You wake up at 7 a.m. and don’t have time to sit down for a bowl of cereal. At the office, you grab a cup of coffee and get busy. By the time you look at the clock it’s 2 p.m., and you haven’t eaten since dinner last night, so you buy a sandwich at a café and go back to work. When you get home from work it’s already 5 p.m., and now you’re tired and hungry, but you still have to make dinner.
For some of us, this may be a typical day. We find it difficult to find time to eat, especially during the morning rush. But it’s important to start your day with breakfast, a nutritious morning meal helps with brain function, memory, attention span, concentration and more energy throughout the day!
Breakfast can be easy and not time-consuming by following these simple tips:
Organize the night before. Save time in the morning by planning your breakfast, setting out pans and ingredients — or go ahead and prepare a breakfast, such as refrigerator oats, the night before.
Keep it simple. On busy mornings, it’s perfectly acceptable to get going with a bowl of whole-grain cereal and a banana.
Pack your breakfast to go. If there’s no time to eat at home, grab a piece of fruit, whole-grain bar and a cheese stick. Keep portable, easy-to-grab foods in sight.
Finally, ensure you’re eating a nutritious breakfast by including foods from at least two food groups. Here are some easy breakfast ideas:
- Stir crunchy cereal and blueberries into plain, unsweetened yogurt
- Prepare instant oatmeal with milk and add dried fruit and chopped walnuts
- Top a whole-grain bagel with cream cheese and sliced strawberries
- Stuff a whole-grain pita with cooked egg, spinach and sliced avocado