​It's National School Breakfast Week, and we are thrilled to celebrate our favorite way to wake up each morning: with school breakfast!

Ayn Yeagle MS, RD and Chartwells K12's Northeast Regional Dietician shares with us some advice on the most important meal of the day:

We’ve all heard it growing up: ”Eat your breakfast, it’s the most important meal of the day”. 

But is it true?  The answer is easy to understand if you look at the actual word.  Breakfast literally means ‘breaking the fast’.  Every night your body goes into fasting mode after you stop eating for a certain period of time.  Breakfast restarts your metabolism and gets your body to burn calories and breaks your overnight fast.  When you don't eat breakfast your body thinks you're not going to feed it and will hold onto calories. 

The golden rule of eating a healthy breakfast is to choose at least three food groups, because whatever you eat, your body is going to use as fuel. 

But it’s not just about how much you eat, it’s also about what you eat.  The key is to choose nutrient dense foods high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, protein and even healthy fat.  People who eat better, feel better. 

And that’s where school breakfast comes in. Breakfast in a Chartwells café has been developed by chefs and dietitians who emphasize taste and flavor while ensuring each student receives a healthy, balanced meal.

Chartwells cafes are transforming breakfast for our students.  Appealing to their on-the-go lifestyle, students can grab a protein packed smoothie, yogurt parfait, oatmeal with milk and fruit or a whole-grain egg and cheese breakfast sandwich or burrito with a piece of fresh fruit and be on their way to class and friends. 

Many of our partners have also gone beyond traditional breakfast in the café and offer alternatives to reach more students such as breakfast in the classroom (BIC) and grab ‘n go.  These options allow us to reach students who do not come to the café in the morning, may run late or prefer to eat on the run.  To that end, many of our school breakfast programs have seen a significant increase in student engagement and satisfaction since initiating a grab ‘n go and BIC.

If you don’t like a traditional breakfast, think outside the box! Breakfast can be any food you enjoy.  Talk to your local school café manager about other options your school food and nutrition department can add to the menu.  Also don’t be afraid to experiment at home and bring your ideas into the café to see if they can be incorporated into your school breakfast program.

Happy National School Breakfast Week!

Written by Ayn Yeagle, MS, RD, Northeast Regional Dietitian