Let’s face it; breakfast is a meal that is easily forgotten in college. Many just don’t make time for this important meal (or they wake in time for lunch). However, eating breakfast can help you get through your day better! Breakfast can be super easy and even eaten out of your dorm room.
Without a refrigerator or microwave: This severely limits the options but not completely. The least you can do is eat fruit. Buy bananas, oranges, apples, etc. Not only are you at least eating some, you are eating something healthy. You can also opt for granola bars. Finally, there are muffins and other baked goods. Muffins and other baked goods may not be the best but better than nothing. I am also a big fan of the grapefruit. Slice one in half and sprinkle a little sugar (or splenda) and enjoy!
If you are lucky and have a refrigerator, I recommend my favorite breakfast—yogurt. I buy fresh fruit, usually strawberries, slice them and have a fruit and yogurt parfait with granola. I am going to give my plug for natural foods because a lot of regular yogurt has high fructose corn syrup in it. Also, yogurt with active cultures is also good!
My breakfast: ½ C of sliced strawberries, 1 C of yogurt and ¼ C of granola. This is about 300 calories depending on the yogurt and granola. I like hemp or soy granola—good nutrients and a good taste.
Other good breakfast food from the refrigerator is of course cereal and milk. Opt for whole-wheat cereal (I like Kashi cereals). Also, add fruit to your cereal—more bang for you calories. If you choose cereal, watch how much you eat. A serving size ranges from ½ C to 1 C—without watching many people pour in over two cups.
If you are lucky and have a toaster—bagels, toast, and English muffins with a little peanut butter can be a good breakfast. Again, eat a piece of fruit (I like to throw fruit in whenever I can!)
If you only have access to a microwave, I recommend oatmeal. Add water and zap in the microwave for a bit. This is not only tasty but oatmeal provides much needed nutrients. I like the Kashi Vanilla Hot Cereal. Try adding some nuts for a little extra protein or again fruit!
If you end up eating in the cafeteria, get some eggs. The commercials do not lie about the incredible, edible egg. Try and avoid the pancakes, waffles, and hash browns—these are usually not the best choice.
Other good tips:
-go for whole wheat
-if you can get eggs to order, get an omelet (or scrambled) with lots of veggies (tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc.) I also like to eat egg whites (good protein, hardly any calories)
- Even though I recommend the bagel, be careful. Bagels and cream cheese can amount to a lot of calories!
-Drink milk! Whether soy or skim milk, there are nutrients that you need!
Monday, April 30, 2007
The Starbucks Addiction...
Like a lot of college students, I have a coffee (and baked goods) addiction. Fueling the fire, I live within five miles of at least seven Starbucks and fifteen other various coffee shops. No plug intended, Starbucks is a great place to do homework when the school library just doesn’t work. The problem becomes, ordering a drink and a muffin and soon become you eating (and drinking) half to all of your recommended daily calories. Here is a good way to curb that!
For example: Grande Mocha- 400 calories
Grande white Chocolate mocha- 510
Grande Mocha Frappuccino- 420
How to slim down a drink (and still remain tasty)
I understand that not everyone can enjoy black coffee like I do. So, here is way of slimming down a drink at Starbucks. I use to order a Grande Vanilla Latte (around 320 calories)
Step one: Ask yourself—do you really need a grande or is a tall going to satisfy your craving? If you decide on a tall, subject 80 calories (down to 240)
Step two: Do you normally drink whole milk? I drink skim milk on a regular basis but when I went to Starbucks I didn’t bother to change milk. Ask for non-fat milk instead of whole milk, this will subtract another 70 calories. (down to 170)
Step three: This is up to you, but I find no difference in the taste. Many places you can ask for sugar free syrup in place of regular. The drink is still the tasty vanilla latte without the added calories of the previous sugar. Depending on the number of pumps of flavor put into the drink this can save 20 to 80 calories.
So, the next time you are at Starbucks, I recommend a tall non-fat, sugar free, vanilla latte. Oh- and don’t forget to leave off the whip cream (that adds up to 130 calories.)
