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This Can't Be
Breakfast!
by Dana Jacobi
for The American Institute for Cancer Research |
- Breakfast is important. Whether
you skip it because you are not hungry or haven't the time, or
if you have one that's not nutritious, you will pay a price later
in the day - in lack of energy, diminished alertness and the
likelihood of overeating.
To make eating a good breakfast a habit, my favorite trick is
turning the day's first meal into the last thing people expect
- dessert. Turning breakfast on its head, making it the delicious
reward usually reserved for the end of the day, does not require
a sugary treat. A breakfast sundae, morning pizza, or sunrise
rice pudding can be healthful, and fun too. All these lean choices
include protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber, and are low
in fat. They also give you a good start on "Five-A-Day,"
providing fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, along
with a satisfied smile.
- Realistic as well as rebellious,
these breakfast concoctions are quick fixes. You can make them
"to go" or enjoy them at home as your secret sin.
- For the rice pudding, which
is best made the night before, simply use brown rice in place
of white rice in your favorite recipe, egg whites in place of
whole eggs, low-fat milk rather than full-fat, and include a
handful of dried fruit like cherries or chopped apricots. Cool
the pudding, cut it into squares and wrap each portion in plastic,
then foil. The result is both delicious and portable, ready to
eat out of hand in the car, at your desk, or at school.
- Easier still is a morning
pizza. Start with a slice of whole-grain toast. Top it with low-fat
ricotta cheese. For a sweet pizza, add sliced banana and a cut-up
strawberry. Or, for a refreshingly savory breakfast, use sliced
tomato and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.
- If the crunch of cereal appeals
to you, then this sundae is your perfect breakfast. To make it
portable, put the cereal in a snack-size plastic bag and sprinkle
it on just before you dig in.
- Breakfast
Sundae - Makes 1 serving.
- 3/4 cup various fresh fruit,
e.g., blueberries, raspberries, halved seedless grapes, sliced
banana, etc.
- 3/4 cup (1 6-oz container),
low-fat vanilla yogurt
- 1/4 cup whole-grain breakfast
cereal (like Grapenuts Flakes, Wheaties) or low-fat granola
- 1 large strawberry
- Place half of fruit in bottom
of footed, glass dessert dish or small bowl. Top with half the
yogurt. Arrange remaining fruit over yogurt. Top with remaining
yogurt. Sprinkle cereal on top. Set strawberry in center, as
with a sundae. Serve immediately.
-
- Per serving: 282 calories, 3 g. total fat (2 g.
saturated fat), 5 g. carbohydrate, 11 g. protein, 3 g. dietary
fiber, 274 mg. sodium.
-
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AUTHOR: |
- "Something Different"
is written for the
American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) by Dana Jacobi,
author of The Joy of Soy, and recipe creator for AICR's Stopping
Cancer Before It Starts.
AICR offers a Nutrition
Hotline (1-800-843-8114)
from Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. This free service allows
you to ask a registered dietitian questions regarding diet, nutrition
and cancer. AICR is the only major cancer charity focusing exclusively
on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer. It provides a
wide range of consumer education programs that have helped millions
of Americans learn to make changes for lower cancer risk. AICR
also supports innovative research in cancer prevention and treatment
at universities, hospitals and research centers across the U.S.
It has provided more than $62 million in funding for research
in diet, nutrition and cancer. AICR 's Web address is www.aicr.org. |
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RECIPE POSTED
2002 |
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