Power Up with Breakfast

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2009

We have heard it so many times: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet, 35 to 40 percent of all Americans skip breakfast. Many parents allow their children to leave for school without breakfast -- as many as 48 percent of girls and 32 percent of boys do not eat breakfast every day.

Why is breakfast so important?

The body converts the food you eat to glucose or blood sugar for energy, explains Martha Winter, University of Illinois Extension nutrition and wellness educator. Excess glucose is stored by the liver as glycogen, which can be released as it is needed. If you skip breakfast, glycogen stores are virtually depleted by mid-morning. As a result, the body has very little quick energy available. Children who don't eat breakfast may be hungry, tired, lethargic and have trouble concentrating in school.

If breakfast is so important, why do people skip it? Lack of time is the most common response. But, there are many fast and easy foods that can make a good breakfast. It could be the most important five minutes of your family's day!

"Try to include at least three of the five food groups in your breakfast," suggests Winter. "For example, you could have an English muffin topped with cheese and a glass of orange juice."

Any nutritious food can be morning food. Here are some quick breakfast ideas:

• Leftovers: casseroles, macaroni and cheese, pizza, spaghetti
• Instant oatmeal topped with fruit and a glass of milk
• Grilled cheese sandwich with fruit juice
• Peanut butter and banana sandwich with milk

Crunchy Berry Yogurt (Serves 3)

1 cup nonfat, plain or vanilla yogurt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup canned, frozen or fresh blueberries, strawberries or raspberries

1 cup crunchy nugget cereal

1. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, sugar and fruit.

2. Add cereal and stir. To prevent cereal from losing its crunch, add yogurt mixture just before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving): Calories 190 ~ fat 1 g ~ calories from fat 10 ~ sodium 170 mg ~ total carbohydrate 40 g ~ fiber 4 g

Source: Carol C. Schlitt, Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness, cschlitt@illinois.edu