If you have a new born at home there is a high likelihood your health and fitness has suffered since they have entered your world.  You have less time to work out and your sleeping schedule has taken a wild ride, pushing parents to alter their diet in search of energy to help compromise for lost sleep.

If you are like me, you seek out foods that give you energy.  My body (or maybe my mind) craves sugary food and simple carbs to give me that energy boost needed to get through the day after a restless night.  If your child is like our second child, you have a lot of restless nights the first 1 to 3 years of your child’s life.  A new child brings all sorts of fun and excitement to a home; however it does not bring extra sleep.  Parents learn to operate on diminished sleep and often resort to “quick food fixes” to push through the day. 

After a rough night of sleep, it is hard to pass on the donuts in the break-room at work or the left over cupcakes from the most recent kid party.  These treats provide jolts of energy that come on quickly, but fade equally as fast.  Plus these foods pack unnecessary calories that will require more energy to work off in the future.  During these moments of exhaustion, I often find myself stuck in a vicious cycle of using highly processed and sugary foods to get me through.  I would then have to compliment this with more exercise to try to keep a balance.  There has to be a better way…

This got me thinking about my diet.  What foods give you energy but also have some nutritious value.  Let’s be real, I was not going to reshape my entire diet, as I barely had the headspace to get through each day.  So I sought out some simple, yet delicious, options that could give me the energy I needed but did not pack on the pounds with empty calories.  These foods also had to be things that I could realistically incorporate into my daily diet.  Here are 3 food options that give you energy while also having some nutritious value.

Eggs

Eggs offer a cheap, easy and convenient way to get some energy.  They serve as a great benefit for parents on the go, as they can be cooked quickly or days prior (hard boiled).  Eggs can be prepared a multitude of ways, providing variety in your daily diet. They are often synonymous with breakfast, but can be served at any meal in the day.

Nutritional Value of Eggs

Eggs are packed with nutrients and offer a low calorie (70 – 75 calories per medium sized egg) option to your diet.  We go to the land down under to get some great statistics on the value of eggs.  According to Australianeggs.org boiled eggs provide the following nutrients:

-40 percent of your daily vitamin D requirements

-25 percent of your daily folate requirements

-12 percent of your daily riboflavin (Vitamin B2) requirements

-20 percent of your daily selenium requirements

-Eggs also contain vitamins A, E, B5, B12, as well as iron, iodine and phosphorus

Hatch a Meal Plan

The versatility of eggs is one of the reasons I incorporated them into my diet.  My wife has been so kind to make breakfast burritos in bulk over the years.  This gives me a microwave ready meal that I could zap and eat each day at home or in the office.  The recipe kept it simple with scrambled eggs mixed with chicken sausage all wrapped in a small tortilla.  She would make a batch of them which we would freeze and then individually wrap in saranwrap or tinfoil for on demand consumption.  I would dress them up with hot sauce to add some flavor and my breakfast (or lunch) was set.

My wife and I also make egg sandwiches for dinner quite often as it is a quick answer to a night without a meal planned.  We normally put it on a half-bagel or a tortilla and add hot sauce (me), hummus (her), arugula and often cheese for a quick and relatively healthy meal.  

If on the go, there are now egg based options at many of the fast food chains that are slightly better than some of the alternative menu items.  Eat This, Not That! ranks McDonald’s breakfast items for nutritional value.  The Egg McMuffin® ranks third after the Fruit and Yogurt Parfait and Fruit and Maple Oatmeal in nutritional value.  The overall health value of the McMuffin® can be improved if ordered without butter and cheese as well.   

Yolk it Up

Many places are also offering egg white alternatives to egg based menu items to provide a calorie friendly substitute.  Note that many of the eggs nutrients are in the yolk, so forgoing this to save on calories is also a reduction in nutrients.  As this article from HealthLine.com details the nutritional value of eggs diminish greatly when you remove the yolk.  Egg whites are high in protein, but are devoid of vitamins A, B12 and D, where the whole egg provides a significant amount of your daily need in these vitamins.

Consider skipping the morning donut or heavy carb load and incorporate eggs into your diet.  Not only are they packed with nutrients, but they will also provide a slow burn energy that will help the day after those sleepless nights.

Oatmeal

There was a period when my kids were really young and I was traveling quite a bit.  Bless my wife as she shouldered a lot of responsibility during this time, as I was gone a few days each week and unable to help at home.  We were both perpetually tired, as she was often up with the kids during the night, and I would be getting up early for flights or staying out too late entertaining. 

It was during this time, I stumbled upon Oatmeal as a food source that gave me energy while also not leaving me feeling bloated shortly after consumption.  Oatmeal was easy to find on the road, at airports (Starbucks, McDonalds), and on hotel menus.  Like eggs, Oatmeal offered versatility in design.  The accoutrements available to you when dressing oatmeal can make each bowl new and exciting!

Nutritional Value of Oatmeal

This article from Medical News Today applauds the great health benefits of oats.  Areas where oats are linked to our health include reducing the risk of coronary artery disease, lowering cholesterol, and reducing risk of certain cancers.  The article goes into details on these areas and also provides the following nutritional values of 100 grams of oats (typically a serving is 80 grams – 297 calories):

-51 percent of the daily recommended intake of thiamine

-8 percent riboflavin

-5 percent niacin

-6 percent vitamin B6

-14 percent folate

-13 percent pantothenic acid

-26 percent iron

-44 percent magnesium

-52 percent phosphorus

-12 percent potassium

-26 percent zinc

-31 percent copper

-246 percent manganese

The GOAT or GrOAT Breakfast Food

I may consider Oatmeal the GOAT breakfast food when it comes to a health and energy standpoint.  Oats typically have a slow burn which provides a feeling of fullness and prolonged energy while also providing the health benefits listed above.  Also, oatmeal can be dressed up with other healthy and energy generating foods like walnuts, bananas and granola.  Of course you can get in trouble, if you start to get a bit crazy with the brown sugar and heavy cream.  To keep oatmeal healthy, be mindful of how you are dressing your oatmeal. 

