Food Network's Healthy Eats Challenge: Breakfast

New Year's Resolutions can be overwhelming. Those grandiose  plans to drop 50 pounds by bikini season? Or never touch another chocolate truffle ever, ever again? Not SMART goals.

In an effort to promote health in small steps, Healthy Eats, the Food Network nutrition blog proposed a week by week challenge. Week one was all about having breakfast for a strong start to your day. Read on for how I did and bits of nutrition for breaking your breakfast excuses.

 Time to own up; I used to skip breakfast all the time growing up. I wouldn't accurately budget my time. Sometimes  straightening my hair or adding a zillion flavored Lip Smackers to my bag won out. Shout out kiwi strawberry lip gloss.

But now? I HAVE to eat breakfast to keep me going past 10 AM. Eating an unbalanced or minimal breakfast these days gives me a foggy dietitian brain at my internship. That's not good for my patients or for me!

Here's what I've been noshing on this week:

• Egg on an english muffin with cheese
• Scrambled egg and peppers with pomelo on the side
• Yogurt with Quaker Oatmeal Squares, banana, and peanut butter
• With a side of almond milk and coffee!

Are you making excuses for not eating breakfast?

Here are tips from taken from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics's for busting YOUR breakfast excuses:

• "I'm not hungry in the morning." Start your day with a cup of 100% fruit juice or a piece of whole-wheat toast. Later when you are hungry, eat a mid-morning snack — a hard-boiled egg, low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt, low-fat string cheese or a whole-wheat bagel.
• "I don’t have enough time in the morning." Stock your kitchen with easy-to-prepare foods such as breakfast cereal, instant oatmeal, small bagels, whole-grain toaster waffles, yogurt and fresh fruit.
• "I'll gain weight." There is no evidence to support the belief that eating breakfast will make you gain weight. In fact, skipping meals has been shown to lead to overeating at snack time or the next meal.
• "I don't like breakfast foods." Breakfast can be any food you like. A slice of pizza, bowl of soup, a lean-meat sandwich or leftovers all make a fine breakfast.

Pick healthy. Live happy. It can start with breakfast!

-Carlene Future RD

Picky Eater Blog: Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal Family Fresh Cooking: Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal Healthy Eating Starts at Home: Eating Breakfast Daily Carlene's Figments: Bits of Nutrition: Eat Breakfast Daily and Avoid Common Excuses Simple Food, Healthy Life: Week 1 Comes to a Close + Healthy Breakfast Recipes JBR Nutrition: Be a Breakfast Eater Ramblings of a Pittsburgh Dad: Healthy Every Week Challenge, Week 1 Meghan's Kitchen: Ham and Cheddar Hash-brown Bake Don't Be (Too) Timid and Squeamish: Maple Macadamia Nut Butter and Back to School Oatmeal Eat. Enjoy. Live: Healthy Every Week Challenge Week 1 + a Recipe for Oat-y Pancakes City Life Eats: Breakfast Bias Boys 'n' Berry: Week 1: Oatmeal Netlycka's Distracting Confusion: Eat Breakfast Every Day You Don't Look Sick: Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis: First Week of Healthy Breakfasts Deep Thoughts and Amusing Musings: Food Network's January Challenge Healthy Kitschy Vegan: Guess What I Ate Last Night? Peanut Butter and Banana Oat Bran Mess An Uneducated Palate: Creamy Chevre, Pistachio and Fig Breakfast Sandwich Healthy Plates: Avocado Egg Sandwich Essentials of Nutrition: The Most Important Meal of the Day Pursuit of Healthiness: Healthy Every Week Challenge, Breakfast Edition Chick Bike: January Challenge, Week 1 Nutritious Daily: Breakfast Every Day Cookin' in my Kitchen: No-Butter Baked Apples Hungry Jenny: Breakfast All the Way + an Easy Granola Recipe