Sugary Toaster Pastries – The Breakfast Hall of Shame
Let’s start with the absolute worst offenders in the breakfast world. Frosted Cookies and Crème Pop-Tarts contain a whopping 67 grams of carbs, and 36 grams of those are added sugars. These colorful packets might look innocent enough sitting in your pantry, but they’re essentially dessert masquerading as breakfast food.
Pop-Tarts also include an ingredient called tert-butylhydroquinone, aka TBHQ. TBHQ is a food additive that is an antioxidant but which is also said to have harmful effects. According to a research review written up in Toxicology Reports, long-term exposure to TBHQ via food products could have carcinogenic and other toxic effects. The combination of extreme sugar content and questionable additives makes these pastries a breakfast disaster. Your blood sugar will spike dramatically, then crash just as hard, leaving you hungrier than when you started.
Processed Breakfast Cereals – The Sugar-Coated Deception
Breakfast cereals are actually the seventh biggest contributor to added sugar intake among adults in the USA. In fact, most cereals list sugar as the second or third ingredient. What’s particularly sneaky about breakfast cereals is how they market themselves as healthy options while packing in massive amounts of sugar.
Many breakfast cereals are even higher in sugar than cookies and desserts. Adding whole grains or artificial vitamins and minerals does not make them a healthy choice. Take Cap’n Crunch, for example – it contains butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT. This is a preservative which is considered safe but which may have adverse effects on your lungs, liver, kidney, and thyroid. A study published in Toxicological Sciences found evidence of BHT being an endocrine disruptor.
Commercial Muffins – Handheld Cake in Disguise
Muffins are handheld cakes, with some being better than others. Most muffins aren’t made with whole grain flour, meaning they lack many nutrients you want to have from your breakfast grains. The big ones you pick up at places like a coffee shop or continental breakfast can also be astronomical in calories, with one containing as much as 800 calories.
Store-bought muffins are particularly problematic because they’re loaded with refined flour, sugar, and unhealthy oils. Little Bites Chocolate Chip Muffins have 17 grams of sugar per serving (5 mini muffins), and that’s before you even consider the artificial additives and preservatives that extend their shelf life. What seems like a convenient breakfast choice is really just cake with a healthy-sounding name.
Pancakes and Waffles – Weekend Breakfast Villains
Although they have more protein than some breakfast items, pancakes and waffles are very high in refined flour. Many researchers believe that refined grains like wheat flour contribute to insulin resistance and obesity. In addition, pancakes and waffles are typically topped with pancake syrup, which contains high-fructose corn syrup. High-fructose corn syrup can cause the inflammation that drives insulin resistance, which may lead to prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
The real problem with pancakes and waffles isn’t just the refined flour – it’s what we put on top of them. That sticky-sweet syrup is basically liquid sugar that sends your blood glucose levels through the roof. Even when made from scratch with quality ingredients, these breakfast treats lack the protein and fiber needed to keep you satisfied throughout the morning.
Fruit Juice – Liquid Sugar Masquerading as Health
Despite a reputation for being healthy, fruit juice is very high in sugar. It actually contains a similar amount as sugary soda. This might come as a shock to parents who’ve been giving their kids orange juice thinking it’s a healthy choice, but the reality is that fruit juice has been stripped of all the beneficial fiber found in whole fruit.
When you drink juice, you’re getting all the sugar from multiple pieces of fruit concentrated into liquid form, causing a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. Whole fruit is higher in fiber than fruit juice, and some commercial fruit juices have added sugar. For this reason, it’s best to eat whole fruit when possible. The fiber in whole fruit helps slow down sugar absorption and keeps you feeling fuller longer.
Granola Bars – The Healthy Impostor
Granola bars usually contain several types of sugar that negatively affect blood sugar and insulin levels. They also lack protein and fiber. These seemingly wholesome snacks are often packed with high-fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and other forms of added sugar that your body processes just like candy.
The problem with most commercial granola bars is that they prioritize taste and shelf stability over nutrition. What should be a simple combination of oats, nuts, and dried fruit becomes a processed food product loaded with binding agents and sweeteners. You’d be better off eating a small handful of nuts and a piece of fresh fruit, which would provide more nutrients and keep you satisfied longer.
