Avoid the Pitfalls of Breakfast on the Road

No one disputes the importance of a good breakfast. But we’ve made some fundamental mistakes in how we define “good,” especially when it comes to eating breakfast while we’re on vacation.

For example, if you order four pancakes with syrup and margarine plus four sausage links, you’ll get 1,290 calories, 62 grams of fat, 22 grams of saturated fat, 145 milligrams of cholesterol and 2,630 mg of sodium. If the restaurant uses butter instead of margarine, the saturated fat level goes even higher.

Let’s assume you’re traveling in the United States this summer and having breakfast out every morning. There you are, face to face with beautiful glossy menu pictures of the “ultimate breakfast.” What can you do to lower the fat, calorie and sodium price you pay?

* Order the cereal combination if it is available. It will usually include cereal with 2% milk, fruit juice, fruit and some kind of bread. Pick one of the low-sugar, whole-grain cereals and ask for 1% or skim milk. Choose the whole-wheat toast or bagel, and use preserves instead of butter.

* If eggs are your choice, ask if the restaurant offers egg substitutes, which are low in cholesterol or cholesterol-free. (However, the American Heart Assn. does say that four real egg yolks a week can still fit into a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet.) Choose fruit instead of bacon as a side dish.

* That pancake or waffle extravaganza can be made more manageable if you skip the margarine or butter and substitute fresh fruit or low-calorie syrup.

* French toast is hard to control unless you ask the server to have it made with egg substitutes and low-fat milk, and then top it with fruit or low-cal syrup. But don’t expect a busy restaurant to comply with that request. Even powdered sugar is better than dripping butter or margarine.

* In most restaurants, there is nothing to be done about the sausage and bacon unless the menu includes some of the newer, leaner products available. Canadian bacon has less fat than regular bacon or sausage (85 calories and 4 grams of fat for 1.5 ounces), but it is extremely high in sodium (700 mg).

* Many restaurants offer heart-healthy, low-calorie, low-fat menu selections that contain fresh fruit, nonfat yogurt, cereals, whole-grain bread and other nutritious choices. If these areis is available, try themit.

If you’re staying in a hotel that offers cooking facilities, breakfast is a good meal to make yourself. For low-cholesterol omelets, try using egg whites, nonfat dry milk and skim milk plus chopped vegetables and seasonings.

Other on-the-road breakfast ideas include asking for a to-go container at the restaurant where you had dinner; leftovers are great for breakfast. Make an egg-white omelet and mix in chopped leftover chicken or vegetables. Or put some of last night’s salad into the pocket of a whole-wheat pita.

Skipping breakfast is becoming more fashionable in our busy world, but when we do, by midmorning the tendency to snack on unhealthfulhy foods is great. Children especially should be encouraged to have something filling and healthfuly. Vacations should be fun and as stress-free as possible, but it’s easy to make them healthfuly as well. Have a good one.

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Dr. Sheldon Margen is a professor of public health at UC Berkeley; Dale A. Ogar is managing editor of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. Send questions to Dale Ogar, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, or send an e-mail: to daogar@uclink4.berkeley.edu. Eating Smart appears the second and fourth Mondays of the month.