Not only is breakfast the first food and drink your
body has had in more than 8 hours, but studies find that what you eat for
breakfast influences what you eat the rest of the day. Additionally, people who
eat breakfast are significantly less likely to be obese and have diabetes than
those who don’t.
The most important tip we can give you is to eat
breakfast every day. Without exception. This one action alone can make a huge,
positive difference in your health. But a doughnut or oversized muffin won’t do
it. The key is to choose energy-enhancing, health-invigorating foods. That’s
what we’ll focus on in the tips ahead.
1. Be consistent with your portions. For most
people, a perfect breakfast has three components: one serving of a whole grain
carbohydrate, one serving of a dairy or high-calcium food, and one serving of
fruit. Together, that would add up to roughly 300 calories. A high-protein
serving (i.e., a meat or an egg) is unnecessary but certainly acceptable, as
long as it doesn’t add too much fat or calories to the mix. Here are a few
winning combinations, based on this formula:
·
A bowl of high-fiber, multigrain cereal, lots of
strawberries, and low-fat milk on top.
·
A granola bar, an apple, and a cold glass of milk.
·
A cup of nonfat yogurt, fresh blueberries mixed in,
and a slice of whole wheat toast with a fruit spread on top.
·
A mini whole wheat bagel, spread lightly with cream
cheese and jam; a peach; and a cup of yogurt.
·
A scrambled egg, a whole wheat roll, fresh fruit salad,
and a cup of low-fat milk.
·
A low-fat muffin, a wedge of cantaloupe, and a cup
of latte made with skim milk.
2. Have a bowl of sweetened brown rice. Consider it
a takeoff on prepared cereal. Brown rice is full of energy-providing B
vitamins, as well as a great source of filling fiber. Cook the rice the night
before, then in the morning, put it in a bowl with a spoonful of honey, a
handful of raisins, a cut-up apple, and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a unique yet
delicious treat. Don’t like rice? Try any of the cooking grains: barley, rye,
red wheat, oats, buckwheat, quinoa, or millet.
3. Pour a cup of fruit smoothie. Simply whir
a cup of strawberries and a banana in the blender, add a scoop of protein
powder and a cup of crushed ice, and you’ve got a healthy, on-the-go breakfast
filled with antioxidants. Toss in a cup of plain yogurt, and you’ve just added
a bone-strengthening dose of calcium. An added bonus: You’ve just crossed three
of your daily fruit servings off the list.
4. Use organic eggs. They’re not
much more expensive than regular eggs but are much higher in all-important
omega-3 fatty acids, shown to benefit everything from your mental health
(reducing risk of depression) to your heart health (reducing risk of
atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation), says Fred Pescatore, M.D., author
of The Hamptons Diet and a physician at Partners in
Integrative Medicine in New York City.
5. Sprinkle on a teaspoon of ground flaxseeds. It could
be over your cereal, over your yogurt, over your smoothie, or over your eggs.
Next to fish and organic eggs, flaxseeds are one of the best sources of omega-3
fatty acids.
6. Use Benecol, Take Control, or Smart Balance
instead of butter. These newly developed soft food spreads
contain heart-healthy plant stanols. Just 2 tablespoons daily can significantly
lower your total cholesterol level.
7. Have lunch for breakfast. Instead of
butter or cream cheese, top your morning (whole wheat) toast with 2 tablespoons
tuna prepared with low-fat mayonnaise. The tuna is a great source of omega-3
fatty acids and an excellent source of energy-boosting protein. For the same
healthy boost with a bit of variety, try lox or canned or smoked salmon (they
also seem to go better at breakfast).
8. Sprinkle a whole wheat burrito with 2 ounces
grated, low-fat cheddar cheese and broil for 3 minutes. While it’s
cooking, peel and eat an orange for valuable vitamin C. In this one small,
quick meal, you’re getting vitamin C and other antioxidants, calcium, fiber,
and enough appetite-satisfying protein to sustain you for hours.
9. Make your own granola. Most
store-bought brands are filled with sugar and fat. To make your own, mix 2 cups
rolled oats with 1 cup dried fruits and seeds and a little brown sugar. Toast
3-5 minutes in a warm oven and store in an airtight container. Not interested
in do-it-yourself? There are a few store-bought brands with reasonable sugar
and fat levels, including Nature’s Path and Familia.
10. Pour a bowlful of Kashi GOLEAN Crunch! With 10
grams of fiber, it will put you well on your way to the 25-30 grams of fiber
you should be eating every day. Plus, studies find that people who regularly
start their day with a bowl of cold cereal get more fiber and calcium, but less
fat, than those who breakfast on other foods. Another study found that people
who ate two bowlfuls of high-fiber cereal every day spontaneously cut the
amount of fat they ate by 10 percent. Don’t like Kashi? Other high-fiber
cereals include Raisin Bran, Multi-Bran Chex and Wheat ‘N Bran Spoon Size (8
grams), Kellogg’s All-Bran Original (10 grams), and General Mills Fiber One (14
grams).
11. Eat half a grapefruit twice a week. Grapefruits
are loaded with folate, found to significantly reduce the risk of stroke.
