Sharpen Your Focus, Don’t Skip Breakfast
by Lidwine Bernard, RN, Curry College
Breakfast is important for us all and especially so for teens as
they begin this new academic year. While adults need to eat breakfast each
morning to perform their best, teens need it even more. Research shows that
teens who skip breakfast before going to school often feel sluggish, irritable,
and unfocused in their classes. When teens skip breakfast, they certainly don’t
get what they need to be at their best.
Consider this: Students who eat a
wholesome, nutritious morning meal will be more efficient in just about
everything they do. They get higher grades in school because they are able to
concentrate on their class subjects. Moreover, they have more
energy to do extracurricular activities during the day.
Guess what? Parents and teens can
work together to prepare a good morning meal in less than ten minutes and
jumpstart the day right. Here are some quick and easy healthy options: Toast
two whole-grain waffles. Spread some all natural peanut butter on each
waffles, and enjoy them with a banana and a glass of orange juice. Pour some
almond milk on a bowl of whole grain cereal and add some blueberries. Open a
container of vanilla low fat yogurt, and mix some cut strawberries and some
crunchy
pieces of granola bar in the yogurt. Make an omelet and add a few diced
tomatoes and cut spinach into it. Open a can of tuna, add a little bit
of reduced fat mayonnaise on the tuna and make a sandwich with two slices of
whole grain bread.
Parents you have more influence on
what your teens eat than you think. Good nutrition starts at home. Let’s take
control over our well-being! Encourage everyone in your family to begin their
day with a healthy breakfast that is balanced with proteins, healthy fats and
carbohydrates. Let us all start our day in a healthy way!
For more ideas on quick healthy breakfast options from the Academy of Nutrition
http://bit.Ly/1nK66QK
