A Good Start

March is National Nutrition Month, and a great place to start a renewed focus on your diet is the start of the day: breakfast! As with most meal choices, there’s a smart way and a not-so-smart way:

Smart Breakfast

Dietitians suggest complex carbohydrates, proteins, and unsaturated fats for a balanced breakfast. These can be combined in different ways, such as:

• Oatmeal with raisins, glass of low-fat milk, a piece of fruit
• Fruit and cottage cheese with whole wheat toast
• Granola and yogurt with a piece of fruit
• Boiled or scrambled eggs with turkey sausage and whole wheat toast
• Non-sugary cereals (such as Wheaties, Cheerios, etc.) with low-fat milk, a piece of fruit and a boiled egg
• Apple or banana slices with peanut butter and a glass of low-fat milk
• Omelets with vegetables and low-fat cheese
  

Unhealthy Breakfast

Empty sugar calories are a bad idea any time of the day, and they may even be hiding in what seem like healthy options. Do your best to avoid:

• Danishes, doughnuts, muffins and sugary bagels
• Pre-baked toaster pastries with sugary filling
• Fried foods such as fried potatoes in lard or grease
• Sugary cereals
• Syrup for pancakes or French toast (use peanut butter and a fruit, or a reduced-sugar syrup)
• Juice
  

You may be surprised to find juice in the unhealthy list, considering that most fruit juices are loaded with vitamin C and other nutrients. However, the rest of the juice is fructose, a naturally-occurring sugar. Juice lacks the fiber—which slows down the glucose absorption rate—contained in actual fruits. Dietitians recommend eating a real orange or apple.

Overall, cheat days and treats are a part of life, so everyone dips into the bottom list sometimes. But if you can spend the majority of your time in the top list, you’re on the right track.

Check out our recipe for a classic avocado toast recipe, which can be modified for breakfast, here.