Going Natural...For Breakfast

With a lot of the pre-packaged foods, ingredients to help preserve, add flavor, add color, etc are added that aren't necessarily the best for us. The names of these items can be found on the food label under "ingredients." Don't worry if you can't pronounce them. That's pretty standard.

You aren't necessarily going to be able to avoid these added elements completely due to their prevalence in our food supply. But, by looking at items that you eat often and seeing if there are any slight modifications you can make, you can really make a big difference.

I started doing a little research on my own diet and have actually made a few changes to my breakfast. 5 out of 7 mornings, I eat oatmeal made with skim milk and peanut butter. I used to eat the following...

• Low-sugar Maple and Brown Sugar instant oatmeal
• Skim milk
• Regular Peanut Butter

This meal includes the following ingredients:

• rolled oats, sugar, salt, natural flavor, brown sugar, calcium carbonate, caramel color, artificial flavor, ferric orthophosphate, vitamin A palmitate, niacinamide, acesulfame potassium, thiamin mononirate, riboflavin, pyridoxine gydrochloride, folic acid, malititol, neotame
• skim milk, vitamin A palmitate and vitamin D3

• roasted peanuts, corn syrup solids, soy protein concentrate, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils, salt, magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, iron phosphate, copper sulfate, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid

I now eat...

• Whole grain oats, instant
• Skim milk
• Natural Creamy Peanut Butter (generic)
• Brown sugar

This meal includes the follow ingredients:

• whole gain rolled oats
• skim milk, vitamin A palmitate and vitamin D3
• roasted peanuts, salt
• brown sugar

With this new meal, I am obviously putting a few less "unknowns" in my body every morning. Now, I know what you are thinking. Erin, you eat Taco Bell - How is your morning oatmeal a concern? Well, it has to do with quantity. I'm not eating Taco Bell every morning, but I am eating the oatmeal. So, I want it to be the best it can be.

Take a look at your own diet. What foods do you eat most often? Is there a better, more natural, version of that food?