BeanDiet

I don't necessarily agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I will say skipping breakfast is a dangerous endeavor.

Many Americans skip breakfast because they either don't have (rather: make) time, or they don't feel hungry. Since our blood glucose runs higher in the morning to help us get going, we often don't feel as hungry as during other periods of the day. But eating breakfast raises our metabolism for the day, gives us steady blood sugar for concentration, and according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Dec. 2010), helps to prevent heart disease and diabetes.

A national sample of 9–15-y-old Australian children reported whether they usually ate breakfast before school in 1985. Twenty years later, 2184 of the child participants (now 26–36 y of age) reported whether they skipped breakfast or not the previous day. (Breakfast was defined by food consumed between 6-9am.)

Statistical analysis found the health of participants who skipped breakfast in both childhood and adulthood fared far worse than their counterparts. This group had a significantly larger waist circumference, higher fasting insulin, as well as higher total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.

Before you breakfast-skippers feel guilty, remember that breakfast simply means "breaking fast". We don't need to eat a restaurant-style meal. A simple whole grain bagel with topping (peanut butter is a good one), whole wheat toast or whole grain cereal (with at least 5 grams of fiber) will suffice. Also, unconventional foods work too: popcorn or even a leftover pizza slice is so much better than nothing!

With five minutes of planning the night before, we can whip up an instant breakfast for the entire family by making a fruit smoothie with protein powder. Pour the smoothie into coffee thermos mugs (sippy cups for kids work well).

Personally, I eat granola with soy milk and add hemp protein powder (from Trader Joe's) on top. I've found the hemp protein powder to help me stay satiated until lunchtime, due to the high fiber and protein content. It doesn't taste badly either, although it turns the granola a funky green color!