Eating breakfast can be hard, but it doesn't have to be.

Eating Breakfast Is not Always Easy

We have all heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not only does a good breakfast provide energy, improve concentration, and generally get us off to a good start, it turns out breakfast can also keep us lean. Most people who lose weight and keep it off are breakfast-eaters (Brown, 2010).

Given the importance of breakfast to a healthy lifestyle, why do not more people eat breakfast? The most common reason is a lack of time, but a simple dislike for breakfast food can also be a factor. If these sound familiar, read on.

No Time For Breakfast

The most common reason people avoid eating breakfast is feeling like there just is not enough time. Work, school, childcare, and other demands too often have us rushing out the door hungry, or worse, developing a strong relationship with the local drive-through window. Fortunately, most people can tolerate getting up five minutes earlier, and with a little planning and creativity, that is all the time it takes to make a healthy breakfast. Here are some examples of quick breakfast options:

Scrambled-Egg-Sandwich-A-La-Nuker: Scrambled eggs can be made in the microwave. Simply crack them into a microwave-safe bowl, add one to two tablespoons of water plus whatever veggies and seasonings you like, and zap two to three minutes on 50% power (just make sure to break the yolks, or you will get exploding eggs).

If you are really pressed for time, you can even do the eggs the night before. Put them in a container with a tight-fitting lid (old jelly jars work great). Onions, tomatoes, scallions, garlic, and cheeses are not harmed by soaking in eggs overnight.

Make-Ahead 2-Minute Smoothie. The night before, put all the ingredients for your favorite smoothie into a blender, but make sure one of them is frozen (such as frozen berries or cut-up pieces of frozen banana). Put the lid on the blender and stick in the fridge. In the morning, all you have to do is put the blender on the base and let-er-rip. Your breakfast is ready to pour into a glass in about two minutes.

In order to avoid straining the blender, make sure that the liquid ingredients of your smoothie, such as milk, are at the bottom, soft ingredients, such as cut-up strawberries, are next, and frozen ingredients, like frozen blueberries, are on top.

Dislike for Breakfast Foods

Though not as common as lack of time, some people do not eat breakfast because they do not like traditional breakfast foods. Human beings are conditioned by culture to believe they must eat certain things at certain times of day, though it is worth pointing out that what constitutes breakfast varies by culture. For example, in some parts of the Caribbean, you get salt fish, not pancakes (Popoff, 2008). However, there is nothing written in stone that says you have to have oatmeal and a grapefruit half.

A good breakfast is any healthy combination of complex carbohydrates (for energy) and lean protein (for stamina) (Rhodes, 2010). Grilled tuna on whole-grain bread, spaghetti with turkey meatballs, even last night’s thin-crust pizza are just as good for you as an egg-white omelet, and are certainly better than sugary cereal, bacon with hash browns, or toaster strudel. So eat what you want, just eat something!

References

Brown Medical School. (2010). Research Findings. The National Weight Control Registry. Retrieved 20 May, 2010 from https://www.nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm

Popoff, D. (Producer). (2008, 14 September). Feasting on Waves: Fungi with Foraging and Fish. [Television Broadcast]. Be Squared Productions. Atlanta, GA.

Rhodes, M. (2010, 15 May). “Good Morning! Weight Watchers Weekly. Woodbury, NY: Weight Watchers International.