MyPlate and Milk in the Morning
If you think skipping breakfast will help you maintain a healthy weight, you might want to think again. In fact, MyPlate recommendations include starting the day with a good breakfast:
Start with breakfast
Eat a breakfast that helps you meet your food group needs. People who skip breakfast often weigh more. Eating a nutrient-dense breakfast may help you lose weight and keep it off.
By choosing a balanced breakfast, you can get off to the right start, and fill in the gaps in food groups likely to be missing in your diet. Milk is a perfect breakfast complement, yet more than 8 out of 10 Americans still fall short of the recommended milk servings each day.1
Milk is packed with nine essential nutrients, including eight grams of high-quality protein. Along with building muscle and keeping bones strong, protein at breakfast can help you feel full and satisfied so you won’t feel hungry by mid-morning, which will help people stick to their weight management plan.
Studies show milk drinkers and breakfast eaters have more nutritious diets and tend to be leaner than non-milk drinkers and breakfast skippers.2,3,4 And to cut fat and calories, opt for fat free or low fat milk – they deliver the same nutrient-rich punch for fewer calories and less fat.
For more breakfast tips and recipes, visit www.thebreakfastproject.com. Also, follow the Milk Mustache Campaign on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MilkMustache, and Twitter @MilkMustache.
Recipe: Skillet Eggs and Polenta
Summary: Serve this morning meal with an 8-ounce glass of fat free milk and a slice of whole grain toast to start right with a serving of veggies, whole grain, protein and milk all before noon.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 cup zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
- 1 jar (32 ounces) marinara sauce
- 2 1/2 cups lowfat or fat free milk
- Salt
- 1/2 cup finely ground polenta or cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 4 eggs
- Chopped fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Spray large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, and zucchini, and sauté until vegetables soften slightly, about 3 minutes.
- Add marinara and simmer to heat through. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
- Bring milk and salt to a boil in medium saucepan over medium-high.
- Slowly whisk in polenta, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.
- Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.
- Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high.
- Carefully crack eggs into pan and cook until whites are set and yolks are cooked to desired doneness, 4 to 6 minutes.
- To serve, divide polenta among 4 shallow serving bowls; top with marinara and an egg. Sprinkle with chopped basil if desired.
Number of servings (yield): 4
1 Krebs-Smith SM, Guenther PM, Subar AF, Kirkpatrick SI, Dodd KW. Americans do not meet federal dietary recommendations. Journal of Nutrition. 2010;140:1832-1838.
2 Murphy MM, Douglass JS, Johnson RK, Spence LA. Drinking flavored or plain milk is positively associated with nutrient intake and is not associated with adverse effects on weight status in US children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:631-639.
3 Barba G, Troiano E, Russo P, Venezia A, Siani A. Inverse association between body mass and frequency of milk consumption in children. British Journal of Nutrition. 2005;93(1):15-19.
4 Wyatt HR, Grunwald GK, Mosca CL, Klem ML, Wing RR, Hill JO. Long-term weight loss and breakfast in subjects in the National Weight Control Registry. Obes Res. 2002;10:78-82.
