The Dessert For Breakfast Diet: Start healthier habits with sweet treats first thing in the morning

People who skip breakfast are four times more likely to be overweight or obese, according to research from Yunsheng Ma, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. While the exact reasons for this are not fully established, most nutritionists agree that revving up the metabolism and staving off bad food choices later in the day are probably why it works this way.

So why do people skip breakfast, particularly if it can help manage weight? Let’s go through the excuses: It’s too time consuming (doesn’t have to be). Skipping breakfast reduces total calories consumed for the day (usually not). You’ll get a cup of frappawhatsits at the coffee emporium (study the numbers in the sidebar). That obsequious coworker in your office will bring in a box of donuts, so why add to the calories at home (if you're hungry you'll eat two or three)?

If those are your reasons, well oh how mistaken you are. Let us consider certain facts:

• Breakfast can be made in 30 seconds, consumed in about 90 seconds.
• Eating at any time of day revs the metabolism through a process called the Thermal Effect of Food, where eating and digestion burn calories. Go too long without food – five hours for men, three hours for women – and the opposite happens: the body kicks into starvation mode, reducing your metabolism by 10-20 percent to conserve calories.

• Frappawhatsits are full of cream and sugar.

• That whole donut-fairy-in-the-workplace phenomenon speaks volumes about the fried dough philanthropist. It screams “join me in my mindless indulgences because I don’t want to get fat alone.”

Meanwhile, overfed Americans suffer from a lack of micronutrients, components of fresh fruits and vegetables that have antioxidant properties, and fiber, which adds to a feeling of fullness and contributes to a healthy digestive system.

For this counterintuitive problem there is a surprising solution. Many good-for-you foods happen to taste rich and sweet. Put together the right things – strawberries with dark chocolate, or grapes mashed with walnuts, for examples – and you might start a habit you can stick to.

Let’s call it the Dessert For Breakfast Diet. These are simple, fast and sweet meals that ensure nutrition at a time of day when you need it. Its basic components are complex carbohydrates, fiber and protein, along with good fats – all things that digest slowly, enough to stave off hunger until lunchtime. These don’t include processed carbohydrates (donuts, white bread bagels, sugary cereals, etc.) that digest quickly and tend to trigger an endless sugar snack cycle. The bonuses are the micronutrients that some people otherwise try to get through supplements (see links below for news on that front). Quantity matters too: keep the meal in the 100-700 calorie range, which fits into the 1500 (women) to 2500 (men) daily calorie range if you’re trying to maintain or reduce body weight.

These are a handful of suggestions to get you started:

Apple Cottage

Slice an apple. Sprinkle with cinnamon, microwave 30-60 seconds, add a dollop of low fat cottage cheese (substitutes: low fat yogurt or kefir).

Beautiful thing: An apple a day truly is a smart health move. But cinnamon is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium, and it is being studied for its effects on reducing LDLs (bad cholesterol).

Plum peanut butter

Prunes (dried plums, sold in re-sealable bags), five on a plate with a Tablespoon of peanut butter, all swirled together on the plate and eaten with a fork.

Beautiful thing: OK, the digestive effects of plums/prunes are well known, but they’re not just for Grampa anymore. This handy little fruit is rich in potassium (beneficial to managing blood pressure) and antioxidants including Vitamin A, and its fiber slows the release of sugar into the blood stream.

Nuked bananas, peanut butter, kefir

One banana, 1 Tablespoons of peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons of kefir or yogurt. Add cinnamon to taste.

Beautiful thing: Kefir contributes to beneficial bacteria and yeast in the digestive system. Companies selling the stuff claim it can help relieve intestinal disorders, promote bowel movement, reduce flatulence and create a healthier digestive system. Got that? This can even improve your social life.

Berry banana blender

Frozen dark berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, et al.), about 1.5 cups, blended with 1/2 cup skim milk or other low fat dairy (yogurt, kefir). Actual blender not required; you can simply use a spoon or fork to whip it up.

Beautiful thing: Berries are the source of much excitement in the world of nutrition. Among the benefits of its micronutrients are a slowing of the aging process, particularly in brain and memory function.

Peaches, Nuts & Cream

Using either canned or fresh peaches, slice and mix with low fat dairy of any kind (better if it’s yogurt or kefir, but a non-fat, low-calorie whipped cream could work also). Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Beautiful thing: A whole peach is only 37 calories, leaving room for higher-calorie walnuts with their healthy unsaturated fats (and Omega 3s) and protein.

Leftover oatmeal

In advance (on the weekend or a previous day), make oatmeal in quantity – all you need are unembellished old fashioned oats (sold in 64 ounce cylinders) mixed with water and microwaved. Mix in a sweetener (sugar, non-caloric substitutes, maple syrup or honey), chopped fruit such as apples, and almonds or other types of nuts. Portion this into coffee cups and place in your refrigerator for a quick breakfast that can be eaten on the run (cold or reheated)

Beautiful thing: Fast and complete, with the FDA-sanctioned benefit claim on how oatmeal reduces bad cholesterol.

Figs, dates and nuts in a ziplock bag

It’s no more complicated than this: Load a handful of dried figs, dates and walnuts, almonds or peanuts into a plastic bag. Loaded with potassium, calcium, iron, fiber, protein and good unsaturated fats.

Beautiful thing: Trail food works as well on the road to work as when hiking the Grand Tetons.

Grape-Walnut Mash

A cup of grapes is about 62 calories; the red variety is high in resveratrol, the micronutrient tied to the beneficial effects of red wine. Mash them up and mix with Omega 3- and protein-rich walnuts.

Beautiful thing: Great texture means great fiber, plus all the micronutrient benefits of these two foods.

Strawberry-Chocolate Melt

Start with a cup of frozen strawberries. Microwave to thaw and heat, then grate a small bar of dark chocolate over the berries (75% dark or more).

Beautiful thing: One scientific study links daily consumption of just 8 strawberries with decreased systolic blood pressure. Dark chocolate, not milk chocolate, is tied to lowered blood pressure plus it contains significant amounts of antioxidants (important to note: milk consumed with dark chocolate tends to reduce its health benefits).

Cheese Berry Toast

On toasted whole grain (and only whole grain) bread or bagels, spread fruit preserves (pulpy jam, not jelly) and layer on top a slice of cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella). The cheese may have saturated fat, but its fat and protein will digest slowly along with the whole grain bread to sustain you through the morning.

Beautiful thing: Try the different types of preserves out there beyond grape and strawberry – such as lingonberry, blueberry, elderberry and others. This is a breakfast dessert that doesn’t have to get routine.

Your challenge is to do this for one month. Chart your body weight along the way, include notes on how your new breakfast makes you feel and send an e-mail or letter to this writer to let us know how it went. There’s a prize involved: best report (based on wholly subjective criteria) wins an autographed copy of my book.

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Coffee houses have become a significant part of modern life, and science supports the idea that teas and regular coffee can have beneficial health effects. But don't kid yourself – if it's sweet and creamy it can have the same dietary impact as a rich dessert. For example, Starbuck’s most caloric beverages are the White Chocolate Frappuccino Blended Creme-Whip (610 calories, Grande/16 ounce size), Java Chip Blended Coffee (510 calories), White Chocolate Mocha-Whip Espresso (also 510 calories), Cafe Vanilla Frappuccino Blended Coffee (470 calories) and White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino (450 calories).

In a 2000 calorie day, that's a big portion to spend on one beverage.