Advertisement
Breaking the mold of traditional American breakfast
By: Dr. Roxanne B. Sukol, MD, MS
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
Let’s talk about the typical American breakfast: namely toast, bagels, muffins, waffles, pancakes, “cereal,” biscuits and bread. Basically just white flour and sugar. Stripped carb. For example, “cereal” really means grain (like oatmeal, millet, kasha, bulgur wheat), and not boxes of sweetened, dyed, highly processed products of limited nutritional value.
Even people who have made the switch to real food and who have rid their kitchens of items from that list of typical American breakfast foods above (at least most of the time) can still be strongly influenced by the list.
Here’s the thing — you don’t have to stick to that list. You don’t have to eat pancakes and bagels. You can eat leftover salmon, carrots with hummus, slices of avocado or cheese on a bed of arugula or in a wrap. You could heat up a bowl of lentil soup, crack an egg into a small bowl with a scoop of pesto and bake it in the toaster oven for 10 minutes, or cook a sweet potato in the microwave and add a generous spoonful of peanut butter.
There are a few reliable ways to tell if you’re still being influenced by the food industry’s list of acceptable breakfast items: You might have decided once and for all to stop buying high sugar cereals for your kids and replace it with a different “breakfast cereal” product that seems a little less sweet. Or you might decide to see if your kids like grain granola bars for breakfast. Maybe it’s still toaster waffles, but a version that contains whole wheat.
Advertisement
I’m not against buying whole wheat versions of processed products. That counts as a step in the right direction, no question about it. Real oatmeal can be an inspiration. But there’s no need to limit yourself to that list at all.
Let your imagination run wild! Grilled cheese on whole-grain bread? Why not? And what about yogurt? You can ratchet up the nutritional value of high-sugar conventional “yogurt desserts for breakfast” by switching to plain yogurt to which you’ve added your own fruit, vanilla extract, cinnamon. Artificial sweeteners are to be excluded from that list — if that’s the only way you can tolerate yogurt you need another plan.
But who says it has to be sweet at all? Another delicious way to eat yogurt is to mix it with cucumbers and tomatoes, diced small. Yet another somewhat more ambitious strategy is to wrap yogurt tightly in cheesecloth and leave it to hang by a string from the kitchen faucet for eight to 12 hours until sufficient liquid has dripped out to form a firm ball of cheese within the cheesecloth. Try this unbelievable yogurt cheese with some fresh herbs and olive oil and you will wonder whatever made you think it had to be eaten sweet at all.
Don’t eat dessert for breakfast. At least most of the time.
This article was adapted from Dr. Roxanne Sukol’s blog, Your Health Is On Your Plate.
Advertisement
Learn more about our editorial process.
Advertisement
This low-fat, plant-based eating plan includes lifestyle changes, such as exercise, stress management and social support
Eating foods derived from plants can lower your risks of heart disease, diabetes and obesity
There are different ways to alternate between eating and fasting
The benefits of iron span your whole body, from your blood and your brain to your immune system and more
A well-balanced diet of whole grains, salmon, leafy greens and more can help maintain energy and increase milk supply
Eating a totally plant-based diet can be healthy, but eating a well-balanced diet no matter what eating style you choose is important
Studies and the FDA say this herbaceous alternative is safe in moderation, so go ahead and sprinkle away!
A variety of healthy foods can help reduce inflammation and keep other conditions at bay
Focus on your body’s metabolic set point by eating healthy foods, making exercise a part of your routine and reducing stress
PFAS chemicals may make life easier — but they aren’t always so easy on the human body
While there’s little risk in trying this hair care treatment, there isn’t much science to back up the claims