Better Breakfast Day

Cereal with fruit. Tesa Robbins / Pixabay.com / 2017 / CC0 1.0

The 26th of September is Better Breakfast Day.

In fact, the whole month of September is Better Breakfast Month.

If you don’t have time for breakfast, then figure out a way to make time. Maybe on weekends you could prepare ready-to-eat breakfasts that you can quickly eat, and keep them in the fridge, ready to grab. Some breakfast tortillas, some healthy homemade versions of Egg McMuffins. Some pancakes or French toast, that you can quickly zap in the microwave to reheat.

Every week, make it a habit to roughly plan ahead what you will have for breakfast.

Check the freezer section of your supermarket to see what it might offer for healthy frozen breakfast foods that can just be microwaved. But pay close attention to the nutrition panels: if you have access to the Weight Watchers app on the phone, a quick scan will suss out any nutritional fast ones the manufacture is trying to pull on you.

If you have to frequently grab breakfast on the run, then in spare moments start to research what the healthier choices would be at your usual stops. Research the fat, sodium and carb levels on the various menus. Even doughnut shops now are offering healthier choices. Grabbing a breakfast sandwich? Choose the whole wheat bagel; ask for light cream-cheese.

Dial back the sugar in your coffee. Replace it with a non-caloric sweetener, or, try to learn to like it without the sugar.

Trade juices for whole fruits instead. Sadly, the truth about orange juice is that it’s a glass of coloured sugar, and dieticians would rather have us consuming whole orange pieces instead (without the rind and seeds, of course!)

If you are bored by current breakfast choices, look for new ones. Outside of the English-speaking world, which is stuck in a rut of cereals, bacon, eggs, pancakes, and waffles, the rest of the world has a way greater variety of breakfast choices including beans and rice. (See: Gallo Pinto)

If today is a weekend, make breakfast fancy with your kids and / or partner. And it’s a good opportunity to talk to your children about what is and isn’t part of a healthy breakfast (provided you’ve first informed yourself from reputable sources.)

Breakfast is an opportunity to start giving your body fresh nutrients for the day, and if you miss that window of opportunity, it’s hard to catch up:

“We need a new supply of nutrients each day to keep our organs functioning and our bodies healthy. It would be difficult to get all the nutrients we need (like the required amounts of vitamins, minerals and fiber) if we skipped breakfast. Research has shown that eating breakfast not only gives us a jump-start in meeting our nutrient requirements for the day, it also sets the stage for our making better food choices throughout the day. Now, just think about that a minute! Do you eat better throughout the day when you eat breakfast? Bet you do!” ^[1]September 26th is Better Breakfast Day! What’s that all about? Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). North Carolina Cooperative Extension. 26 September 2015. Accessed May 2020 at https://ncefnep.org/participants/tips/better-breakfast-day/

Eating breakfast can help you maintain a healthy weight and cut your risk of type 2 diabetes which is now plaguing so many people:

“Research has shown that eating breakfast can help control one’s weight. How is that possible? Well, as we mentioned before, people who eat breakfast are more likely to make better food choices during the day. For example, unlike breakfast skippers who often scarf down high calorie junk food when they get hungry mid-morning or at lunch, breakfast eaters aren’t as hungry and tend to choose more thoughtfully, taking into consideration the sugar, fat and calorie content of the food they choose to eat. Plus, breakfast eaters are typically more physically active than non-breakfast eaters. The marrying of these three behaviors – eating breakfast, making wise food choices during the day, and being physically active – are contributing factors to not only managing one’s weight, but to also controlling the onset of other health issues like heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. It’s amazing that simply eating breakfast can have such long-range health benefits, isn’t it?” ^[2]September 26th is Better Breakfast Day! What’s that all about? Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). North Carolina Cooperative Extension. 26 September 2015. Accessed May 2020 at https://ncefnep.org/participants/tips/better-breakfast-day/

#BetterBreakfastDay #BetterBreakfastMonth

Further Reading

Breakfast Lesson (Source: Nebraska Extension Nutrition Education Program)

Julie Garden-Robinson. Who Needs a Healthy Breakfast? Everybody Does! (FN728, Revised Nov. 2017)

Recipes

• Bacon and Cheese Clafoutis
• Cheese and Bread Bake for Breakfast
• Corned Beef Hash
• Dutch Baby
• Egg Poached in Clingfilm
• Gallo Pinto
• Wheat Germ Muffins
• Grilled Breakfast Tomatoes
• Grilled Eggs and Spinach
• Migas
• Potato and Cauliflower Frittata
• Shirred Eggs with Spinach
• Yorkshire Rabbit

History

In 2012, The Republic newspaper of Columbus, Indiana, said that Better Breakfast Day was the 22nd of September. ^[3]Just for Kids. Columbus, Indiana: The Republic. Thursday, 30 August 2012. Col. 4.

In September 2017 and 2019, the Kenosha News of Kenosha, Wisconsin said the day was on the 25th of September.

The promotion of September as Better Breakfast Month started in 1951. September was chosen because it is when children head back to school, and it was hoped that setting good habits at the start of the school year would influence the rest of the school year:

“Breakfast moves into the headlines this September when the Cereal Institute inaugurates the first annual Better Breakfast Month. This national Better Breakfast Month is being announced to the schools, to food writers of all professional and consumer publications, to community leaders, and to the grocery and restaurant trade. Food retailers were asked in a recent questionnaire to select the month that would be the best merchandising period in which to promote better breakfasts. Close to 80 per cent voted for September. Also, they were requested to select a name for the event, and the majority voted for ‘Better Breakfast Month’. The slogan, ‘September is Better Breakfast Month’, is the result of this questionnaire.” — Better Breakfast Month Being Planned. Charlotte, North Carolina: The Charlotte Observer. Friday, 27 July 1951. Page 10-B, col. 2.

Better Breakfast Day was promoted for the 26th of September by several newspapers in several states in the 1957 and 1958.

Better Breakfast Day… Sept 26. Boone News Republican, 24 September 1957, page 6.

Sources

Better Breakfast Day (September 26). University of Lincoln-Nebraska. Accessed May 2019 at https://food.unl.edu/september-food-calendar#betterbreakfast

Build a better breakfast. Portland, Maine: WCSH-TV. 25 September 2016. Accessed August 2021 at https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/health/build-a-better-breakfast/325243987

Scifo, Cristen. Better Breakfast Day! Penn State Extension Service. 22 September 2017. Accessed August 2021 at
https://sites.psu.edu/therhealdeal/2017/09/22/better-breakfast-day/

September 26th is Better Breakfast Day! What’s that all about? Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). North Carolina Cooperative Extension. 26 September 2015. Accessed May 2020 at https://ncefnep.org/participants/tips/better-breakfast-day/