Eat a whole grain breakfast: Attune Foods Breakfast Giveaway!

Eating breakfast everyday is a super important habit to make part of your healthy lifestyle. I have two favorite breakfasts. The first is a bowl of hot oatmeal. Every time I make oatmeal it is a little different. I like to change the type of milk I use, try various sweeteners, mix in a wide variety of fruit, and season with different spices.

My current favorite preparation for oatmeal is:

• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 an apple diced
• a few raisins
• a drizzle of maple syrup
• a liberal sprinkle of cinnamon
• a pinch of salt
• a small spoonful of almond butter

I put everything in a sauce pan except the almond butter then bring it to a boil over high heat. Stir frequently. When has boiled for a minute or two I reduce the heat to low and simmer for another couple of minutes. Then I stir in the almond butter put the lid on the pan and remove it from the heat to sit a few minutes longer. What I get is a heaping serving of creamy oats and apples with little extras to make it sweet and nutty. Yum!

On days I am in the mood for a cold breakfast, or perhaps have a little less time, my other favorite breakfast is a serving of whole grain cereal over a scoop of yogurt topped with sliced fruit. For this breakfast I like to pick a cereal with a lot of little bits to mix in the yogurt and give it a hearty texture. When choosing cereal I look carefully at the label. My top picks have a serving size around 50 – 55 grams, 170 – 210 calories, 1 – 3.5 grams of fat per serving, 5 or more grams of both protein and fiber, and are lower in sugar. One of my biggest pet peeves on the cereal isle are all the boxes showing off their “healthy” numbers based on a 30 gram serving size. In my mind those cereals are double the advertised price because our family would eat twice as much.

The common thread between my two favorite breakfasts is a ton of fiber and decent amount of protein. My mornings get busy and I don’t want to take the time to eat breakfast only to feel hungry an hour or two later. Starting the day with fiber usually leaves me feeling satisfied for several hours. A high fiber breakfast has the carbohydrates to kick start my energy while I tackle errands, exercise, projects, or playtime. (Fiber is also really good for keeping things moving, you know, digestively speaking.) The protein in these breakfasts keeps my energy going so I don’t crash halfway through the morning. Early in my weight loss I traded a doughnut in the car on the way to work for these more balanced breakfasts and it has made a tremendous difference in the way I feel. It has also been a huge help throughout my weight loss and now weight maintenance.

THE GIVEAWAY!

As long as we are on the subject of finding affordable ways to put healthy food on the table, how about a free wholesome breakfast? AND what is better than one free breakfast how about 30!  MyPlate on My Budget Sponsor Attune Foods will make sure one lucky reader has a satisfying fiber and protein filled breakfast everyday for an entire month! The winner will also receive an Attune Foods shopping bag to carry all 6 boxes of cereal and a fun bowl with a screw top lid for those who need to take their cereal to-go.

Attune Foods’ Uncle Sam Original and Uncle Sam Skinner’s Raisin Bran are exactly what I look for when choosing cereal. Servings are 55 grams and 190 calories. Uncle Sam Original has 5 grams of fat but that is because it is packed with grains and seeds giving it a boast worthy 10 grams of natural fiber and 7 grams of protein. Uncle Sam Skinner’s Raisin Bran has 6 grams each of fiber and protein with only 8 grams of sugar (this is around 4 – 6 grams less than most raisin brans). Click here to read more about these and the other Attune Foods products.

AND sticking to the MyPlate on My Budget theme – not only will these cereals satisfy your hunger they will also satisfy your desire to purchase healthy food at an affordable price. Uncle Sam cereal is available on-line and in several retailers. Trader Joe’s and Walmart shoppers may already be fans of Uncle Sam cereals.

HOW TO PLAY

To participate leave a comment on this post that includes your favorite way to eat breakfast cereal (ie. with milk, yogurt, dry, with fruit, etc.). Simple Dimple!

For extra entries do one or more of the following:

• “Like” Attune Foods on Facebook
• Follow Attune Foods on Twitter
• “Like” Our Lady of Second Helpings on Facebook
• Follow the Our Lady of Second Helping Breakfast board on Pinterest

After you finish “liking” or following make an additional comment for each site you have “liked” or followed.

WHEN

The contest begins today, Thursday March 21st, and ends Thursday March 28th at midnight Pacific Time.

Fine Print

• This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. International readers we love you but we just can’t send you food.
• The winner will be chosen at random from among the comments.
• After the winner is chosen they will be asked  to provide a mailing address through private email exchange. No information collected during the contest will be used outside of the contest.