3 Essential Ingredients of a Healthy Breakfast

Pictured Recipe: Mushroom & Wild Rice Frittata

When life is stressful and busier than usual, it’s easy to let our healthy-eating habits fall by the wayside. But there’s one habit you absolutely shouldn’t ditch: eating breakfast.

Here’s why: science shows that regular breakfast eaters tend to be leaner and dieters are more successful at losing weight—and keeping it off—when they eat breakfast.

Another breakfast boon: research has found that eating a breakfast that contains slower-burning carbohydrates (also called low-glycemic-index foods) like oatmeal, bran cereal or whole-wheat bagels, instead of faster-burning, or high-glycemic-index, breakfast foods (sugary cereals) helps maintain concentration and attention throughout the morning. Although this particular research was done in kids, I don’t see why it couldn’t apply to adults too.

Build a better breakfast with these 3 essential ingredients.

—Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., Nutrition Editor, EatingWell Magazine

Next: 1. Lean Protein »