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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Power of Breakfast


“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh", said Piglet at last, “what's the first thing you say to yourself?"


“What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?"

“I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. 

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It's the same thing, he said."

A. A. Milne, 'The House at Pooh Corner' 

Pooh was indeed right. Breakfast is the most exciting meal of the day and the most important one too.Call it the side effect of modernisation, we have more kitchen gadgets, more cereal shelves in supermarkets but hardly the time or inclination to have breakfast. As India climbs the rungs of development, it is also climbing the rungs of lifestyle diseases. India is poised to earn the title of World No.1 for Diabetes. That iself is a reason enough to re-examine our lifestyle. Where are we going wrong? Or what can we do to get it right?
Breakfast is one such lifestyle change which can well be your ticket to a healthy life. Read on to find out more.

8 reasons why breakfast is a must
  1. Start your metabolism – After fasting for over 10 hours, eating breakfast is like revving up your car's engine. Once your metabolism is up, your body starts burning calories. Starting your day on an empty stomach is like trying to start your car with no petrol in it.
  2. Gets your mind tickingA study has proven that kids who go to school without breakfast are more sluggish in thinking and answering than the other kids. The same applies to adults too. Sans breakfast, you are more grouchy and irritable in the mornings. Think back and you may nod your heads in agreement. 
  3. Stocking upA proper breakfast will give you most of your daily dose of vitamins, fibre and calcium. Miss this bus and you've missed an opportunity to pick up the vital nutrients for the day. Breakfast eaters are known to have fewer nutritional deficiencies.
  4. Weight control – Once you've satisfied your body's calorie and nutrition requirements in the morning, you are less likely to eat an arm and a leg at lunch time.
  5. Set an example – Your kids may not listen to what you say, but they are definitely watching you. When they see you giving importance to the morning meal, they learn a healthy lesson for life too. 
  6. Live long - Dr Roger Henderson, author of '100 ways to live to 100', says, 'Researchers recently reported that people who reach the ripe old age of 100 tend to consume breakfast more regularly than those who skip the first meal of the day.' 
  7. Prevent diabetes – A study on more than 3,000 people  found that those who ate breakfast regularly were significantly less likely to be have diabetes than those who skipped it. Erratic timing of meals means erratic blood sugar levels. This is one of the main causes for type 2 diabetes.
  8. Morning cuppa tea – This one is so rich in flavonoids (anti-oxidants) that it can reduce blood clotting and deposition of cholesterol in blood vessels. Excellent for heart health!
Powering up South Indian breakfasts

Idli-Sambhar 
The ubiquitous 'jodi' is definitely numero uno on most people's list. And the good news is that it is one of the healthiest foods. A combination of cereals and pulses in the idlis and lentils with vegetables in the sambhar gives you the benefit of most of the food groups. The coconut chutney is best kept for special occasions. You can start this meal with a fruit or make vegetable / lentils based chutneys (thuvaiyals) to get the added anti-oxidant power for your day.

Upma
Semolina or rava is rich in fibre. Feel the sandy rough grains and you'll know why. If you are making upma for breakfast the next time, try it this way. Usually you would add a handful of chopped veggies to a cup of rava. In this version,take just ¾ cup rava and 1 heaped cup of chopped carrots, peas, onions, tomatoes, green beans, mung bean sprouts. Fortifying the upma with vegetables, make it a more balanced and nutritious meal to kickstart your mornings. If you find that this is a lot of chopping to do, you can easily use a bag of frozen cut vegetables or chop the previous night and refrigerate. Also try this upma with broken wheat.

Ragi mudde
Ragi or finger millet is a food with high nutrition value. Eaten with a vegetable curry or sambhar it is enough to keep you energised till lunch time. If you find the ragi mudde too sticky to eat, try making dosas out of ragi flour mixed with gram flour.

Savoury pongal
Porridge made with rice and lentils is just the right combination for a great breakfast. Add some cashews or peanuts along with a glass of buttermilk and a fruit to this and your meal is balanced in carbs, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Leave the ghee-laden tempering behind though.

