Avoiding those mid-morning starvation blues

When I was a child, many folks around still did the traditional Southern breakfast: eggs, sausage or bacon, toast, grits, and maybe oatmeal.

There are few people who do that now. The closest thing to it is a run through the drive-through, to get a sausage biscuit.

The obsession with avoiding dietary fat has led many to eat what they think is a healthy breakfast: often coffee (with a non-dairy creamer) and a roll, or something like that. No (or minimal) fat. Or a breakfast cereal, with low-fat milk. The problem for most of these breakfasts is that they leave people feeling hungry within an hour or 2, and this leaves them ready for the munchies.

The reason people feel hungry mid-morning comes from 2 factors here. First, they are often eating a high-glycemic food (such as a roll made from white flour). Such foods cause blood sugar levels to spike, and the levels usually fall quickly, leading to a droopy feeling that we mis-interpret as hunger. Second, dietary fat causes feelings of fullness. Without any fat, it's hard to feel full long enough to make it to lunch time without snacking. Finally, many people have little or no protein with breakfast which your body likewise needs to feel full.

What I'd encourage is 3 fold, designed to hit all of these factors. First, try to avoid white flour foods. They aren't good for you, and lead to that tire around the middle. Instead, think whole grain toast, whole grain muffins or pancakes, and oatmeal or other hot cereals.

Get some fat! If you make oatmeal, put some butter or peanut butter in the recipe. Spread some butter (or peanut butter) on your toast.

Finally, get some protein. I'm a big fan of cottage cheese: it's quick, easy, and goes down easily for those who don't want anything challenging for breakfast. It's also high in protein. If it's too bland for you, put a little freshly-ground black pepper on top. Keep a couple of hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator for a quick egg salad on your whole grain toast, or eat the eggs sliced on your toast. And if you haven't had fried or scrambled eggs for a while, you're in for a treat. Enjoy an egg or 2 with a slice of bacon and sausage, and you've got a fine, quick meal that will keep you going till lunch.