I know it sounds like a cliche, but breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. This is especially true for college students. It might seem easier to roll out of bed 10 minutes before your first class, but you’ll learn a lot better if you get up a littler earlier and make time for a quick morning meal. Breakfast helps fuel your brain and increases your focus. Additionally, it helps stabilize your blood sugar, so you’ll be less moody and tired. Plus, you’ll be less hungry by lunchtime and less likely to indulge in unhealthy eating habits throughout the day.
While eating something for breakfast is always better than eating nothing, what you choose for your morning meal matters. Heading to the dining hall for a huge waffle floating in syrup or a plate full of scrambled eggs might seem like a great idea, but those meals have tons of excess fat and calories. The best way to fuel your body and your mind is to eat a breakfast roughly equal to 1/6 your daily calories and loaded with fiber, protein, and a little healthy fat. Since fiber and protein digest slowly, they will stabilize your blood sugar and keep you full until lunch. The healthy fat is meant to boost your brain power for those morning classes. Just remember, healthy fat is NOT saturated fat, so don’t try to pass some greasy bacon off as your fat requirement. Looking for some healthy breakfast choices? Some of my favorites are listed below.
Eggs - Eggs are loaded with protein and important B-vitamins. Just be careful ordering them at the dining hall. Find out if your eggs are prepared with oil or butter, which can add unhealthy fats. Also, keep the portion size small. Eggs have a lot of cholesterol, and even young adults should be wary of consuming too much. If possible, see if you can get an egg-white only omelet loaded with veggies.
Cereal - Cereal is a dining hall staple. Just be sure to pick one that without a lot of sugar and processed carbohydrates. Try a wheat or bran cereal (Frosted Mini-Wheats, Total Raisin Bran, etc.) or stick with a less-sweet choice like Cheerios or Corn Flakes. Add some skim milk for added protein!
Fruit - Fresh fruit is an excellent addition to breakfast. Pick any fruit you like as long as its fresh (not part of a syrupy fruit salad).
Yogurt - Yogurt is a great breakfast option, as long as you choose low-fat or fat-free varieties. It’s loaded with calcium and protein. Plus, yogurt goes great with some fresh fruit!
Cottage Cheese - Cottage cheese is a great alternative to yogurt, which can contain lots of sugar. Low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese has a ton of protein and calcium and goes great with fruit or on toast!
Whole Wheat Toast - One or two pieces of whole wheat toast can add some fiber to your morning meal. Just be careful what you top that toast with. Low-fat or fat-free cream cheese is great for protein and calcium. Peanut butter is another healthy choice. Butter is obviously a bad pick, and so is margarine. While margarine might be lower in fat and cholesterol, it usually contains those dreaded trans fats. This might sound surprising, but you should also avoid dining hall jelly and jam. These are generally made with artificial ingredients (instead of fresh fruit) and loaded with added sugar. Finally, use moderation when you spread extras on your toast. Don’t add more than 2 tablespoons of your choice spread, especially if you pick something calorie-dense like peanut butter.
Skim Milk - Drink some of this with your meal to get some protein and calcium. Also, try putting some in your cereal instead of whole milk.
Try combining some of the above options to make a delicious meal! Experiment and see what choices make you feel the best in the morning. Some of my favorite combinations are:
whole wheat toast + peanut butter + banana
whole wheat toast + non-fat cream cheese + sliced apple
non-fat yogurt + fresh berries + cereal
cottage cheese + melon
