Sharon Krasna is a mother of three boys. As well as a preschool teacher, she is very into cooking and educating her family on the importance of healthy food. One meal she will not let her family skip is breakfast. She feels that this is the most important meal of the day. Here she writes her view on why it is important, especially for those diet conscious folk out there. She writes some interesting information that might surprise you. Sharon also gives you good, quick and easy ways to eat a healthy breakfast.
A Good Start to Your Day
I love cereals and cannot start my day without eating something. I also encourage my family to eat before leaving to school or work. They will not admit it but they do have a better day and are less hungry during the morning hours if they get something in their stomachs before they leave to school and work. We try to have the healthier cereals for the weekdays (my husband tends to be the biggest offender) and the sweeter kind for the weekends. The main cereals that we enjoy are Kellogg's, General Mills, Nestlé, Quaker Oats , Post and Kasha.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, not just for nutritional benefits, but for mental benefits as well. It has been proven over and over again the benefits of eating first thing in the morning, not only does it give you energy for the day which keeps you going throughout. It helps your mind think and concentrate. It also helps prevent the late day binging that often occurs when one skips it.
Why do you think it is called breakfast? Basically, you have been fasting for 8 hours so you are now – Breaking your Fast! So what better way than to wake up and dedicate a few extra minutes to indulge in some good wholesome breakfast? Today we have such a great choice of what to eat in the morning, and not just cereals. We can enjoy variety and do something different every morning. Yogurts, toast and jam (jelly) fresh Orange juice, pancakes, waffles with syrup, breakfast bars and the list go on. (Being Jewish and keeping kosher rules out the bacon and eggs.)
So where did cereal come from? Surprisingly, the first cereal grains were enjoyed about 12,000 years ago by early farming communities in Asia. Wheat and barley were one of the first crops in the development of agriculture. Grains have traditionally been a staple for people for years, with cereals like wheat, barley, oats and rye sustaining populations across Europe, the Americas, South East Asia and Africa. Grains and cereals still account for the bulk of the diet in most parts of the developing world, particularly in South Asia. These dietary trends also show a similarity in health conditions and digestive issues around the world. Several types of cereals are high in fiber and iron and very often cereals with iron supplementation is recommended for diabetics and people suffering from anemia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast
It is interesting to note the reasons people tend to give for skipping breakfast: they have no time to eat in the morning; they need to lose weight; they don't feel hungry yet in the morning. Yet these tend to be short sighted excuses. For those who think that skipping breakfast will help you lose weight, look at these incredible statistics:
People who eat breakfast outside the home have a 137% increase of becoming overweight and people who skip breakfast altogether have a 450% chance of becoming overweight.
People who do not eat breakfast have a higher body Mass index (BMI) than those who do eat breakfast and are found to have less energy during the day.
People who skipped breakfast were more likely to over-snack during the day than those who ate breakfast and those who skipped breakfast end up eating 40% more during the day.
It's been found that those who eat a protein based breakfast such as eggs and toast feel fuller longer and eat fewer calories during a 24 hour period. http://thestir.cafemom.com/food_party/109012/breakfast_ideas_for_people_who%3E
For those of you, who hate eating breakfast for any one of the reasons above; try one of these great ideas: Try and pack a fruit and yogurt or a smoothie and drink it around ten, when your stomach has gotten past that morning feeling or make a wrap the night before and eat it. It is a good “filler upper.” http://www.articlealley.com/article_48765_23.html
Most cereals have added vitamins and carbohydrates which also provide proteins, calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium, and fiber and B-complex vitamins. But remember that the sweet cereals like Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes may be delicious, but they're not giving you the kind of nutrition that is needed to give your day a healthy start. A good trick that I tried which works on my kids is to give them a healthy cereal and add a few sugary cereals from their favorite sweet box. They are getting the sweet taste and automatically a more nutritious breakfast. When you are choosing a cereal look out for the nutrition area. Choose a breakfast cereal that has 5 grams of sugar or less per serving. Avoid cereals with lots of sugar (10 grams of sugar per bowl is too much, it equals about one cup of sugar). Choose a cereal that is high in fiber. Getting cereals with fortified vitamins is an added advantage and one that says whole wheat or whole grain.
Of course if you have the time, go ahead and make some eggs (I try to stick to the whites) with some whole grain toast. Or maybe some pancakes (try using half whole wheat flour) with pure maple syrup (and not the cheap corn syrup with all its industrial sugars). Also, if you want to go all out – squeeze your own OJ, or break out the Tropicana.
Finally, since I have your attention (I hope) as I have said and will repeat breakfast is linked to many health benefits. This just goes to show how important it is to choose the right foods for breakfast. So don’t be afraid to indulge in your first meal of the day and remember, the time excuse does not work, there is plenty of healthy breakfast food to” grab and go”. So “don’t’ skip breakfast, it is the most important meal of the day”.
5 comments:
Thank you for the information! I struggle to find interesting things to feed my kids for breakfast, and I often overlook cereal. I appreciated having the stats about breakfast spelled out for me.
This was an intersting story on breakfast. You offer get facts on why breakfast is important in starting you day.
Wow, I really apprecited the lesson on cereal. I often hear about the correlation between weight gain and not eating breakfast however I was unsure as to how true it actually was. Also, I love your idea of combining healthy cereal with a little bit of the more candy-like ones. I tend to find myself struggling to avoid buying the sweet options at the grocery store. This is a simple idea which will certainly decrease the amount of guilt I give myself in the morning. Thanks and enjoy the summer!
I can definitely relate to this. I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes a few years ago. I now have to balance a diet and exercise. One thing I have found to be true is that eating a good breakfast keeps me less hungry throughout the day and I have felt better since adding breakfast back into my daily routine. Your stats seem to agree. Your information makes me feel good about my choices. Nice work. Bil
i was never one for breakfast before school myself was busy sleeping to last minute. now though im a big breakfast fan even when i wake up at noon i still seek out some breakfast foods. nice to see you get your boys to sit down and eat breakfast too, think that might be harder then finding something for breakfast. do not see why you gotta hate on the fruit loops and frosted flakes they are important staples in the American males diet.
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