Have you ever heard people (maybe you?) complain that eating breakfast actually leaves you feeling more hungry later in the morning? This happens when the foods you choose for breakfast are too low in fiber. Eating a cereal like Special K or Rice Krispies - which are high in carbohydrate but have very little or no fiber - fills you up quickly but empties your stomach quickly, resulting in "rebound hunger".
How can you fix this? Add some protein or some fiber - or even better: both - to your morning meal. Oatmeal is an ideal breakfast. It is said that oatmeal "sticks to your ribs" - and you can credit the fiber for that.
One-half cup of dry instant quick-cooking oats has 150 calories, 5 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. If you cook that up with 1 cup of skim milk, you total out at 230 calories, 13 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. Ask any dietitian - that's about as close as you can come to a perfect nutritional profile for breakfast!
If you're looking to add more fiber and get one of your fruit servings for the day out of the way, consider adding to your oatmeal:
- 1/2 or 1 ripe, mashed banana (a great way to get rid of bananas that are going rotten, provides 1-3 grams extra fiber)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh fruit such as nectarines, apricots or even apples (2-3 grams extra fiber)
- 1/4 cup raisins (2 grams extra fiber)
- 1/2 cup blueberries (2 grams extra fiber)
Making oatmeal at home with nonfat milk is one of the cheapest ways to obtain a satisfying, fulfilling breakfast; but, many retailers are now selling oatmeal for breakfast although it's usually at a pretty heavy cost to you, as pointed out in a recent Washington Post article.