However, be cautious if you’re taking regular medications. Grapefruit and its
juice can interact with medications that have to be processed through the
liver. Check with your doctor about any possible interactions between
grapefruit and any medications you’re taking.
12. Sip a cup of green tea with your breakfast. In
addition to its heart-protective benefits, green tea may also have some
weight-loss benefits, with one study finding it appears to raise the rate at
which you burn calories and speed the rate at which your body uses fat.
13. Top your cereal with soy milk. Packed
with potent phytoestrogens, soy has been credited with everything from
protecting your heart to promoting stronger bones. But make sure that it’s
fortified with calcium; otherwise you’re missing a great opportunity to get
some bone-building calcium.
14. Host the breakfast equivalent of “build your
own sundae.” Who says breakfast has to be boring? Choose a
selection of sliced fruit, yogurt, whole grain cereals, and/or whole grain
pancakes or toast, and let everyone mix and match to create their own toppings.
Lay everything out on paper plates (for easy cleanup).
15. Add a vitamin. Take any
and all supplements with breakfast, suggests nutrition expert Shari Lieberman,
Ph.D., author of The Real Vitamin & Mineral Book. Taking
supplements with food reduces the chance they’ll upset your stomach, and
improves the absorption of minerals.
16. Spread apple slices with peanut butter. The
protein and fat in the peanut butter provide a good start to the day, while the
apple and the quercetin it
contains provide fiber and protection against some
cancers and heart disease.
17. Have a breakfast sandwich. Top a
whole wheat English muffin with melted low-fat cheese (part-skim mozzarella is
a good choice), a sliced tomato, and a sliced, hard-boiled egg.
18. Crush cold cereal in a Baggie, add a peeled
banana, and coat with the cereal. Voilà! Breakfast on a banana (as well as a
healthy dose of potassium, beneficial in preventing strokes).
19. Hit the vegetarian section of the grocery. Soy bacon
and sausage, gardenburgers, and soy crumbles make great sources of protein for
breakfast without the saturated fat of their meat originals.
20. Make a blob. From nutritionist Alana
Unger, R.D., of The Lifestyle Center in Visalia, California, comes this
sounds-weird-but-tastes-great idea for an on-the-go breakfast. Mix 1/2 cup
peanut butter, 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk, 3 cups crushed flake cereal, and 2
tablespoons honey. Form into “blobs” (should make 10 blobs). Wrap each blob in
plastic wrap and refrigerate. Grab a couple with a travel cup of skim milk and
go!
21. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of blueberries on your cereal. Studies
find the tiny purple berries are loaded with valuable antioxidants that can
slow brain aging and protect your memory. Not into cereal? Try baking
blueberries into oatmeal to create your own oatmeal-blueberry granola bar, or
mixing them into whole wheat pancake or waffle batter.
22. Drink three cups of unsweetened orange juice every
morning. The vitamin C in OJ not only boosts your immunity, but also improves
your cholesterol levels. One study found that drinking three glasses of orange
juice a day for four weeks raised levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, by 21
percent. If three cups is too much for you, substitute a couple of oranges. For
the best effect, make it calcium-fortified juice.
23. Eat a bowl of sliced strawberries three times a
week. Loaded with vitamin C, strawberries have numerous health benefits,
one of them being protection for your eyes. One study of 247 women found that
those taking vitamin C supplements were 75 percent less likely to get cataracts
than those who didn’t take it. It’s better, though, to get your vitamin C from
food. Other health benefits packed into berries: They’re rich in a wide variety
of antioxidants, low in calories, and even have a low glycemic index (shown to
better maintain steady blood sugar levels).
24. Slice two kiwifruits into your morning
smoothie. You may have just reduced your risk of premature death by as much as
30 percent, since a British study found that every ounce of vitamin C-laden
fruits you eat a day reduces your risk of premature death 10 percent. Want an
even easier way to eat a kiwi? Just slice the top off and scoop out bitefuls
with a teaspoon. It’s delicious, fun, and fast.
25. Get at least five grams of fiber during
breakfast each morning. If you don’t get off to a good start with
your daily fiber intake, you’ll never reach the recommended amount (15-25 grams
per 1,000 calories). Plus, fiber is quite filling with no extra cost in
calories. You can get those five grams in just a few bites with a large raw
apple, 1/2 cup of the high-fiber cereals mentioned earlier, 1/2 cup of
blackberries, or two slices of dark, whole grain rye bread.
26. Choose these toppers for your (whole wheat)
bagel or toast:
·
Two tablespoons nonfat cottage cheese sprinkled
with flaxseed
·
One slice low-fat cheese melted over a slice of
mango
·
Two tablespoons soy butter with a sliced banana
·
One slice baked ham and one sliced tomato
27. Shave one ounce of dark chocolate over a cup
of nonfat yogurt. Mix. The calcium-rich yogurt can actually help in your
efforts to lose weight, while the antioxidant-loaded dark chocolate can help
reduce the stickiness of “bad” LDL cholesterol and keep your arteries more
pliable. Plus, who can resist starting the day with chocolate?
Comments
Post a Comment