In addition to the dressing of oatmeal, there are also different types of oats which can provide taste, texture and health alternatives of their own.  We had to go to the Whole Grains Counsel for an overview of the types of oats that are available.  They all come from the kernel of the oat which is called a groat.  The Whole Grains Counsel details the type of oats available into the following foods:

“Whole Oat Groats – A groat is another name for a grain kernel. Whole oat groats are the result of simply harvesting oats, cleaning them, and removing their inedible hulls. You can most often find these in health food stores. They take the longest to cook.

Steel Cut Oats – If you cut groats into two or three pieces with a sharp metal blade, you get steel cut oats. They cook quicker than oat groats, because water can more easily penetrate the smaller pieces. Steel cut oats are also sometimes called Irish oatmeal.

Scottish Oatmeal – Instead of cutting oats with a steel blade, the Scots traditionally stone-grind them, creating broken bits of varying sizes, which some say results in a creamier porridge than steel-cutting.

Rolled Oats – regular (old fashioned) – Rolled oats (sometimes called old fashioned oats) are created when oat groats are steamed and then rolled into flakes. This process stabilizes the healthy oils in the oats, so they stay fresh longer, and helps the oats cook faster, by creating a greater surface area.

Rolled Oats – quick or instant – If you roll the oat flakes thinner, and/or steam them longer, you create quick oats and ultimately instant oats. The nutrition stays the same (these are all whole grains) but the texture changes – a plus for some people and a drawback for others. The good thing about having so many choices is that everyone can get exactly the taste they like best!”

Embrace the versatility of oatmeal and resist the urge to make it unhealthy through dressing selection.  Oatmeal can be easily found when traveling and also relatively cheap and quick to prepare at home.  This is something you can introduce to your children to get them used to healthy eating options as well.

Fruit Based Smoothies

Okay, so we are cheating a bit here as Smoothies are not really a specific food like eggs or oats.  Hang with us, as we are going to indulge you in the benefits of fruit based smoothies.  You can certainly make unhealthy and heavy smoothies that are not going to generate the lasting energy you are looking for.  Smoothies made with ice-cream, heavy creams and sugar heavy yogurts, albeit delicious, are not  the long energy producing food we are search for. 

Nutritional Value of Fruit

Fruit based smoothies provide the sugars and nutrients that will provide energy without the unnecessary empty calories often associated with sugary alternatives.  The below chart from the FDA provides a nutritional overview of many fruits which you may consider for your smoothie.

Smooth Operator

Something key in making your own smoothie is getting the appropriate hardware to not only make a great smoothie but also for easy clean up.  I have found that simply using a blender is not going to cut it for me as it does not get the smoothie to the texture that I desire and also requires a hearty clean out afterward.  For me a blender is just too big for the job. 

There are smoothie specific devices on the market that can get the job done.  The Magic Bullet is almost a household name now and is the type of device that you should be looking for if you are going to up your smoothie game.  This device comes with several blades, cups and lids giving you not only a smoothie maker, but storage and cup to consume it from (cutting down on the cleaning).  Smoothies can also be bought on demand from coffee shops, health stores or places like Smoothie King, but take note of what is in it the smoothie your are ordering.  Restraunt smoothies can be high in calories driven by the bonding ingredient used (heavy cream, ice cream, whole milk, sugary yogurt or the like).  I prefer to make my smoothies at home to control not only what is going in it but also the cost.

Smooth Landing

I keep it very simple when making my smoothies.  I am typically a 1 or 2 fruit guy with almond milk to get it to the necessary viscosity.  I also use frozen fruit as I prefer this over adding ice.  Frozen fruit does add to the cost, but this is still just a fraction of what you would pay at a coffee shop or health food store. 

My go-to smoothie is simply pitted dark sweet cherries and almond milk blended together.  Cherries are expensive so I will occasionally go 60 percent cherries and 40 percent strawberries if our cherry stash is running low. 

Smoothies are a great way to get a quick filling meal or snack in lieu of less healthy alternative.  They also offer a solution to a mid-afternoon craving with the added benefit of nutrition and energy.  Like oatmeal and eggs they are versatile to tastes, making each one feel like its own unique invention. See the MDS Smoothies for Men serries to see all of our recipes.

Find Your Foods that Gives You Energy

There are certainly other healthy alternatives that can provide that shot of energy for sleep deprived parents.  Things like brown rice, sweet potatoes, coffee (in moderation), certain types of yogurts, nuts, certain beans, are just a few others to consider when trying to find the right healthy foods for you that will give you energy.

Eggs, oatmeal and smoothies have worked for me as they are all easy to make, readily available (if on the road) and versatile in their construction.   Parenting is tough, and the easy path is to grab the highly processed snack that is readily available to help push through your day.  These options have a limited energy boost and can lead to weight gain.  Find your health foods that give you energy.  Think about how you can incorporate these into your diet and keep from going to the snack bin!