Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day

They aren't lying when they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! When you skip breakfast you are missing out on some valuable nutrients to help start off your day. There are many good reasons to make sure you eat breakfast:

It can help you include more vitamins and minerals into your daily intake.
You will have better focus and concentration during your early morning classes.
It has been shown to help with weight control as it can decrease hunger later in the day and help to avoid overeating.
It helps to refuel your body and replenish the stores that provide your body with energy during the day.

Even if you are in a rush and feel that you don’t have to time for breakfast you can grab something on the go! Thinking ahead is one way to help you make healthy choices in the morning. Pack a healthy option in your backpack the night before (cereal bar, granola bar, dry cereal or a piece of fruit) or stop at Outtakes in the morning to grab a healthy on-the-go option. A smoothie made with fruit and low-fat yogurt can also be a great quick option.

If you have more time to sit down and eat breakfast here are some healthy options:

Whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk and a piece of fruit. The best is a cereal that has at least 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams or less of sugar.
Whole-grain bagel or waffle with peanut butter, a piece of fruit and some milk.
Oatmeal (make it with milk to add more nutrients) with fruit or almonds.
An omelet with vegetables added.
Yogurt with low-fat granola and some fruit.
Whole wheat crackers with cheese or peanut butter.

If you are skipping breakfast in the hopes of decreasing your calorie intake to meet a weight loss goal you may want to reconsider this strategy. When you begin to skip breakfast regularly you will be so hungry at lunchtime that you may over-eat and are more likely to make unhealthy choices. Eating three well-balanced meals a day will keep your body healthy as well as help keep you energized to make it through your busy schedule.

Resources:

Breakfast: How does it help weight control? Mayo Clinic. www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN01119
Healthy breakfast: Quick, flexible options to grab at home. Mayo Clinic. www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/NU00197

Comments

Local Produce

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy local produce because of the sheer variety of fruits and vegetables that are available. I’ve waited all winter for ripe berries, juicy tomatoes and sweet stone fruit. We get a few months of this bounty and when the season is over, we wait patiently for summer to come again so we can enjoy our favorites. Connecting and eating with the seasons can be rewarding but also a tough challenge as many of us now rely on grocery stores to provide year-round produce. FUN FACT Did you know that the average food item has traveled 1,500 miles to get to your plate? Seeking out local food, understanding how it was grown and learning more about the people who grew it can be an empowering experience. Not everyone has the opportunity to shake hands with the person that grew their food but for those that do, it carries more weight than a certification. Download lagu WAIT, THERE’S MORE Did you also know that how we eat can have as big an impact on climate change as transp...

Plant Forward

A New Way of Eating There’s a relatively new term buzzing around the food world that you may or may not have heard of, plant forward. What does that mean you ask? Plant forward focuses on more vegetable centric dishes with meat playing more of a supporting role. Think blended burgers, stir-fry’s or grain bowls where meat is almost like a condiment. Flavors are bold and it’s all about the dish’s deliciousness whether it happens to be vegan or vegetarian, or not. Diners aren’t interested in completely removing meat from their diets so embracing a diet that is mostly plants with some meat here and there provides a comfortable middle ground. The Challenge with Red Meat Conventional animal agriculture is resource intense and less than stellar for the environment. Ruminant animals release methane gas into the atmosphere which is about twenty five times more intense than carbon dioxide. Let’s face it, our country’s enormous appetite for beef is not so great for our health and the heal...

Focus on Whole, Minimally Processed Foods

With assistance from Northeastern graduate student Crystal (Sopher) Richardson What’s the WHOLE story on Processed Foods? Nutritionists and dietitians are often asked why processed foods are bad. It’s not an easy question to answer. Many refer to the fact that the “Diseases of Civilization” – heart disease, hypertension, tooth decay, diabetes and some cancers did not exist before the increased popularity of processed foods. Whole and minimally processed foods are prepared without copious amounts of added fat, salt or sugar, therefore maximizing the consumption of cancer-fighting nutrients and phytochemicals, that protect your body’s cells from damage. A 2017 study of 249 adolescents showed that the consumption of minimally processed foods was inversely associated with excess weight. 1 Another study in 2016, published by Anthony Fardet showed a link between minimally processed foods and satiety versus ultra-processed foods. 2 While most people know that eating a whole a...

Choosing Healthy Foods

Search This Blog