Quick and Healthy Breakfast: The Fruit and Cereal Alternative

BREAKFAST:

Bacon and Eggs.When I was growing up, a typical breakfast consisted of fried eggs, bacon or sausage, and a honey bun.There were variations of course.Occasionally we would have toasted Wonder Bread, slathered with butter, instead of the honey bun.Sometimes there was French toast with bacon or sausage, and occasionally pancakes or waffles.My Mom also used to make us what she called “egg pancakes.” We learned to love these type breakfasts.But now I realize that virtually every combination produced some frightening mélange of white flour, fat and cholesterol.It’s hard to think back on those days with anything but a guilty smile.

In the South, where I live now, bacon and egg type breakfasts are still very common fair.When my wife and I were at IHOP lately, a popular breakfast restaurant, we asked the waiter about low fat, heart healthy options.Though he said that they did have them on the menu, the staff did not push them because they found that their patrons preferred the more caloric, less healthy items.You don’t have to look at the menus of popular breakfast places too long to realize that people in the South would generally tend to agree. A local non-chain breakfast spot that gets rave reviews does so on the basis of its skillets, chicken fried steak, monster portions and huge pancakes.Here’s a sample:“Wonderful!! Huge portions of super tasty food!! My hubby had chicken fried steak which covered the plate and was delish!! I had a skillet/egg dish that was also excellent!! We will definitely stop here again when passing through!!!”

As a 200 pound guy, I want to eat a breakfast that is both healthy and filling.Most knowledgeable people I talked to, and read articles by, suggested starting the day with cereal.Since I have been at the cereal game for a while now, I’ll share the wisdom I have accumulated along the way.What you want is not just cereal, but:

Fruit and cereal with milk or a milk alternative.Virtually every word is important here.Fruit can obviously take many forms, but think in terms of what is going to provide the most nutrition and still keep you full until the noon meal.Healthy cereals abound, but so do unhealthy ones.Despite the beautiful simplicity of those “got milk” blurbs, milk is a complicated issue for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.The reasons for eating breakfast are twofold: first to fuel the body’s fire at the beginning of the day, and second to stave off the type of mid-morning hunger that results in belly busting trips to Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme.Cereal is really quite a healthy alternative, but you have to approach it with some thought.It’s an option almost everywhere.Hotel breakfast bars usually offer scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausage and fried potatoes.And they usually have a waffle machine.But if you look carefully, you will find individual boxes of cereal, milk, bananas and sometimes other fruits.

Cereal:According to an article I read, a good rule of thumb for choosing a cereal is to find one with at least 3 grams of fiber, less than 120 calories (not counting the addition of milk and fruit), and less than 13 grams of sugar. http://www.livestrong.com/article/314376-the-healthiest-breakfast-cereals/ This is wisdom from the Mayo Clinic.Honestly, it seems like you can do a lot better than this without searching too hard.Look for a cereal that has less than 6 grams total fat.Educate yourself on the difference between good and bad fats.Be wary of added sugars.We’re not talking about Cocoa Puffs or Frosted Flakes here.Some of the leading manufacturers put out very healthy cereals.Cheerios and Grape Nuts are a couple that surge to the top of many lists: http://www.livestrong.com/article/101223-top-healthiest-cereals/Kashi cereals deserve some consideration.I like Nature’s Path Flax Plus Multibran.It has 110 calories per ¾ cup serving, which means 220 calories when I am eating breakfast.It has 1.5 grams of fat per serving with 1 gram of polyunsaturated fat.It has 23 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar and 4 grams of protein.You won’t find it or any other Nature’s Path cereals on any top ten lists though.Not sure why.

Fruit:Instead of buying a cereal loaded with added sugar, and there are plenty, add some fruit.Blueberries and blackberries are both terrific anti-oxidants.The importance of anti-oxidants in fighting cancer is well documented.Bananas are rich in potassium, and will keep hunger at bay until the noon meal.We also like fresh peaches and nectarines when they are in season.

Milk:Rice milk is a very tasty product that really tastes a lot like milk.You can also get it in a vanilla flavored version.Despite what your mother told you, dairy milk is riddled with hidden dangers.Even if you are content to consume the hormones fed to dairy cows, you will want to opt for skim milk because of the fat and cholesterol dangers in whole milk.There are numerous alternatives to dairy milk:rice milk, coconut milk, soy milk, flax milk, etc.And there are many criteria to consider when choosing one:price, fat content, etc.If you want to investigate milk alternatives, check out this article:http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/08/17/soy-milk-rice-milk-or-almond-milk-which-is-the-best-alternative-milk-for-you.htm