Cooking Recipes Articel

Is a good breakfast on your agenda?

Because mornings are often hectic
some families try to get by with skimpy breakfasts or skip the meal entirely. You and your children
though
have already gone without food for 8 to 9 hours. Without a good breakfast
your bodies and your brains - which have no blood-glucose reserves
the brain's main energy source - have even longer to wait for an energy boost. It's much better to get up a little earlier to have a complete breakfast.

Studies over the last 30 years have confirmed again and again that children who eat a balanced breakfast score significantly higher on tests and are less depressed
anxious and hyperactive than children who eat an unbalanced breakfast or skip the meal.

Breakfast eaters also have improved strength and endurance and are not as susceptible to gnawing hunger pains in the late morning. By making you feel full longer
a good breakfast can also help you avoid overeating. In adult research
overweight women ate fewer calories the rest of the day when they had a protein-based breakfast of eggs
toast and fruit spread than women who had a calorically equal breakfast of a bagel
cream cheese and yogurt.

For either adults or children
a good breakfast should include a grain food
a protein source
a low-fat milk food and your choice of a fruit or vegetable or juice.

For the protein food
nutritious eggs are quick and easy to prepare and go well with other foods to complete a balanced meal. Pile-It-On Egg Toast
for example
can help you wake up taste buds with either a comforting or more exciting flavor combination.

Pile-It-On Egg Toast

3 servings


Cooking spray

3 slices bread

3 eggs

Topping ingredients (see variations)


Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil. Evenly coat with spray. Place bread slices on foil-lined sheet. With 2 1/2- to 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter or inverted drinking glass
cut out center of each bread slice. OR
pull out center of bread slice with fingers
leaving 2 1/2- to 3-inch diameter hole. Place cutouts and bread slices on baking sheet. For extra crispness
lightly coat both sides with spray
if desired. Break and slip 1 egg into hole in each bread slice. Evenly spread or spoon topping ingredients over bread slice and egg white. Avoid covering egg yolk completely.

Place baking sheet on middle rack of preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake until whites are set and yolks begin to thicken and cloud over
but are not hard
about 12 to 15 minutes. (Baking time may vary depending on temperature
amount and thickness of topping foods and exact diameter of hole in bread slice.)

Nutrition information per serving of 1/3 recipe using pumpernickel rye bread
ham
spinach and 2% cottage cheese: 200 calories
8
gm total fat
228
mg cholesterol
743
mg sodium
229
mg potassium
14
gm carbohydrate
17
gm protein and 10% or more of the RDI for vitamins A
B12 and C
niacin
riboflavin
thiamin
iron
phosphorus
zinc

Topping Variations: Each variation makes 3 servings.

Ham & Cheese: Use pumpernickel rye bread. In small bowl
stir together 1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves (about 1 1/2 oz.)
1
cup chopped lean cooked ham (about 3 oz.) and 1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese. Spoon about 1/3 cup spinach mixture evenly onto each egg-and-bread slice. Bake.

Mushroom Pizza: Use Italian bread
at least 4-inches in diameter
sliced 3/4- to 1-inch thick. In small bowl
stir together 1 cup sliced mushrooms (about 3 1/2 oz.) and 1/2 cup prepared pizza or spaghetti sauce or salsa. Spoon about 1/3 cup mushroom mixture onto each egg-and-bread slice. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons shredded low-moisture
part-skim mozzarella cheese
1
tablespoon per slice. Bake.