The Goal of a Healthy Breakfast
Many Americans do not eat breakfast, even though nutritionists say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You’ve probably heard the old adage: Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch, and a pauper at dinner.
Unless you’re Dagwood Bumstead, your body has been without food for more than eight hours. The very definition of breakfast is “breaking the fast.”
Eating a good breakfast gives your body the fuel it needs to get off to an optimal start. Those who choose to skip breakfast may have an energy drop and are more inclined to overeat the wrong foods later.
My breakfast goal is to avoid later-in-the-day binge eating by consuming a fat, a complex carbohydrate, and some protein each morning. And I strive to hold this meal to about 350 calories.
7 Healthy Breakfast Ideas
Breakfast 1:
- 1 scrambled egg cooked without added butter or salt. Instead use cooking spray.
- 1 slice whole-wheat toast, dry, or with 1/2 teaspoon of trans-fat-free, light margarine (such as Smart Balance Lite), or 1 tablespoon high-quality, sugar-free jam
- 1/2 cup salsa. Homemade is best, as you can minimize the salt. Regular salsa has about 780 mg sodium/serving. If using commercially prepared salsa, make sure there’s less than 140 mg sodium/serving.
- 1 fruit. Any seasonal fruit will work, or substitute 1/2 cup of canned (in juice, not syrup) fruit of your choice.
Breakfast 2:
- 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese, or one cup plain, fat-free yogurt (regular or Greek, no sugar added).
- 1 slice whole-wheat toast, dry, or with 1/2 teaspoon of trans-fat-free, light margarine (such as Smart Balance Lite), or 1 tablespoon high-quality, sugar-free jam (such as Cornaby’s 10-Calorie Spreadable Fruit).
- 1 fruit. Any seasonal fruit will work, or substitute 1/2 cup of canned (in juice, not syrup) fruit of your choice.
Breakfast 3:
- 1 tablespoon fat-free cream cheese.
- 2 ounces smoked salmon. Always check the sodium content in smoked fish! Try to find one with less than 300 mg sodium/serving.
- 1 slice whole-wheat toast, dry, or with 1/2 teaspoon of trans-fat-free, light margarine (such as Smart Balance Lite), or 1 tablespoon high-quality, sugar-free jam
- 1 fruit. Any seasonal fruit will work, or substitute 1/2 cup of canned (in juice, not syrup) fruit of your choice.
Breakfast 4:
- 1 cup fat-free plain yogurt, or 1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt (unsweetened). If you prefer fruit-flavored yogurt, use a type of yogurt that is fruit-juice sweetened, rather than sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or sugar.
- 1 slice whole-wheat toast, dry, or with 1/2 teaspoon of trans-fat-free, light margarine (such as Smart Balance Lite), or 1 tablespoon high-quality, sugar-free jam (such as Cornaby’s 10-Calorie Spreadable Fruit).
- 1 tablespoon reduced-fat peanut butter. Select a brand that has less than 11–12 g fat per serving.
- 1 fruit. Any seasonal fruit will work, or substitute 1/2 cup of canned (in juice, not syrup) fruit of your choice.
Breakfast 5:
- 1/2 cup Grape-Nuts.
- 1 cup skim milk.
- 1 apple.
Breakfast 6:
- 1 cup oatmeal (or other whole-grain cereal), cooked, without butter or sugar.
- 1 cup fat-free milk. You can prepare the oatmeal with milk instead of water, if desired.
- 1 fruit. Any seasonal fruit will work, or substitute 1/2 cup of canned (in juice, not syrup) fruit of your choice.
Breakfast 7:
- 2 (4-inch) whole-wheat pancakes (about 170 calories with 3 g fat and 5 g fiber), no butter or syrup.
- 1 egg, scrambled, without added butter or salt. Instead, use cooking spray, extra-virgin olive oil spray, or canola oil spray and add fresh herbs or a salt-free seasoning blend.
- 1/2 cup pineapple. Select fresh or canned pineapple in 100 percent fruit juice, not canned in syrup.
- 1/2 banana.
This material was taken from Dian’s just released book, Tipping the Scales in Your Favor.
