Breakfast is good, eaten in healthful moderation

It seems that at least once a month, a new journal article touts the benefits of breakfast.

But just because it's important to eat breakfast doesn't mean you can indulge in a free-for-all at the buffet table.

Here are a few tips to start your day with more healthful choices.

Oatmeal vs. granola vs. farina (cream of wheat). Fit tip: Brown sugar, butter, honey and whole milk add calories. Stick to fresh fruit, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Sausage vs. bacon vs. ham Fit tip: Try turkey bacon, which has half the calories (35) and saturated fat, or Canadian bacon, which has 65 to 75 calories for 2 ounces. There are also some great meatless sausages (Morningstar Farms Breakfast Links) at only 40 calories each that are low in saturated fat. Turkey sausage links have 67 calories each.

Waffles vs. pancakes vs. French toast. Fit tip: At home, try making French toast or pancakes with egg whites and whole-grain flour. Also, add fresh fruit directly into the batter -- each pancake will have fewer calories and more nutrients. Opt for light syrup and stick to 2 tablespoons.

Muffins vs. scones vs. croissants - Fit tip: Split the muffin with another person. Reduced-fat or fat-free muffins can be lower in calories, but they are not diet foods.

Bagel vs. toast vs. English muffins - Fit tip: Go for a whole-wheat English muffin (120 calories) or a light multigrain English muffin (100 calories). Use a margarine spray if you want buttery flavor without the calories of actual butter. If you prefer toast, stick to two slices, and look for a sugar-free, whole-wheat bread. Also watch out for toppings or smears: One pat of butter has 25 to 30 calories; 2 tablespoons of cream cheese have 90 to 100 calories.

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Mexican breakfasts

Mexican breakfasts (and their new Southwestern cousins) offer plenty of variety. Huevos rancheros, a standby, are poached or fried eggs on a bed of corn tortillas, bathed in a red chili sauce, melted cheese, and (properly) green onions. Chilaquiles are a traditional way for households to use leftover tortillas; restaurants may interpret them in countless permutations involving fried tortilla strips, cheese, beans, chicken, chilies, and more. Huevos divorciados, "divorced eggs," show up on a few menus; these are factions of eggs with green tomatillo sauce on one side, red chili sauce on the other, and black beans down the middle.

Breakfast tacos and breakfast burritos are served everywhere, with the tortilla usually enclosing scrambled eggs, salsa, onions, and maybe chorizo or guisado (stew). Tia Sophia's makes blue corn enchiladas for breakfast. An oddity often found in New Mexico is an entire American breakfast--bacon, eggs, potatoes--infused with green chile, scrambled together, and swaddled in a 15-inch flour tortilla. A few upscale restaurants, such as Santa Fe's Cafe Pasqual's, also offer creative flights such as fresh grilled trout dredged in cornmeal with green chile and toasted pine nuts. For more info about breakfast, please visit findarticles.com.

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Breakfast, brunch & breads

International Women's Association of Bucharest member Nancy Rice presented a recipe perfect for cozy weekend mornings. Biscuits, filled with walnuts and raisins, can be part of a lovely brunch, accompanied by coffee and fruit juice. The recipe can be found in the International Women's Association Cookbook. Nancy Rice said that the recipe is for novices in cooking to follow, because the biscuits are easy to make and it only takes a quarter of an hour to bake them. The cinnamon taste of the biscuits carries the memory of grandmother's Christmas cookies and makes everybody feel at home. Visit daily-news.ro for detail.

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Annual Rotary pancake breakfast is Saturday

A few hardy souls from the Rotary will start the prep work around 5:15 in the morning, but it will be 8 a.m. before the doors of the Phoenixville Senior Center open to hungry pancake breakfast patrons.

The Rotary Club of Phoenixville invites everyone to come to its 11th Annual Community Buffet Breakfast on Sunday, April 30, at the senior center on Church Street. The pancake breakfast will run through lunchtime to 1 p.m. The club is offering a hearty menu of pancakes, potatoes, sausage, eggs, hot drinks and juice.

This year for the first time, musical entertainment will be offered, courtesy of the Phoenixville Area High School Jazz Band. visit phoenixvillenews.com to read more.

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