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You Probably Should Eat A Healthy Breakfast – Here’s Why . . .

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My Mom always made me eat a “good” breakfast – eggs, leftover hamburgers from the night before, some kind of hot cereal made with milk.  My Mom grew up on a working farm – and farmers had the right idea about the need to fuel themselves for the coming day (and to use whatever food was on hand). The habit of eating a healthy breakfast has stuck with me, but even though many of you know how important it is, you probably don’t always make it a priority or carve out enough time to do it.

The advice to eat a good breakfast has been around for centuries.  It’s clear how it affects your body’s biology, but now it’s being documented that eating a healthy breakfast — especially one high in protein – can leave you feeling fuller and less hungry throughout the day.

 

A Breakfast Study

Research published in the journal Obesity studied teens who either skipped breakfast or ate a 500 calorie breakfast of cereal and milk (with normal amounts of protein) or higher protein meals like Belgium waffles with added protein, syrup, and yogurt for three weeks.

At the end of each week, the teens filled out appetite and satiety questionnaires, and had a brain scan before lunch that used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify brain activation responses.

The researchers focused on teens because 60% of them skip breakfast and breakfast skipping is strongly associated with unhealthy snacking, overeating (especially at night), weight gain, and obesity.

 

What They Found

The results showed that eating breakfast led to increased fullness and less hunger throughout the morning.  The fMRI showed that before lunch there was also reduced brain activity in regions that control food motivation and reward.

Eating breakfast reduced brain signals that lead to reward driven eating behavior when they’re active.  The higher protein breakfast produced greater feelings of satiety and changes in reward driven eating behavior than the normal protein milk and cereal meal.

Since skipping breakfast is associated with more snacking and food cravings, breakfast — especially one that is rich in protein — could be an effective strategy in controlling appetite and preventing overeating.

 

 

Don’t Let An “Organic” Label Pull The Wool Over Your Eyes

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Even though “organic” refers to a method of production rather than nutritional content, an “organic” label can make you believe that food is healthier and tastier. A Cornell University study was designed to test what’s called the “halo effect,” or the theory that people are influenced by how something is described.

 

The Study

The study looked at the “health halo effect” of whether food products labeled “organic” were perceived as more nutritious and  better tasting than conventionally produced products.

144 volunteers compared what they thought were conventionally and organically produced chocolate sandwich cookies, plain yogurt, and potato chips. Everything was actually organic, but the products were labeled as either “regular” or “organic.”

They participants ranked them on taste, estimated the caloric content, and indicated what they would pay for each product.

 

What They Found

The results showed that organic foods fall under a “health halo” and that having supposedly healthy food – in this case the food labeled organic — within a meal, can lead to misjudging the entire meal as being healthier and lower in calories.

The participants in the study:

  • preferred almost all the taste characteristics of foods labeled “organic” even though the “regular” food was exactly the same.
  • thought the food labeled “organic” was lower in fat, higher in fiber, significantly lower in calories, and worth more money.
  • thought the chips and cookies labeled “organic” were more nutritious than the ones they thought were not organic.

 

What Does Organic Really Mean?

“Organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.”

According to the USDA:

  • “100% Organic” products are made with 100% organic ingredients
  • “Organic” products are made with at least 95% organic ingredients
  • Products labeled “Made With Organic Ingredients” have a minimum of 70% organic ingredients (with strict restrictions on the other 30%)
  • Products with less than 70% organic ingredients can list organic ingredients on their side panel but not on the front

 

Does Cinnamon Last Longer Than Oregano?

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Good question.  I love spices and herbs – especially fresh herbs –but those bottles of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and bay leaves?  They might have been keeping each other company in my spice drawer since Bill Clinton was in office.

Do Dried Spices And Herbs Go Bad?

Even though some cookbooks might suggest a “toss your spices after six months” rule, the major spice suppliers claim that they don’t go bad – but they do lose their strength. My Clinton era cinnamon wouldn’t make anyone sick – it just wouldn’t necessarily taste like full-fledged cinnamon.

