Is A Satisfying Breakfast On Your Agenda?
Because mornings are often hectic, some families try to get by with light breakfasts or skip breakfast altogether. You and your children, on the other hand, have already been fasting for 8 to 9 hours. Without a good breakfast, your bodies and brains – which lack blood-glucose reserves, the brain's primary energy source – will have to wait even longer for an energy boost. It is far preferable to get up a little earlier in order to have a full breakfast.
According to studies conducted over the last 30 years, children who eat a balanced breakfast perform significantly better on tests and are less depressed, anxious, and hyperactive than children who eat an unbalanced breakfast or skip a meal.
Breakfast eaters also have better strength and endurance and are less prone to late-morning hunger pangs. A good breakfast can help you avoid overeating by making you feel fuller for longer. In adult studies, women who ate a protein-based breakfast of eggs, toast, and fruit spread ate fewer calories the rest of the day than women who ate a calorically equal breakfast consisting of a bagel, cream cheese, and yogurt.
A good breakfast for adults or children should include grain food, a protein source, low-fat milk food, and your choice of fruit, vegetable, or juice.
Nutritious eggs are a quick and easy protein food that goes well with other foods to complete a balanced meal. Pile-It-On Egg Toast, for example, can help you wake up your taste buds with a comforting or exciting flavor combination.
Egg Toast Pile-It-On
3 Servings
- Spray cooking oil
- 3 slices of bread
- 3 eggs
- Ingredients for the garnish (see below topping variations)
- Aluminum foil should be used to cover the baking sheet. Coat evenly with spray. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the bread slices on it.
- Cut out the center of each bread slice with a 2 1/2- to a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter or an inverted drinking glass. OR, using your fingers, pry out the center of the bread slice, leaving a 2 1/2- to the 3-inch-diameter hole.
- On a baking sheet, arrange the cutouts and bread slices. If desired, lightly coat both sides with spray for extra crispness. Put 1 egg into the hole in each bread slice.
- Spread or spoon the topping ingredients evenly over the bread slice and egg white.
- Place a baking sheet on the middle rack of a 350°F preheated oven. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the whites are set and the yolks begin to thicken and cloud over but are not hard. (Baking time will vary depending on the temperature, the amount and thickness of the topping foods, and the exact diameter of the hole in the bread slice.)
Topping Variations:
1.) Ham and Cheese
Each variation serves 3 people
- Use pumpernickel rye bread for the ham and cheese
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves (about 1 1/2 oz. )
- 1/2 cup chopped cooked lean ham (approximately 3 oz.)
- 1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese in a small bowl
-Distribute about a third of a cup of the spinach mixture evenly onto each egg-and-bread slice.
-Bake
Nutrition Facts:
1/3 per serving recipe made with pumpernickel rye bread, ham, spinach, and 2% cottage cheese
200 calories, 8 grams of total fat, 228 milligrams of cholesterol, 743 milligrams of sodium, 229 milligrams of potassium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 17 grams of protein, and 10% or more of the RDI for vitamins A, B12, and C, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, iron, phosphorus, and zinc.
2.) Mushroom Pizza
- For the mushroom pizza use Italian bread that is at least 4-inches in diameter and is sliced 3/4- to 1-inch thick
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms (about 3 1/2 oz.)
- 1/2 cup prepared pizza or spaghetti sauce or salsa in a small bowl
-Spoon about a third of a cup of the mushroom mixture onto each egg-and-bread slice.
-1 tablespoon per slice, 3 tablespoons shredded low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
-Bake