Better Breakfasts!: Mini Frittatas

Hey guys,
So this is the first post of many I plan to write for this Better Breakfast series. I fell victim to the thought process that skipping breakfast would be a good thing this year, but man was I wrong. The college that I go to is definitely not known for its healthy foods so I found that most of my days consisted of no breakfast, a burrito for lunch, and a chicken caesar wrap for dinner. Occasionally, the day consisted of no breakfast, a sort of salad for lunch, and a Ben and Jerry's pint for dinner. I'm not proud. Towards the end of the year, I started to track my food and started to see a little weight fall off. But I still couldn't cook and I was living off of the few healthy things my school offers. So when I got home on Sunday, I decided to turn that around and I started my cooking better breakfasts.

I'll start with the one I made yesterday morning which came out great! I'm not going by any fancy recipes, only things I decided to throw together. And these recipes do not take that long to make. These mini frittatas only took twenty minutes to make, five minutes of prep and fifteen of baking. So if you want a healthy breakfast on a weekday morning, spend the five minutes, put them in the oven, go get ready for work, and come back to take them out and enjoy.

Recipe:
Two egg whites
.25 cup skim milk
1 oz sharp cheddar
.25 cup spinach
butter to grease the muffin tin/ butter the toast
Two slices of whole wheat toast

Mix together the egg whites and skim milk. Butter the muffin tin. I used a tin that makes basically half dollar size muffins, which means I got around eight mini frittatas out of this recipe. If you use a tin that makes larger muffins, you will likely only get four and you may have to adjust the cook time. Pour the mixture into the tin, then add the spinach. Grate the cheese, then pour it on top of the mixture. Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

I recommend having whole wheat toast with these frittatas because there really aren't carbs or fiber in the recipe, which means that three or so hours later, you're going to be pretty darn hungry. Add in the whole wheat toast and this recipe will tide you over for much longer.

Enjoy your meal!

Eat Right at Night

I can't go to bed without dessert. I admit it. It's a bad habit, I know, especially after reading the latest Health issue. Turns out, those who eat after 8 P.M. rack up 248 more calories than those who finish eating after dinner. Well, duh. I actually thought it would be more. That's not the real killer. The killer is that your body wants to burn off fat at night, which is while people who get the full nine hours weigh the least. Your body is like a machine. Even when you're asleep, its gears are still working, but it needs fuel. It's not getting food so it takes fuel from fat. It's a great system.

Problem is this mode can't begin the second your head hits the pillows. It takes time to burn the calories. Health recommends eating dinner late and going to bed an hour later, so you don't have time to eat dessert. The body needs about twelve hours to convert that fat. Basically, eat dinner at eight, eat breakfast at eight. For the summer, sure I can do that. For the rest of the year, not so much. I wake up at 5:45 A.M. and eat breakfast at 6:00 A.M. Then I eat dinner between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. I don't go to bed at eight. I usually go to sleep between ten and eleven. So no I'm not one of those people who gets the full nine hours.

Here's my rule: Don't focus on the 12 hours. Focus on the old rule that says no eating after nine. Before that I'm not giving you a pass. Don't eat whatever you want. Try to eat something with a little fiber content. If you get cravings at night, give in, but only a little. If you want chocolate, eat a Fiber One Brownie, not a giant hot fudge sundae. Dessert won't wreck your diet, as long as your careful of the time you eat and the content of your treat.

Tip #26: Tech Triumphs

Usually when you're looking to lose weight, technology is not the greatest thing to turn to. Television turns you into a couch potato and you get so sucked into the Internet you forget about your workouts. However, a new idea has found its way on to the internet and it just might be exactly what those of us who can't stick to a diet are looking for.

Tweet What You Eat. It's exactly how it sounds. No matter how big or small a meal is, you just type it into Twitter, send it to Tweet What You Eat and they track it down in a Food Diary for you. Bonus: if you are too lazy or too busy to look up the calories for each item, select "CrowdCal" and Tweet What You Eat will find the calories for you. It's an easy and simple way to track your daily calorie intake. Plus, you can have them send you an email consisting of all of your food diaries for the past week, which is a great way to see what your weaknesses and strengths are.

I just started this recently and I'm already loving it. You really think about what you are eating when you know that other people are able to see it too.  It's the perfect way to get back on track in the New Year.