Spice companies like McCormick and Penzeys say that if you keep dried herbs and spices in an airtight container in a cool, dry place you can keep and use them for as long as they seem to have flavor.  That’s a bit of good news because it can take awhile to use up what’s in those bottles!

Here’s a tip:  with a ground dry spice, shake the jar, let it settle, and give a sniff. If it doesn’t really have its spicy scent, toss it. If there’s a little fragrance left, try using more than usual amount to get the flavor you would expect from a fresh dried spice.

 

What About Herbs?

Herbs don’t have the longevity of spices and lose their flavor more quickly. If an herb that’s supposed to have the color of a St. Patrick’s Day shamrock looks more like the color of a pair of khakis — but it still smells wonderful when you crumble it in your hand — go ahead and use it.  If it’s that khaki pants color and also has little or no aromatic smell when crumbled, then it’s probably too old to be of much flavorful use.

Some Spicy Facts

  • Whole spices can last as long as 4 years
  • Ground spices can last 2 to 3 years
  • Leafy herbs can last 1 to 3 years, depending on the herb.
  • Whole peppercorns, nutmeg, and stick cinnamon can last quite a long time.
  • The same is true for the potent whole spices like cumin, cardamom, and cloves which also can live in your spice drawer for a really long time.

How To Store Them

To get the most flavor from dried herbs and spices, keep them tightly capped and away from heat, humidity, and bright, sunny places.

Putting dried herbs and spices in the freezer is not an ideal solution because condensation can be a problem. Penzeys does recommend keeping spices like whole and ground chili peppers, paprika, sesame seed, and poppy seed in a refrigerator or freezer to prolong longevity, especially in really warm weather.

Avoid shaking herbs or spices out of the bottle directly into something you’re cooking.  Exposure to steam is a quick way to spoil your spices.

To Toss Or Not Guidelines

McCormick gives some “to toss or not toss” longevity guidelines:

  • Ground spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric): 2 to 3 years
  • Herbs (basil, oregano, parsley): 1 to 3 years
  • Seasoning blends: 1 to 2 years
  • Whole spices (cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks): 4 years
  • Seeds: 4 years (except for poppy and sesame seeds, which should be discarded after 2 years)
  • Extracts: 4 years (except for vanilla, which lasts forever)

Just remember to make a note of when the heck you bought and opened the spices in the first place. And check the bottle.  Some spice companies include “best by” dates on their bottles and some don’t.  In addition to a “best by” date, with McCormick’s  “Fresh Taster” online feature you can type in a code on the bottom of a McCormick spice bottle to verify its age and if the spice is past its prime.

 

Want To Save 100 Calories?

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Skip The Bacon

Want to save around 100 calories? That’s what’s in two medium slices of bacon.

Nix two slices of bacon on your bacon cheeseburger or two slices on your club sandwich or breakfast sandwich.

If you eat bacon five times a week that’s a pound lost in seven weeks and five pounds lost in 35 weeks just by subtracting those slices from what you normally eat.   Of course, that’s assuming you don’t add an extra slice of cheese or a heaping spoonful of mayo!

A Tasty Way To Lighten Up Your Burger

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In my neck of the woods, barbecue season is right around the corner.

I happen to love hamburgers, but, needless to say, I don’t love the calories and saturated fat in most of them.

Some Hamburger Stats

Most (not all) hamburgers are made with either ground round or ground chuck and are usually six or more ounces.

A broiled burger made with ground round (85% lean meat) has 70 calories in each ounce with 4 grams of fat (2 grams saturated fat).

A broiled burger made with ground chuck (80% lean meat) has 76 calories in each ounce with 5 grams of fat (2 grams saturated).

How about substituting chopped vegetables for some of the meat?  Onions, garlic, peppers, and mushrooms are some possibilities. An ounce of onions is 11 calories with no fat; an ounce of white mushrooms has 6 calories and no fat.

Switching out an ounce or two of meat for veggies can save you 60 to 150 or so calories and 4 to 10 grams of fat and add a whole bunch of flavor.

Try it – you might like it!