eating healthy at continental breakfast

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 02:25 PM

Navigating the Continental Breakfast

While on vacation (or traveling for business), you may be treated to a continental breakfast at your hotel each morning, just like I was while staying in Victoria, BC. The “typical” American continental breakfast has gotten a bad rap over the years with its frosting-covered pastries, oversize bagels, and chocolate-chunk muffins. However, a continental breakfast doesn’t have to be an unhealthy meal waiting to happen. Many continental breakfasts offer healthy fare too– like fresh fruit, yogurt, and whole grain cereals and bread, which gives you some flexibility when you’re trying to eat healthy. Check out my tips below for selecting nutritious foods from a continental breakfast.

My tips for navigating the continental breakfast:

Survey the scene: Before you even pour yourself a cup of coffee, check out all of the continental breakfast options. Is there a “hot breakfast” option or just cold cereal? Are there only fatty danishes or is a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter an option? Once you know all of your choices, you can make a healthy, informed decision.
Seek out fresh foods: While not all continental breakfasts offer a fresh fruit salad, most offer some sort of whole fruit. Slice banana on top of your cereal or top your English muffin with apple slices.
Skip the juice: Typically, the “fruit” juice served at continental breakfasts are loaded with sugar and lacking nutritional value. Unless the juice is freshly squeezed, save your calories for another vacation splurge, and stick to coffee, tea, or water with your breakfast.
Pick your protein: After selecting fresh foods, I plan my protein next. Protein is what will gives my breakfast some staying-power until my next meal. My favorite protein picks, often found at continental breakfasts, are low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, or peanut butter.
Select high-fiber, whole grain carbs: Of course, we all know to stay away from those humongous muffins and frosting-covered pastries, but most breakfasts offer healthy options, like packets of instant oatmeal, shredded wheat, whole grain bread, English muffins, muesli, and low-fat granola.
Use one plate: Continental breakfasts are often unlimited, but there is no need to eat that way. Start with one plate (or bowl) and make your selections accordingly. If you’re still hungry after you’ve finished your first serving, you can always go back for more. Having too much food sitting in front of me encourages me to eat it, even when I am not hungry.
Take healthy snacks to go: If my continental breakfast offers a number of nutritious options, I always make sure to take a couple of healthy snacks to go. I might as well save a few bucks and be prepared with a nutritious snack when my stomach starts to grumble.

My top healthy picks at a continental breakfast:

Fresh fruit
Low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese
Oatmeal
Peanut butter
Whole grain bread
English muffin
High-fiber cereal or muesli
Bran muffins (of a reasonable size)
Tomato/vegetable juice
Coffee or tea

The continental breakfast at our hotel had a number of healthy options from which to chose. Here’s what I picked (and their approximate measurements):

1 cup fresh fruit, mostly citrus
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup muesli
1 small raisin bran muffin
Coffee with milk and 1/2 packet of sugar

I ate the same breakfast on the second morning of our stay, but I substituted the coffee with hot black tea. (Man, I over-did-it with the bronzer that morning!)