Each of these hints can work on almost any drink—any little adjustment helps. This also works at other coffee places, I just chose Starbucks because that happens to be where I go!
The other issue is food. Now that we have slimmed down that drink of yours, the cookie is the next problem. Depending on where you live, different Starbucks carry different food items. When you are on the go or craving something sweet, Starbucks has a good selection. The only problem is what the sweets are hiding. I love scones and always have. The only problem is scones are very, very high in calories and fat. Luckily at Starbucks, trans fat and high fructose corn syrup (I will explain later why I hate these) are non-existent. So, we are left with calories, fat, and sugar.
My favorite coffee companion is the biscotti. These pre-packed treats can range in amount of calories but the ones at my local Starbucks are around 150 calories. These are a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
I grew up in a household where the low-fat/no-fat diet craze hit so when I decided to eat healthy, I scoffed at low-fat foods. However, at Starbucks, I find them tasty and often lower in calories than regular items. These include low-fat muffins and reduced fat coffee cakes. I like the low-fat blueberry muffin because the calories are lower, there is no saturated fat, and the muffin has less than 300 calories.
Be careful when the items are scones and cookies, they can hide a lot. I use to each the cinnamon scone like it was my job until I found out that one scone had over 500 calories!
When eating the bakery items, portion control can be your best friend (more on portion control later). If you absolutely want that chocolate chip cookie (470 calories), break the cookie in half and save for later or give to a friend.
For example: Grande Mocha- 400 calories
Grande white Chocolate mocha- 510
Grande Mocha Frappuccino- 420
How to slim down a drink (and still remain tasty)
I understand that not everyone can enjoy black coffee like I do. So, here is way of slimming down a drink at Starbucks. I use to order a Grande Vanilla Latte (around 320 calories)
Step one: Ask yourself—do you really need a grande or is a tall going to satisfy your craving? If you decide on a tall, subject 80 calories (down to 240)
Step two: Do you normally drink whole milk? I drink skim milk on a regular basis but when I went to Starbucks I didn’t bother to change milk. Ask for non-fat milk instead of whole milk, this will subtract another 70 calories. (down to 170)
Step three: This is up to you, but I find no difference in the taste. Many places you can ask for sugar free syrup in place of regular. The drink is still the tasty vanilla latte without the added calories of the previous sugar. Depending on the number of pumps of flavor put into the drink this can save 20 to 80 calories.
So, the next time you are at Starbucks, I recommend a tall non-fat, sugar free, vanilla latte. Oh- and don’t forget to leave off the whip cream (that adds up to 130 calories.)
Each of these hints can work on almost any drink—any little adjustment helps. This also works at other coffee places, I just chose Starbucks because that happens to be where I go!
The other issue is food. Now that we have slimmed down that drink of yours, the cookie is the next problem. Depending on where you live, different Starbucks carry different food items. When you are on the go or craving something sweet, Starbucks has a good selection. The only problem is what the sweets are hiding. I love scones and always have. The only problem is scones are very, very high in calories and fat. Luckily at Starbucks, trans fat and high fructose corn syrup (I will explain later why I hate these) are non-existent. So, we are left with calories, fat, and sugar.
My favorite coffee companion is the biscotti. These pre-packed treats can range in amount of calories but the ones at my local Starbucks are around 150 calories. These are a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
I grew up in a household where the low-fat/no-fat diet craze hit so when I decided to eat healthy, I scoffed at low-fat foods. However, at Starbucks, I find them tasty and often lower in calories than regular items. These include low-fat muffins and reduced fat coffee cakes. I like the low-fat blueberry muffin because the calories are lower, there is no saturated fat, and the muffin has less than 300 calories.
Be careful when the items are scones and cookies, they can hide a lot. I use to each the cinnamon scone like it was my job until I found out that one scone had over 500 calories!
When eating the bakery items, portion control can be your best friend (more on portion control later). If you absolutely want that chocolate chip cookie (470 calories), break the cookie in half and save for later or give to a friend.
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