Instant Oatmeal Packets – Quick But Questionable
Instant oatmeal has about 12 grams of added sugar before you even touch it. It’s low on fiber and has less than three grams of protein. While oatmeal itself can be incredibly healthy, the instant flavored varieties sold in packets are a far cry from the wholesome breakfast grain they started as.
These convenient packets are essentially processed oats mixed with sugar, artificial flavors, and various additives to create appealing flavors like maple brown sugar or strawberries and cream. The processing removes much of the beneficial fiber, and the added sugars cause the same blood sugar spikes you’d get from eating candy for breakfast. Steel-cut or rolled oats prepared at home are infinitely better choices.
Breakfast Pastries and Danishes – Butter Bomb Beginnings
Croissants, danishes, and similar pastries are high in butter, sugar, and fats, offering little nutritional value and contributing to calorie overload. While they may be delicious, pastries offer few nutritional benefits, are high in calories, and the refined carbs contribute to rapid spikes in blood sugar.
These flaky, buttery treats might make your taste buds happy, but they’re nutritional disasters. Made primarily from refined white flour, butter, and sugar, they provide almost no protein, fiber, or essential nutrients. You’ll get a quick energy boost followed by an inevitable crash that leaves you reaching for more food within an hour or two.
Bagels with Cream Cheese – The Carb Loading Champion
One Einstein Brothers bagel contains 260 calories, and both pancakes and bagels are high in refined flour, which has important B vitamins removed. The toppings can also blow your healthy eating habits, as bagels typically come slathered in cream cheese. A typical bagel is equivalent to eating about four slices of white bread in terms of refined carbohydrates.
The cream cheese adds saturated fat and calories without contributing much in terms of beneficial nutrients. White bread and plain bagels are made with wheat that has had the outer part of the kernel removed during processing and lack important nutrients, such as fiber and B-complex vitamins. This combination creates a breakfast that’s heavy on calories but light on satiation, leaving you hungry again surprisingly quickly.
Cottage Cheese – The Unexpected Protein Powerhouse
Low fat cottage cheese is a high protein breakfast item, providing 24 g of protein per cup. For this reason, it is also filling. One 2015 study found cottage cheese to be as satisfying as eggs. Despite its somewhat bland reputation, cottage cheese is actually one of the most nutritious breakfast foods available.
The high protein content in cottage cheese makes it incredibly effective at keeping hunger at bay throughout the morning. Consider making a cottage cheese parfait with fruit and pistachios for a breakfast that combines protein, healthy fats, and natural sweetness from fruit. This combination provides sustained energy without the blood sugar rollercoaster of processed breakfast foods.
Greek Yogurt – The Probiotic Champion
Greek yogurt is made by straining whey and other liquid from milk curds, producing a creamy product higher in protein than regular yogurt. It’s also lower in calories than many other protein sources. A 5.3-ounce container serving provides 15 grams of protein but only 92 calories. This impressive protein-to-calorie ratio makes Greek yogurt an exceptional breakfast choice.
Greek yogurt has double the protein compared to traditional yogurt due to the straining process. In addition, it is low in lactose and a fermented food which provides live, active cultures that may act as probiotics and keep the gastrointestinal system healthy. Greek yogurt contains 23 grams of protein per serving, making it one of the most protein-dense breakfast options available. Choose plain varieties to avoid added sugars, and enhance the flavor naturally with fresh berries, nuts, or a drizzle of honey.
Steel-Cut Oatmeal – The Fiber King
Porridge is our top choice for a heart-healthy breakfast, made with low-fat milk or water. All porridge oats are wholegrains and they contain a soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which can help lower your cholesterol level if you have 3g or more daily, as part of a healthy diet. A 40g serving of porridge oats contains 1.6g of beta-glucan. As well as beta-glucan, you’ll be getting the fibre from the whole grains, plus there is no added sugar or salt.
One-half cup of rolled oats cooked in a cup of water has 165 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. Oats’ fiber and protein content contribute to feeling full longer and slowing the release of blood glucose. They’re also an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, copper, thiamine and zinc. Steel-cut oats are the least processed and contain the highest amount of fiber. This combination of protein, fiber, and essential nutrients makes properly prepared oatmeal one of the healthiest breakfast choices available.
