Is This a Healthy Food?

I am guessing your yogurt parfait was a 'bad' choice for several reasons. Theoretically yogurt with fruit and some oats and nuts should be a good choice - but:

Portion size - sounds too big.
Yogurt - most restaurants/cafeterias use yogurt that is loaded with added sugar - even if they start with low fat or non fat yogurt.

Granola - that is oats and nuts (good) covered in sugar and fat (less good) and baked. 1-2 Tbs of granola can add some protein and crunch but usually there is substantially more than that in a parfait and the granola is often way higher in fat and sugar than it needs to be.

Fruit - great (unless of course it is coated in sugar or HFCS).

6-8 oz of low fat/non fat plain yogurt with 1 Tbs homemade granola - great breakfast. 12-16 oz sugar laden yogurt with unknown quantity of commercial granola - less so.

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Granola is bad for those who want to lose or maintain weight. If you look at the calorie count it is really high. Esp if it is a fast food granol. Yogurt CAN be good but not if it is loaded with sugar. Depending on the size your breakfast could be about 500 calories which is quite high if you are looking to lose. To make over that breakfast I would buy a lowfat greek yogurt and sweeten it with a pinch of agave or even splenda. Then add blueberries and for the crunch you could add some all bran cereal.
Another great breakfast food is peanut butter on a good wheat bread. If you can do sprouted bread all the better. You get your proten fat and carb in this breakfast and make every calorie count.

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Good for you mama! Like others have said the yogurt and granola can be high in fat and sugar/calories but certainly not the worst things to put in your body on occasion ;) Go with the omlette (even if it's yolks and all) since it has more protein and will leave you feeling full for longer. Make friends with the cooks -- ask questions and/or see if they can sneak you only fruit, or only nonfat/plain yogurt. Mix and match the menu to find yourself a healthy mix of things.

The less sugar you eat day-to-day, the less your body will crave it and over time you'll slowly start to taste the sweetness in almost any food since all foods have some type of sugar - even veggies.

The South Beach Diet worked wonders for M. in educating M. on sugar and how our bodies process foods. It permanently changed the way I eat, not J. a fad diet, J. in case you're interested :)

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All things in moderation.
What's been working for M. lately is a good protein source early in the morning.
I like a small can of tuna.
It keeps the hungry feeling away for a good part of the day.
With that under control, I crave fewer carbohydrates/sugary things later in the day.
Having a treat once in awhile keeps you from feeling deprived, but once in awhile for M. is once every few weeks, not every day (or even every weekend).
So, go with good lean protein sources, a little bit of olive oil as a fat is not bad for you, fiber in all it's forms is important, go easy on the carbs/sugar (stay away from sugar substitutes - they are hard on your kidneys and it messes with your metabolism making it HARDER to burn calories efficiently), drink plenty of water (works well with the fiber and in helping your kidneys remove metabolic waste) and treat yourself every once in awhile - and you'll be where you want to be.

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You have to look at the big picture. I don't know the big picture in this case.

I am sure there are still a fair few calories in the parfait but all the ingredients bring something to the table. There is a lot of digestive health in there. That in itself can improve digestion at say the less than healthy lunch.

I almost never consider calories in food decisions. I look more at is it natural and what effect does the food have on the big picture.

Anyway I am always trying to be good, trying being the operative word. :)

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hee!
well, your parfait is better than the chocolate cake. but not what i'd call a 'healthy' breakfast, unless you've made the granola yourself or know it's not loaded with fat and sugar, the blueberries are fresh, and the yogurt is organic and non-fat.
i'm jealous that you've been eating junk food for a year and haven't gained weight.
our faces and tummies look great when we're on our backs, but our breasts disappear under our armpits. J. sayin'.
breakfast protein is your friend. steel-cut oatmeal with blueberries and almond milk, or fat-free greek yogurt (oikos is dreamy), or incredible edible eggs are your best bet.
sometimes i'll do the huge bagel thing, but J. use half the bagel, top it with an egg fried in a touch of olive oil. yummada!
i've been bad the last few days, but not at breakfast. my bete noir is the late night snacking. i'm SURE i'll get back on track today!
:) khairete
S.

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I think you are funny, I like you....you sound normal!

I think your logic is sound, let's go have some cake. It's only a few calories that will burn off during the morning right????

I had a grill cheese heel this morning. That was the only bread in the house.

I had a swig of root beer out of the bottle too.

We often eat yogurt and fruit together. It's really good. It's not uber healthy but it's normal.

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Granola can be deceptively unhealthy, as well as yogurt. The reason being they tend to be loaded with sugar. Yogurt, is a very healthy option...when you know the sugar content. I would wait for the egg white omelet.

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If you are going to skip anything in that breakfast skip the granola. Granola can be high in fat. Eat the yogurt, and blueberries. A little granola won't hurt anything though, it will help you feel full longer.

