If eating breakfast doesn’t come as naturally to you, you may want to reconsider your morning routine. Studies show that people who eat breakfast every morning are happier, healthier, and maybe even smarter. And unlike other health/happiness/intelligence research which can always be proven in the opposite direction, you will be hard pressed to find an anti-breakfast party. In fact, I think it’s pretty safe to say that everyone agrees that breakfast is best. Here’s why:

Health benefits of breakfast:
•    Breakfast-skippers actually tend to be more overweight than faithful daily breakfast-eaters. This may seem unintuitive, but the reason is simple: If you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to binge later on and give in to cravings that hit when you’re hungry—usually high fat and high sugar foods. And soon enough you may just find yourself on a nasty diet pill rollercoaster.
•    Also, when you skip a meal, your body transitions into starvation mode and your metabolism begins to hibernate. As soon as you do get food (later on in the day), your body is so grateful to finally have some grub in its system that it holds onto it greedily, not knowing when its next meal will be, not unlike a squirrel who hordes food for the winter. Your body then stores the food as fat instead of metabolizing it and using it for fuel—hence the weight gain.
•    Research shows that eating a healthy breakfast in the morning can reduce your risk of life-threatening diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease (high cholesterol, clogged arteries), and stroke. It strengthens your immune system and reduces your chances of contracting colds and the flu.

Mental benefits of breakfast:
•    Hunger can negatively affect memory and concentration. Likewise, having a belly full of healthy food will allow you to focus more on tasks, activities, and thoughts not food related. This is important for school children and adults with careers who need to focus on their work—a healthy breakfast should do the trick, especially since breakfast-eaters are less likely to suffer from hyperactivity (ADD and ADHD).

And how will eating breakfast make you a happier person? Well weren’t you listening? You’ll be thinner. Your digestive system and metabolism will work more smoothly. You’ll be able to focus on your school work or your job, not to mention use your heightened memory and concentration on other important tasks. Studies even show that breakfast-eaters reduce their risk of suffering from anxiety and depression.

Breakfast-eaters are, in a word, happier. Don’t you think it’s time you tried it?

First of all, I feel that Kashi is that brand that has helped the granola bar re-gain its status as an actually healthy snack choice. It boasts a rich and natural mix of nuts, protein, and seven whole grains, so its a satisfying snack, dessert or post-work out pick-me-up.  It actually contains 7 whole grams of protein per serving derived from whole almonds and the crispy soy granules, reminiscent of Rice Krispies.  And for those of you trying to increase your protein content, you know that’s no joke for a snack!  The Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars have 4 grams of fiber per serving, partly from the inclusion of Flax Seeds.  Of course, there is no white sugar, or even brown sugar popular, instead they are sweetened with wildflower honey and brown rice syrup.  I love that the Kashi TLC Chewy Granola Bars also contains 7 different whole grains and sesame seeds, including Hard Red Winter Wheat, Oats, Rye, Barley, Triticale, Long Grain Brown Rice, Buckwheat, and Sesame Seeds.

Now what about the Quaker Simple Harvest Bars?  The Simple Harvest line is marketed as having simple, healthy ingredients. My favorite, the Quaker Simple Harvest Dark Chocolate Chunk Multigrain Granola Bars are a tasty granola bar with simple ingredients and good nutrition, but this one is made mostly from whole oats, plus some barley and wheat. There are 2 grams of fiber in one, which is less than the Kashi bar.  Quaker Simple Harvest Dark Chocolate Chunk Multigrain Granola Bars are indeed quite simple in regards to their ingredients: whole grain rolled oats top the list of ingredients followed by semisweet chocolate chunks; there are no partially hydrogenated oils and no high fructose corn syrup (or any corn syrup for that matter).   High on taste and the nutrition content is pretty good.

And now my least favorite: Nutri-Grain Fruit & Nut Bars.  The Nutrigrain bar has a very soft texture, except for the peanuts inside in some.  Nutri-Grain Fruit & Nut Bars come in Cranberry, Raisin, & Peanut flavor which is a mixture of Virginia peanuts, whole oats, cranberries, and raisins, a healthy mix of goodies.  The Berry & Almond version is a mixture of California almonds, whole oats, and the natural taste of blueberries and strawberries. But here’s the deal: the bar has 3 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein, and though all and all, this isn’t too bad of a snack with fiber, protein, and it’s low calorie content, unfortunately it is filled with high fructose corn syrup which is less than friendly to your blood sugar balance.   So my vote: Kashi TLC!