Indeed, having a healthy and delicious breakfast in a leisurely manner during a hectic morning, without taking up too much precious time, is a top challenge that tests one's intelligence and willpower.
We've found three extremely busy office workers as case studies to provide everyone with clever breakfast tips that allow you to eat well for work and for your stomach. The principles for choosing breakfast are actually quite simple: try to choose nutritious foods for breakfast, but don't eat too much. Just eat until you're not hungry. Avoid overeating, as it can affect your work efficiency for the entire morning.
The breakfast combination should include carbohydrates, eggs, and a small amount of meat. Basic beverage options can include juice.
1. A More Palatable and Affordable Chinese Breakfast for a Busy Person: Zhu Li
Busyness Index: ★★
Spends half an hour getting ready in the morning, 45 minutes on the road, and has 1 hour of free time before going to bed at night.
Breakfast Requirements: Simple and convenient, savory and salty.
Breakfast Case Study: When it comes to breakfast, Zhu Li says she wishes she could wash up and get dressed with her eyes closed, and of course, "has no time to make breakfast." During her school days, due to communal living, she still ate breakfast on time. After starting work, she's usually too busy and has no extra time to carefully prepare breakfast. Basically, she just hastily drinks a cup of warm water on an empty stomach and rushes to the company, holding out until 12 PM, and then has a big feast with colleagues at a Sichuan or Hunan restaurant to satisfy her cravings.
Breakfast Plan 1: 250 ml of soy milk + 1 plain steamed bun + an apple
Breakfast Plan 2: 200 ml of tofu pudding + 1 meat-filled pancake
Expert Comments: According to Zhu Li's characteristics, she can choose some Chinese-style breakfast combinations. She just needs to buy them in advance the day before and put them in the refrigerator overnight, then heat them up in the microwave the next morning. If she forgets, she can wait for about 5 minutes at a clean food shop or stall along the way to buy fresh soy milk and eat it while walking.
Drinks should mainly be soy products, and staple foods should be rice and flour-based items like pancakes and buns. This allows for slow energy release, and the filling can include some vegetable fiber and meat.
Morning Snack: Still lacks vitamins and fruits and vegetables. Consider adding a banana or apple at 10 AM, or bringing your own cucumber or tomato. Buying a cup of corn from a coffee shop is also a good option.
Nutrition Reminder: Eating too salty can easily increase the risk of developing high blood pressure and can also cause body swelling. Also, pay attention to the hygiene conditions of purchased food.
2. A Western-Style Fast Breakfast to Take Away
Interviewee: Tracy
Busyness Index: ★
Spends 15 minutes getting ready in the morning, 50 minutes on the road, and 30 minutes of free time before going to bed at night.
Breakfast Requirements: Nutritious and convenient, sufficient in calories.
Breakfast Case Study: Although Tracy works for a foreign company in a bustling urban area, her mornings are still tough. She has to leave early, and the commute with transfers is crowded, sometimes forcing her to skip breakfast. Most of the time, after getting up, she just drinks a carton of Tetra Pak milk. Although she has the intention of eating a healthy diet, she doesn't know how to stick with it. She occasionally "makes time for breakfast," but it's basically just a slice of whole wheat bread, at most with a slice of bacon.
Breakfast Plan 1: 250 ml of coffee + ham and fried eggs + 2 kiwis
Breakfast Plan 2: 250 ml of orange juice + 2 slices of whole wheat bread + smoked turkey slices + peanut butter or cheese slices
Expert Comments: People who love Western-style breakfasts often love the atmosphere that comes with it. A typical Western breakfast is healthy, nutritious, and easy and convenient. The mental stress caused by the busy work of white-collar women can also be relieved during the enjoyment of breakfast. Busy Tracy just needs to implement her healthy breakfast ideas more cleverly.
Drinks should mainly be juice and coffee, and staple foods should be whole wheat bread, egg pancakes, pancakes, etc. Smoked beef or turkey slices and cheese slices are generally added. These can all be found in the supermarket. It's most suitable to buy a 3-5 day supply at once, store it in the refrigerator, and then spend 2 minutes in the morning heating a pan with extra virgin olive oil to fry eggs and ham, or prepare a sandwich in advance to eat while walking the next day.
Morning Snack: Breakfast Plan 1 can optionally include half a serving of carbohydrates in the morning, such as 1 slice of whole wheat bread, 2 slices of whole wheat high-fiber biscuits, or 1 bar of cereal/granola (available on the imported food shelves in supermarkets, or a domestic brand like Nestlé). Plan 2 can add a fruit cup containing watermelon, peaches, and cantaloupe, or a handful of nuts like almonds, walnuts, and peanuts. This not only supplements unsaturated fatty acids to protect the heart but also can stave off hunger before lunch.
Nutrition Reminder: The raw materials used in Western-style breakfasts are key, so try to choose trusted foreign brands. Buy smoked meats frequently and pay attention to the expiration date. Finding a breakfast product sold on the road that combines both nutrition and flavor is a great emergency solution. Fortunately, Tracy's company is in the city, so she can consider a Western-style breakfast, but she should use high-quality ingredients. Nutrition experts suggest that for busy Tracy to ensure sufficient energy in the morning, her breakfast combination should include carbohydrates, eggs, and a small amount of meat; basic beverage options can include juice. Bringing a carton of Tetra Pak orange juice from home, although not as fresh as freshly squeezed juice, can ensure basic vitamins.
3. Preparing While Getting Ready
Interviewee: Mangguo (Busy Fruit)
Busyness Index: ★★★
Spends 6 minutes getting ready in the morning, 30 minutes on the road, and 20 minutes of free time before going to bed at night.
Breakfast Requirements: Convenient, convenient, convenient. Just make sure to eat something.
Mangguo's Lifesaving Tips
Breakfast Case Study: For those busy people with a busyness index of ★★★, like Mangguo, they basically leave home as soon as they open their eyes in the morning and never eat breakfast. They might not even have lunch on time, only arranging a grand feast for dinner once a day. For them, leisurely enjoying every breakfast seems to have become a distant and luxurious thing. In fact, you can still save your terrible breakfast.
Expert Comments: Actually, breakfast time doesn't take up too much of your time. The time to simply prepare a breakfast won't be longer than 10 minutes to get it out of the kitchen, and you can also handle breakfast while getting ready.
Milk with toasted whole wheat bread slices. Just buy a toaster, toast for 3 minutes, and at the same time, take the milk out of the fridge and microwave it for 1 minute. You can finish it in 3 minutes total.
Heat milk for 2 minutes, then pour it over instant oatmeal or mixed cereal flakes, and finish it within 6 minutes.
For Chinese-style food, prepare things like steamed buns, soft pancakes, or mixed fried rice the night before. Heat them up in the morning and microwave a bowl of soy milk at the same time, which only takes 5 minutes.
First-Aid Kit: If you're so busy that you don't even have 3 minutes, you can also prepare some emergency foods in the kitchen to take with you or to make up for the nutritional gap from not having breakfast at the office. Remember, an imperfect snack补救 (remedy) is better than no remedy at all.
Washed fruits, cucumbers, and tomatoes
Boxed or bagged milk, yogurt, and soy milk
Instant oatmeal, sesame paste, soy powder, milk powder, etc.
A small bag of shelled nuts like almonds, walnuts, and peanuts