The Parkview Youth Well-being team created a series of healthy habits, simple to apply to everyday life. In this video, Katie Fulk, MA, RDN, LD, youth and family well-being coordinator, Parkview Health, offers tips for fueling for a full day.
It is true. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after getting a good night's rest. When we are sleeping, our body is fasting or going without energy from the food that we eat. When we wake up, we want to eat within one to two hours.
Food is fuel
Think of breakfast like gasoline in a car. Without gasoline, a car cannot get very far. That is how breakfast acts in our bodies. Those who eat breakfast have the brain power to think and do better during school.
Building a smart breakfast
When eating breakfast, aim to include at least three out of the five food groups, which are:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Grains
- Protein
- Dairy
A balanced breakfast could include yogurt, berries and granola, or cereal, milk and apple slices.
Enjoying more than one food group will help give your body energy, vitamins and minerals to help keep us healthy and fiber, a nutrient that helps keep our tummies full.
As we get older and more experienced in the kitchen, your adults at home might let you begin to prepare your own breakfast. If you are like me and usually running out the door in the morning, you could make your breakfast before bed the night before. I like to make overnight oats, so when I am in a rush, I still have breakfast to fuel my body.
So, let's aim to enjoy breakfast seven days a week so that we can break the fast
See the full Healthy Habits playlist.
