Wake Up and Eat!

Are you a member of the national snooze button club? Who invented that button? Damn them. Who knew that cute little button would result in such frantic mornings?

I blame the snooze button for the national epidemic of breakfast-skipping.

We all have crazy long days with a lot going on – whether you are a student, working full-time or just a super busy stay-at-home parent – life is busy.

But a hectic morning and a skipped breakfast is a recipe for a low-energy, lethargic, brain-dead kind of day. Um, not a good combo with midterms looming.

The reason breakfast is so important is because it breaks-the-fast from an evening of catching some Zzzzzs. The average person fasts for about 10-12 hours each night; that’s a long time!

So, if you skip breakfast and don’t eat until lunch, that gap between dinner and your next meal could be over 16 hours! Your body cannot properly function with nothing in it to provide energy to those cells.

If you’re one of those people who just doesn’t get hungry in the morning, no worries. Just bring that breakfast with you and have it a little later, like during your first class. It still counts as breakfast!

Breakfast doesn’t have to be fancy. It needs to be filling, but not fancy. The goal is to prepare something tasty that is easy and quick, but will also keep you feeling satisfied and energized. Think brain power.

So for everyone who is rushing out the door, here are a few ideas to fill your body with goodness and get you ready for the busy day ahead.

1. Smooth out your hectic morning with a smoothie.

   This is such an easy way to get lots of nutrients and to fill you up, and you can put just about anything you want into it. If you are on a tight schedule, throw all the ingredients into a blender the night before and put it in the fridge. That way, in the morning you can take a few minutes to blend it up and then be on your way.

2. Perk up with a fruit parfait.

   This is also a breakfast that can be put together the night before. Put yogurt into a Tupperware container, slice up some fruit and maybe even use granola. Keep all contents separated until you are ready to eat it so nothing gets soggy.

3. Get toasty with toast.

   Warm up after a cold night with a few slices of toast. Spreading peanut butter or almond butter and slice some bananas on top. Another idea is to spread avocado on a piece of toast and top it with sliced tomatoes for a more savory breakfast.

4. Backpack stash.

   And if you really can’t get it together and stop pressing the snooze button, keep a box of granola bars in your backpack as a back-up plan. Find a granola bar high in fiber and protein, which will keep you more satisfied.

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Lauren “Lo” Babcock is a FitU nutrition and exercise mentor. Lo is from the Santa Rosa area. She enjoys cooking, baking, running, and watching her favorite show, Chopped, in her spare time. Lo hopes to become a counselor for college students.