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25 June 2012

Start Off Your Day With These Awesome Breakfast Ideas!

By Lee Reid


Everyone knows that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. If you're on a diet, this is the time to load up on calories. You've got the whole day to burn them off. The interesting thing is that good breakfast foods ideally supply you with protein, fiber and calcium, while being very low in fat and calories. Go figure.

Breakfast cereal makers are offering a lot more healthy breakfast foods these days, probably due to consumer demand. The next time you are shopping in the cereal aisle, take a few minutes to look over the food labels. Cereals that are popular with children are usually the ones with the most sugar in them. What you want to look for are those with whole grains, high fiber content and the least amount of sugar possible. I suggest granola style cereals with added bits of dried fruit, such as raisins, cranberries and blueberries. These offer sweetness that is sufficient to satisfy the sweet tooth, but are much healthier than sugar. Honey is also a healthy alternative for sugar.

When you're in a hurry, don't skip breakfast altogether. You need that energy to get going in the morning. If you're into baking, this can be a very economical breakfast food.  Just whip up a big batch of muffins and freeze what you won't use in a couple of days. Again, whole grain flours are the best choice, especially if you need to monitor your carb intake. Bran muffins are excellent and you can add dried fruits or applesauce to make them a tastier treat.

Smoothies are quick and nutritious breakfast food. They are simple to make and ready in minutes. They will give you a perfect start on your quota of produce for the day. A cup of low fat milk, a banana, some fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries or peaches make a healthy beverage that you can enjoy while on the fly.  Bring it with you on your daily commute or while walking to school. Instead of drinking milk, delicious choices that are more healthy include orange juice and yogurt.

Make your own version of the fast food breakfast muffin, for pennies on the dollar. A whole wheat English muffin, filled with an egg, scrambled or fried, a slice of your favorite cheese and a slice of sandwich ham is a low-carb, high protein breakfast food. Using whole wheat pocket bread, you can make a one egg omelet for even more nutrition. An egg, your choice of meat, some diced sweet bell peppers and a bit of cheese fits neatly into the pocket, with some of those antioxidants added to the nutritive value of this easy breakfast food.

On the weekends is when we all like to indulge ourselves.  That's what weekends are for, right? Blueberry pancakes topped with non-dairy whipped cream, strawberry crepes, a Monte Cristo sandwich, or eggs Hollandaise are some of my favorites. This type of breakfast food is not quite so healthy, but hey, it makes up for all those bran muffins you made the kids eat during the week!




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