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You aren't tring to lose weight. J. be healthy and get toned, right? Toning your tummy is going to take excercise.
That breakfast is fine. So far as fast food options, it's a good one. You are making a great swap by choosing that over cake. Now find a good alternative swap for fast food lunch and dinner and no more sodas, chips, and other junk. I know there is a gym in that hospital! Use it. Or J. do crunches on your break.

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The best would have been to wait in line for that egg white omelet. But if you're going with the parfait, eat the blueberries and yogurt and skip the granola. Granola is one of those things that looks and sounds healthy but really isn't at all. Oh, and only eat about 3/4 of that parfait. Save the rest in your office breakroom fridge for a snack later (instead of that chocolate cake). And tomorrow, get that omelet.

Hang in there - learning about healthy choices comes slowly, but soon you'll see results. And even more important: you'll start to FEEL a whole lot healthier from the inside out!

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It is a rough road if you can not understand the difference between everyday foods and "sometimes foods" - chocolate cake is a sometimes food.

I slip up myself, I agree that the parfait was better than the choc cake, but you need to find what is going to fill you up and keep you going.

I find that since I work out between breakfast and lunch I need a bigger - more egg/protien based breakfast vs. a light fruity one. I need a savory omlette in the morning (egg white based) and a lighter smoothie afterward. I like to eat smaller meals all day vs "3 square meals" and I find more success that way personally. You will have to figure out what works for you by keeping a journal and experimenting.

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It truly is about what works for YOUR body. Sometimes a chocolate-cake breakfast might work great to get you going, giving you the energy to burn off that and more. If you prefer, have milk with it. J. make sure that you chase it with a bottle of water. Drink your water throughout the day, and keep it moving. Don't eat cake after noon.

Firmness is gonna be about your movement, not your consumption. As you start to feel better, your body will make better choices for you, via cravings.

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The portion size is generally the problem on those parfaits rather than the individual ingredients. And store bought parfaits tend to be much higher in sugar than if you make it yourself with plain yogurt.

Start reading packaging, look at what a proper serving size is, the fat, sugar, and protein contents of foods, etc. Sounds like you want to start making some good changes. Don't be afraid of fat, J. try to have it be "good fats" like olive oil. Fat is a necessary part of a balanced diet but the key is balanced. Don't be afraids of sugars/carbs, J. try to make them be sugars that are naturally found in foods like fruit/vegies rather than processed food. Protein helps keep you feeling full.

If you want a great power breakfast:

Fry 2 eggs in a small amount of olive oil, 1 slice of good quality bacon and 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach sauteed with some pepper and a touch of salt.

Do you eat breakfast out a lot? It sounds like it in the post but I can't tell for sure. Is there a reason?

Too much sugar in the morning sets up our bodies for a bouncy ride: sugar high, sugar low, starts the cravings which makes us want more sugar, sugar high, sugar low, you get the idea :)

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Tough call - the blueberries are of course good (assuming that they're actually J. blueberries and not in syrup like pie filling). The yogurt is probably good too, assuming it's not loaded with sugar and is of good quality with real active cultures etc. The granola is probably pretty high in fat, sugar and calories but if it's J. a tablespoon or two, it's fine.

If you can't eat or make breakfast at home (really a parfait like you're describing would take less than a minute to make at home and you can put it in a small travel mug and take with you) then at least shoot for buying breakfast somewhere that has nutrition labels on things. Sounds like you'll need a little time to educate yourself on what is and isn't healthy until you've been doing it long enough to accurately guess. And even if you've been reading labels and counting calories for years, it can still be hard! I had to grab a sandwich for lunch yesterday. One option was sliced chicken with pesto on white bread. I try to not eat white bread so I almost took the other option, which was chicken salad with lettuce and tomato on wheat. The chicken salad was 730 calories and the other one was 300 calories, so I took the lighter one even though it was on white bread. Without that label I would have eaten an extra 450 calories for no reason.

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you are funny. Sounds like the parfait is an improvement for you. I think on a scale of 1-10, 10 being a super healthy food choice, cake being 1, a store bought parfait is about a 5. Now a homemade parfait could easily turn into a 9 if you use plain yogurt, and add a little honey to it, and use raw oats instead of granola. But than again thats not really a parfait, its muesli. But eating half of your store bought yogurt is probably a good idea. Its a sugar rush which can cause sugar cravings later in the afternoon.

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Someone told M. that if you eat sweets for breakfast you are more likely to pass them up the rest of the day. I think your breakfast is great. I would have ate the cake LOL

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The granola has ALOT more calories then the yogurt. I would eat the yogurt and berries but be careful how much of the granola (which can also be high in sugar) I ate. Generally the bigger ones are about 300-400 cal (vs 180 for a fruit and yogurt parfait at mcdonalds.)

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