun)
• Breakfast Taco.(shredded cheese on a tortilla, folded in half and microwaved; top with salsa)
• Country Cottage Cheese (apple butter mixed with cottage cheese)
• Fruit and cream cheese sandwich (use strawberries or other fresh fruit)
• Sandwich – grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, or another favorite
• Leftovers (they’re not just for dinner anymore!)

Skipping breakfast can be one of the worst things you can do for your diet. Skipping breakfast only means that you will be hungrier later in the day, and more than likely, you will end up eating more calories throughout the day and snacking on the wrong types of foods due to sudden hunger pains.

If you find yourself in a rush each morning and can’t find the time to sit down for 10 minutes to eat breakfast, keep these quick breakfasts in your cupboard and grab one as you head out the door.

• single servings of whole-grain, low-sugar cereal
• yogurt
• fresh fruit
• whole-grain muffin
• trail mix of nuts, dried fruits, pretzels, crackers, and dry cereal