Breakfast

I started my day off with a bagel and some homemade vegetable cream cheese, as I'm sure many New Yorkers did... this town is crawling with bagels lovers!  (My favorites are from Bagel Express!)  People are always talking about the high carbohydrate count of bagels and how terrible they are for you.... so I wonder, are there any benefits to this densely packed food?

The carb count of a bagel can differ based on its size, flavor and what you put on top of it. Unfortunately the calorie count of a bagel is usually quite high making it not the best option for those who are watching their intake.  

How to make bagel eating healthier?

• Whole wheat bagels pack more vitamins and minerals than white bagels so choose those first  
• Top it with natural peanut butter for long lasting protein at breakfast
• Top with lean meat and vegetables for a filling lunch
• Check the nutritional facts on the website of your favorite bagel spot to see which are the healthier options 
• For example -- here's what Brueggers Bagels website  had to say: 
• The Jalapeño Cheddar bagel has a whopping 420 calories followed closely by the Chedder Pesto with 410 calories    
• Sundried Tomato was most modest with 280 calories 
• Again, the Jalapeño Cheddar ranked highest in carb count at 75g (!!!) 
• Lowest carb count is Sourdough with 56g followed again by Sundried Tomato with 57g

Harvard Medical School recommends 45-65% of your diet coming from carbs and the American Diabetes Association recommends 45-60g of carbs per meal.  If you're ingesting a daily diet of about 2,600 (men) and 1,900 (women) your calories from carbs should range from 1,170-1,690 (men) and 855-1,235 (women).  Thanks to Livestrong.com for doing these numbers for us! 

So now you know!