Last week as part of National Nutrition Month, we looked at the new effort by the Food and Drug Administration to update the “Nutrition Facts” labels placed on our foods. We’re excited about the changes, which should make it quite a bit easier to understand what it is we’re eating; but in the meantime, we ought to be making simple changes to make our diets healthier no matter what! Since this week (3/33 - 3/7) is also National School Breakfast Week, we thought we’d look at nutritional options for the first meal of the day.
Breakfast is more than just a meal, however--in fact, we’ve all heard that it’s “the most important meal of the day” (a belief shared by 93% of Americans according to a recent poll). So why do we risk sabotaging a day’s nutrition with the wrong kind of breakfast? Too many of the foods we eat when we wake up are high-fat and high-calorie, when they should really be high in nutrients we need to run efficiently (and protein to keep us full until lunchtime). And lest you think that skipping breakfast is a good way to avoid gaining weight, think again: 22% of people who skip breakfast are actually obese, and countless studies have shown that eating breakfast is an important part of a weight-loss strategy! So with that in mind, let’s take a look at some options for maintaining a breakfast routine that also encourages a healthy weight!
At its most basic, a healthy breakfast should contain a few simple things: whole grains, low-fat protein, low-fat dairy (if your diet allows it), and--very importantly--some fruits and vegetables. If you can manage to get a serving of each of these without exploding your calorie count, you should be in pretty good shape. Still, there is a bit of a balancing act at work here--try to focus on proteins like lean meat or fish, poultry or eggs, and put the whole grains and dairy to work providing protein too by selecting options like cottage cheese or skim milk and whole grain cereals, oatmeal or granola. This way, you’ll get the protein you need to hold you over while still hitting the rest of your goals. And if we haven’t convinced you with the multiple posts on it in the past, let’s reiterate: fruits and vegetables are essential components of a daily nutritional plan!
Beyond these basic guidelines, why not switch it up! Variety is the spice of life, and there are so many meals that fit these guidelines that it can fill up a lifetime of great eating! Check out some of the following links for help with coming up with ideas:
And why not take the time to share some of your own best recipes! Let us know in the comments or post them to our Facebook page here!
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