4 breakfast foods to start your day

You’ve said goodbye to bacon for breakfast. Sausage. Biscuits. Pancakes swimming in syrup. Yep, those are off your morning meal list, too.

So you know what you shouldn’t eat for breakfast, but what should you eat?

When searching online for the best breakfast foods, four – fruit, oatmeal, plain yogurt and eggs – show up on list after list. Robert Carrara, a diabetes educator and dietitian at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Ill., weighs in to say whether they make his list, too, and what other foods he would add.

Fruit: This is a wonderful breakfast food. Berries, such as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, are particularly good for you. Eating them is a great way to start your day. They are high in vitamins and fiber and low in calories, so enjoy. Berries also contain antioxidants.

Oatmeal: Oatmeal gets a thumbs up — just don’t top it with sugar or syrup. Oats contain plenty that’s good for you, including omega-3 fatty acids, folate, potassium and beta-glucan, a fiber.

Plain yogurt: The key here is “plain.” You have to watch the sugar when it comes to yogurt. If you want to sweeten the taste, top it with fruit. Yogurt is a good source of protein.

Eggs: Regarding whole egg consumption, the research is still mixed. Limiting egg yolks probably would be a good idea, but egg whites are an excellent source of protein. Eggs are also a great way to sneak vegetables into your breakfast, like making omelets with spinach or mushrooms.

Carrara offers these suggestions to add to the list of healthy breakfast foods:

• Whole-grain toast
• Natural peanut butter or healthy nut butters
• Bran cereals
• Cottage cheese

One word of warning from Carrara on the cottage cheese: Make sure to stick with a ½-cup portion. Cottage cheese can be high in sodium and probably isn’t the best option for people with high blood pressure.

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