Despite breakfast being hailed as the day's most crucial meal, over 40 percent of adults in the U.S. pass on the morning meal, the International Food Information Council Foundation reports. Eating breakfast helps control your weight, and provides your body with the vitamins and minerals you need. Many breakfast meats, like bacon and sausage, are loaded with artery clogging saturated fat and high calories. Fortunately, there are a number of lean breakfast meats to choose instead.
Canadian Bacon
If you're craving bacon in the morning, choose lean Canadian bacon. It gives you the same smoky, savory flavor as regular strip bacon, with significantly less saturated fat and calories. Canadian bacon makes a healthy breakfast alternative to standard bacon. Four slices of Canadian bacon contain less than 2 g of total fat.
Turkey Bacon
A diet rich in saturated fat increases your risk of developing heart disease. Turkey bacon has the same meaty, smoky flavor as pork bacon with significantly less saturated fat. Turkey bacon has half the saturated fat of pork bacon. Turkey bacon is also high in protein to help keep you feeling full until lunchtime.
Ham
Deli ham is a low-fat alternative to fatty breakfast meats like pork sausage and bacon. A single serving of ham contains 15 g of protein but only 3 g of fat. In a paper published in the February 2010 issue of the "International Journal of Obesity," researchers at Purdue University found that a protein-rich breakfast helped curb appetite throughout the day. However, because ham tends to be high in sodium you should limit your ham intake if you have hypertension.
Lean Steak
Grilled lean cuts of steak are a low-fat accompaniment to a hearty breakfast. Lean cuts of beef include sirloin and top round. Join grilled lean steak with a vegetable omelet and fruit salad for a complete and filling breakfast.
References
- International Food Information Council Foundation: Wake Up to the Benefits of Breakfast!
- Peer Trainer: Canadian Bacon
- National Heart Blood and Lung Institute: Low-Calorie, Lower Fat Alternative Foods
- American Heart Association: Fat - American Heart Association
- "Obesity"; The Addition of a Protein-Rich Breakfast and Its Effects on Acute Appetite Control and Food Intake in 'Breakfast-Skipping' Adolescents; HJ Leidy et al; February 2010
- USDA: National Nutrient Database
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