Breakfast Food

Eat like a king in the morning, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper, or so the old adage goes. Countless studies have proven that eating a nutritious breakfast not only gives you the much-needed energy to get you through the day, but that it is key to keeping a steady weight. At a time when obesity is becoming a national epidemic, any suggestions to stave off the flab is welcome.

Still, it’s easier said than done to eat a hearty breakfast that is high in nutritional value and low on calories. Big Food hasn’t made it any easier, either. From pop tarts to sugary cereals and even breakfast cookies, there are plenty of products out there that seem like a good idea at first blush, but offer little more than high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavorings for the empty stomach.

Then there are the fast-food chains that are opening ever earlier in the morning, if they’re not operating 24 hours a day, to provide the commuter with fats and cholesterol on the go.

The challenge really is not getting breakfast in the stomach, but maintaining quality control of calorific intake for the first meal of the day. That’s easier said than done, though. When was the last time you had breakfast as a family on a weekday, after all? It’s enough of a challenge to get out the door on time in a presentable manner, and breakfast gets to be a grab-and-go affair, if it actually happens.

There are plenty of ways, though, to have a good meal with minimal fuss.

Take the humble banana, for instance. There’s no cutting or chopping involved, and it even comes with its own wrapper. One Chiqita banana will only set you back about 20 cents and has 6 grams of dietary fiber, as well as 33 percent of your total daily vitamin C needs, 23% of potassium as recommended by the FDA, and 41% of Vitamin B6 in addition to 15 percent of magnesium. Beats a Egg McMuffin any day.

A boiled egg can be cooked under 10 minutes, whilst you’re in the shower, and has 17 grams of protein. Of course, it’s rather high in fat and cholesterol, but don’t forget that it has 16% of the daily recommended Vitamin A and costs only pennies.

For those who are a bit more ambitious, preparing some cut fruit and adding it to granola and yogurt can add a bit of spa-like zen to a hectic morning.

Another good option is to prepare a breakfast panini of ham and cheese sandwiched between two slices of thick country bread in advance. All you have to do in the morning is to heat up the panini grill, press the sandwich, and enjoy a cooked breakfast that you can even take on the road.

If you can set the timer to your coffee maker, you can even enjoy a freshly brewed cup of joe before facing another working day. Hopefully, a satifsfied stomach will make it easier to get by until lunch time!