The Power of Breakfast by Lynn Dugan

We all know how important breakfast is…but more than half of American adults do not eat breakfast everyday and it’s estimated that 12 to 34 percent of children and adolescents regularly miss this morning meal. There are many benefits of eating breakfast that you won’t want to miss…here are the highlights:

• Breakfast fuels your brain after the overnight fast. That is why it’s called break-fast. Your brain needs the energy and you benefit! Kids benefit, too. Studies have shown that children do better in school (improved memory, alertness, concentration, and test scores) compared to kids who skip breakfast.
• Breakfast eaters tend to weigh less than breakfast skippers. Unfortunately, many people skip breakfast just to save calories. The fact is that breakfast skippers are at a greater risk for weight gain and obesity.
• Eating breakfast helps you meet nutritional goals, especially for whole grains, dairy and fruits. Let’s face it, it’s hard to get all of the recommended servings of whole grains (3), dairy (3) and fruits and vegetables (5) in your diet even spread across three meals and one or two snacks. If a meal is skipped, it is even harder to meet the requirements. Breakfast is a natural opportunity to include whole grain (with ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, hot cereals, and whole grain toast and waffles), fruit (100% juice, fresh, canned, frozen or dried fruit) and fat-free or low-fat dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese).
• Emerging research suggests that eating breakfast may improve your overall health, helping your heart, digestion, and bones. All of these benefits may be due to the nutritional boost from breakfast- fiber from fruit and whole grains for heart health; fiber for digestive health; and calcium from dairy foods for bone health.

One of my family’s favorite breakfast recipes is baked oatmeal, especially on colder mornings. We often eat it topped with vanilla Greek yogurt and it keeps us satisfied until lunchtime.

Enjoy!

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Baked Oatmeal

2015-03-02 09:21:29

Serves 6

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Ingredients

1. 3 cups oats
2. 1/3 cup brown sugar
3. 2 t. cinnamon
4. 2 t. baking powder
5. 1 t. salt
6. 1 cup milk
7. 2 eggs
8. 1/3 cup melted butter or Earth Balance spread
9. 2 t. vanilla
10. 1/4 cup dried apricots, quartered
11. 1/4 cup dried cherries, halved
12. 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Instructions

1. Mix oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla; whisking to blend. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until moistened. Add the dried fruit and sunflower seeds. Stir to mix. Pour into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
2. Serve warm (or at room temperature) with vanilla yogurt and chopped nuts, if desired.

By Lynn Dugan

Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/