According to the American Dietetic Association, it is important to eat a healthy breakfast as it provides energy to begin the day. Depending on your age, sex, and daily caloric needs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends anywhere from 4 to 7 cups of fruits and vegetables, of which several can be obtained during breakfast. Even in our busy world, it is possible to have healthy, environmentally-friendly breakfasts ready to kick start your day.
1. Buy Local
Not only do community farmers' markets stimulate local economies, but they also provide access to regional fresh fruits and vegetables. Because food is fresh and travels fewer miles to the consumer, packaging and pollution are both reduced, helping the environment.
2. Eat Seasonal
Another benefit of utilizing farmers' markets, eating seasonal foods, also reduces imported produce shipping expenses and environmental damage.
3. Taste the Vitamin Rainbow
Fruits and veggies come in a bright array of colors. Each colorful produce group touts its own unique vitamins, so the more colors you can incorporate into your breakfasts and overall diet, the better.
4. Chop, Chop in Advance
For quick breakfasts, prepare fruits and veggies when you arrive home from the grocery store or farmers' market. Clean, cut, and package berries, greens, mushrooms, and tomatoes to toss into cereals, oats or omelets. Boil several eggs at a time then cool for a protein-packed, on-the-go meal.
Make a B-List
Write out a breakfast list at the beginning of each week. Coordinate it with your family's calendar so you know which mornings you'll have time for stove-top cooking and which will require portable foods.
6. Stock the Shelves
Keep your kitchen pantry well stocked with foods that complement your fresh ingredients. Whole grain or oatmeal pancake mix, instant oats, peanut butter, English muffins, dried fruit, nuts, and sugar-free jams and jellies add variety, and they are economical.
7. Grab and Go
When all else fails, toss ready-to-go breakfasts into your briefcase or backpack. An apple and a string cheese, a banana and a Greek yogurt, or a quick-cook oats packet all make for on-the-go healthy breakfasts loaded with protein and energy-rich carbohydrates.
8. Go with the Grain
Whole grains such as whole wheat bread, English muffins, pitas, and tortillas serve as tasty, high-fiber food holders. Fiber is important for gastrointestinal health and will keep you feeling satiated longer.
9. Pour on the Breakfast
Puree fruit into sauces to pour over whole-wheat pancakes or waffles, count 100% fruit juices toward your daily fruit and vegetable needs, or serve up fruit smoothies as other quick and healthy breakfast options.
10. Freeze the Morning
Save fruits, veggies, and breads before they rot by cleaning, cutting, and placing them in freezer bags. Freeze extra pancakes for a quick and hearty morning meal, or toss frozen fruit pieces into a blender with low-fat milk and Greek yogurt for an icy fruit smoothie that will save your waistline and your wallet as well as decrease your waste.
With these tips, breakfast can be quick, tasty, healthy, and easy on the environment.
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