Beaten rice / Aval
Aval is light and fluffy and a favourite of most. It cooks in a jiffy and blends well with most vegetables and spices. The only missing part is the proteins. Keep a box of soya granules handy. Take 1/3rd cup of soya granules with one cup of aval and soak as usual. Add frozen peas, peanuts along with the regular spices to get a kicked up version of Aval upma.
Check out various food resources on the net to learn a variety of steamed breakfasts from different parts of India. Dhokla, Khamni, Handwo, Vatteyappam, Puttu are some of them.

Carry on the go 
  • Last night's chapatis can be filled with sauteed paneer, onions and capsicum to make filling carry-on-the-go meals in the mornings.
  • Bake some nutritious muffins with apples, wheat bran, dried fruits over the weekend. These freeze well. On hurried mornings, you can guzzle a glass of skimmed milk while you throw a couple of frozen muffins into the microwave for 30 seconds. You have breakfast ready to eat while driving to work.
  • For those early morning meetings, when there is absolutely no time for brekky, take a large juicy apple along. As a  policy, store some roasted (not sweetened) nuts in a ziploc bag in your office drawer. Ask for a milky coffee. The fruit, nuts and milk makes a nutritious breakfast for a crazy day ahead.
  • Make a sandwich with whole wheat bread, thinly sliced boiled eggs and tomatoes, generously sprinkled with pepper. This can also be easily wrapped in foil and eaten on the go.
Fresh ideas
  • When in season, oranges can be the perfect way to start your day. I mean the fruit and not the juice. Even if it is the unsweetened healthy kind of juice, it is definitely not fresh and the most of the fibre is out. One orange gives you the entire vitamin C requirement for the day and a lot of fibre too.
  • Use broken wheat with broken green moong to make a savoury porridge. It will take you under 10 minutes in the pressure cooker.
  • Remember to fortify each recipe. Idlis with grated carrots, oil-free dosas stuffed with grated paneer, upma and poha with chopped vegetables and so on. Don't stuff an already carb-rich food like dosa with more carbs like potato. 
  • A boiled potato sprinkled with salt, pepper and paprika  has complex carbohydrates and is a solid source of energy. Combine with a handful of nuts and a glass of tomato juice.
You can start your weekends on a cozy note by laying out an elaborate breakfast table. Like Nathaniel Hawthorne said in The House of the Seven Gables (1851) said - “Life, within doors, has few pleasanter prospects than a neatly-arranged and well-provisioned breakfast-table. ” You can also add that little treat to your regular spread like freshly baked muffins from your oven or from the local bakery. Involve your kids no matter how young to help you making breakfast or lay the table. It makes for great bonding sessions too.
Make breakfast a ritual with your family. Those 15 minutes you spend at the dining table can make you reap lifelong benefits.

Shopping list
Whole wheat bread
Margarine
Skimmed milk
Curds
Paneer / Tofu
Eggs
Chicken salami
Idli batter
Semolina
Beaten rice -thick variety
Porridge oats
Broken wheat
Almonds
Dried apricots
Chopped dates
Raisins
Tomatoes
Oranges
Apples
Bananas
Other seasonal fruits



Sample breakfast for a week


Bowl of oats, skimmed milk and honey
5-6 almonds
1 small orange

3 Idlis with a cup of vegetable sambhar
1 glass buttermilk
Few slices of papaya

Uthapam with carrots, onions, frozen peas
Peanut chutney / thuvaiyal
1 cup apple juice

Soya-Aval upma with vegetables
3-4 apricots
1 cup skimmed milk

Chapati rolls with grated paneer / boiled egg
Tomato salsa / ketchup
1 apple

2 slices whole grain bread with peanut butter
1 boiled egg / 1 cup skimmed milk
½ cup pomegranate 

Rava upma with veggies and sprouts
Handful of dried fruits
1 glass buttermilk

(Originally published in the magazine Windows and Aisles of Paramount Airways)