This is a guest blog post by Bonnie Taub-Dix MA, RD, CDN for our Eat, Play, Love: Raising Healthy Eaters blog series, which brings stories and advice from parents and dietitians to help you build lifelong healthy eating habits for your children.

We’ve all heard the adage, ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,’ but as a full-time foodie, I think all meals are important. Breakfast, however, comes after many hours without any nourishment, so it’s really important to start the day by putting your best food forward.

A well-balanced breakfast doesn’t only nourish our bodies…it also cultivates healthy minds. Did you know the score on your child’s test could be influenced by what’s in their cereal bowl?

Countless studies have shown that kids that start out the day with a super-fueled breakfast can face the hours that follow feeling a lot sharper and with more spunk. Skipping breakfast means that you’re skipping out on important nutrients for your body and instead, you’re welcoming fatigue and irritability.

A missed meal could also lead to a larger mid-morning snack or an excuse to choose a high calorie lunch, meaning that a good breakfast could also help with weight control.

Breakfast doesn’t have to be elaborate, baked, cooked or fussed over to be healthy. Just as we multi-task in our daily lives, try to choose foods that multi-task by providing several health benefits at the same time. 

The best way to accomplish this is by combining a medley of foods including those rich in protein (egg whites, eggs, almond butter, reduced fat cheese, low fat or skim dairy products), whole grain carbs (high fiber cereal, whole grain bread) and healthy fats (nuts, like almonds.)

A simple bowl of whole grain cereal topped with fresh or dried fruit, almonds and low-fat or skim milk offers essential nutrients like calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and fiber, all of which have been shown to be in short supply for most of our children.

Those three nutrients – protein, whole grain carbs, and healthy fats – are like the three legs of a stool…they support and enhance each other while providing support for your body.

So whether it's at the table, in a car, or on the way to school or work, start your day with the meal that breaks your fast and provides energy that lasts.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA,RD,CDN
http://www.bonnietaubdix.com/

Twitter @eatsmartbd

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