Preservative Free Breakfast

I was asked to do a post on preservative free breakfast foods.  I will admit, I'm not a breakfast person.  If we eat breakfast it's usually for lunch {an egg sandwich or a bowl of oatmeal} or dinner {eggs with potatoes & onions and bacon}.   But I did some thinking and some research and here's what I came up with....

Keeping Breakfast as Natural as Possible!!

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Milk:  Just about everyone has milk with their breakfast.  It's a great thing to drink, especially for growing children.  The best milk to drink is fresh, raw milk that has come straight from grass fed cows to your breakfast table.  The milk you buy in grocery stores has been pasteurized, which simply means it has been heated to high temperatures that are supposed to kill germs and bacteria.  The problem with this is that they not only kill germs and bad bacteria, they also kill good bacteria and nutrients.  You can read more of the benefits of organic raw milk over at The Healthy Home Economist.  {Love that site!!}

Juice:  All juice should be completely natural without any added sugars of any kind - especially fake sugars such as aspartame. 

Toast and Jam:  I've been praying for a wheat grinder for a couple of years now.  Until I get one though, I am careful to get only bread that is "whole wheat" - stone ground is best and without any corn syrup or added flavorings and/or colorings.  **I also plan to make all kinds of fun things, like pancakes, waffles and muffins when I get my grinder.  Until then, you can buy whole wheat flour and mixes - just be sure the mix you're buying doesn't have any additional ingredients that you wouldn't add yourself.** 

As for jam, I make my own.  It's not hard, and can be quite fun!  So far this year we've made strawberry, peach, and a blueberry/blackberry mix.  Making it home saves you time and money and it's much healthier because it doesn't have any added ingredients!!  Making your jams with raw honey will only increase the health benefits {did you know honey is good for allergies of all kinds?} and it shouldn't affect the taste at all.

Eggs:  Organic, free range eggs are the best!!  In taste and in health they are absolutely the best!  Once you've eaten a free range egg you won't want to eat any other!  They are fantastic!  Like raw milk, they do cost a bit more at the store, so if you can skip the store and go straight to the farmer you will be able to save yourself a few dollars.  I get my eggs for $2.00 a dozen.  ~ Better still, raise your own chickens and trade your leftover eggs for raw milk or raw honey.  {Raising chickens is a dream of mine!  Maybe one day....}

Oats:  Oatmeal is quick and easy and very good for you.   It's also easy on the grocery budget, which is a big plus!  Be sure your oats are natural and without any added ingredients.  You can flavor them with homemade butter and sea salt, jam, raw fruit, honey, or peanut butter!  Yep!  Peanut butter oatmeal is one of our favorites!!

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Breakfast meat:  Sausage and bacon, and sometimes ham are all considered "breakfast food".  To be sure you're eating the best quality, you should go to your local farmer.  Check around for good deals, but be sure your meat was not raised on corn, or with any hormones.  If you are going to buy your breakfast meat in the store, try to avoid any added nitrates if possible.  I try to always get the Hormel, Natural Choice brand.  It doesn't have any preservatives, or artificial ingredients and they claim that their product is "minimally processed".

Cereal:  We buy Mom's Best Naturals brand in the organic section at Kroger.  Actually, it's not organic, but it is whole grain, and it doesn't have any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.  They also don't have any hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup.  AND...I like to stock up on it when they're on sale for $2.00 a box.  That's cheaper than any other cereal brands I know of!

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Fruit & Yogurt:  This really shouldn't need much explanation.  Fruit is good for you and so is yogurt.  We love all kinds of fruit and our favorite kinds of yogurt is YoBaby from Stonyfield.  It's organic and natural and filled with probiotics and healthy fats for brain development and cell growth.  I buy as much as I can of this when it's marked down and throw it in the freezer.  Works for us!  My kids love yogurt and we don't have a cow or goats, so this is the best I can do at the moment.  :)

When buying yogurt, be careful of all the added ingredients.  Avoid any and all yogurts {or foods for that matter} that claim to be "lite, fat free, or sugar free".  While this may sound good to the average consumer, it is not healthy.  Contrary to popular belief, some fats are good for you, such as the fat in fresh, raw milk.

The term, "sugar free", usually means that it's sweetened with artificial sweeteners that are more dangerous than sugar.  Our bodies know what to do with sugar.  They have no idea how to process those man made chemicals we like to call "sweeteners".  Because our bodies can't break them down and eliminate them properly, they {our bodies} tend to store them {artificial sweeteners}.  Which is why so many people have a problem losing weight. Also be ware of those special yogurts made for children, as most of them have added food colorings and other artificial flavorings.  Let's be sure the food we're eating is natural and not artificial.  I can't figure out for the life of me why anyone would want to eat artificial food anyway???

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