Hearty, Hot Breakfast For Less Stress
It is a cold February morning and our warm beds are tough to escape. A hearty, hot breakfast can be the solution. While that used to mean day after day of the same old porridge or fried eggs, we now have a variety of choices to bring about that warming feeling. Not only are these choices comforting in cold weather, they can be a part of a healthy, complete diet.
One of the most popular and easy to prepare hot breakfast choices is hot cereal. Most hot breakfast cereals undergo minimal processing. Basically, manufacturers just dry-blend the grains, and any flavors, sweeteners, fortification mixes, add-ins and other ingredients in a tumbler, and then package the product. The more popular flavors are in two categories: fruits or browns. The browns include notes such as cinnamon, maple, vanilla and their combinations. As for fruit flavors, product developers usually work with berries, apples and raisins.
Hot Breakfast For Less Stress and More Convenience
While consumers want convenient preparation, they also want to eat foods that are good for them – including fruits. One of the good things about drying fruit is that when you dry a piece of fruit, you waste a little of the nutritional benefits, but you concentrate what’s left by removing water. Vitamin and mineral fortification gives hot cereals a significant value boost. However, too much microwaving can destroy some heat-labile vitamins.
So, given these ingredient profiles, what kind of people buy hot breakfast cereals these days? Adults concerned about heart health make up a significant portion of the hot breakfast cereal market, but kids love the flavors and add-ins, and if it gets them to eat their breakfast, all the better.
Is Having A Hot Breakfast Healthy?
Those concerned with health definitely should head for the hot cereals at breakfast time, given the well-known health benefits of increased grain consumption. Studies indicate that the insoluble fiber in grains might help prevent colon cancer by diluting intestinal contents, and decreasing the contact that the intestinal mucosa makes with any carcinogens in food. There is also the potential reduction in overall cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein levels in particular, and therefore a reduction in heart-disease risk. Foods must contain at least 2.5 grams of fiber per serving to earn status as a “good source” of total dietary fiber, and twice that amount is needed to carry the label “excellent source.
A hearty, healthy breakfast is really the basis of a healthy day and a healthy life. It improves our energy, concentration and creativity not to mention the healthy impact on our bodies. So during Hot Breakfast Month make breakfast one of your priorities.
Beverly’s Hot Tips For Less Stress By Celebrating National Hot Breakfast Month:
- Challenge yourself and your children to eat a hot, healthy breakfast.
- Spend a bit more time in the cereal aisle, reading labels and comparing nutritional content.
- Choose a couple of different kinds to keep from getting bored.
- Teach children how to prepare their hot cereal using the microwave or tea kettle.
If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!
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