Upgrading The College Diet: Breakfast On The Go

Since I’ve been in college, my morning routine has remained pretty consistent: wake up, brush my teeth, make some coffee, get dressed, make my bed, collect my school things, fill up my thermos with brew, and go. The whole she-bang takes about an hour. The last step, in which I am walking out the door, is usually when I have an oh yeah moment, and remember that I should eat something. That’s when I grab some Pop-Tarts and run to class.

Even though I eat them for breakfast regularly, I think that Pop-Tarts are a lousy meal. The pastry is bone dry, the filling is overly sweet, and the frosting resembles old, flaking nail polish. I also find Pop-Tarts to be extremely unsatisfying—even when I eat more than one, I feel like I am lightly snacking at best. To make matters worse, I am unsatisfying myself with a lot of empty calories: two tarts (one package) offers 400 calories, 10 grams of fat, and little nutritional value.

Like a lot of the foods in my diet, I’ve been eating Pop-Tarts because they are cheap and convenient. But because breakfast is such a vital part of my day, I’ve decided to start improving the quality of the meal, even if that means investing a little more of my time and money.

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Recently, I purchased a great new product that is helping me reach my goal of eating healthier in the morning. It’s call the Fit & Fresh Breakfast Chiller, and it allows me to easily organize and transport a breakfast parfait. The Breakfast Chiller is an all in-one container that has four main components: a top unit for holding dry goods, such as granola or nuts; a lower unit for holding fruit; a middle unit for holding yogurt; and a removable ice ring, which surrounds the middle unit and keeps my yogurt and fruit well-chilled until I am ready to eat. The lid even has a pop-out spoon, so I never have to worry about forgetting eating utensils.

I’ve really enjoyed using this product. I pack up everything the night before and put in the refrigerator. Then, I just pop in the ice ring the next morning and go. When I reach my destination, I sit down and enjoy a breakfast that is far more nutritious, delicious, and filling than anything that comes from a foil wrapper. Best of all, I don’t have any garbage to toss out when I am done—I just twist all the parts back together and throw everything in the dishwasher when I get home.

The only downside to adopting the Breakfast Chiller is the cost. I paid about $9 for the container, which is not bad for a one-time fee. However, perishables like natural granola, raw nuts, fresh fruit and non-fat yogurt (about $10 total) have now been added to my grocery list. Because these food items aren’t full of preservatives, they don’t have the Twinkie-esque shelf life of Pop-Tarts (about $2.50 for an 8-pack), and they have to be replaced more often.

I hate that my grocery bill has been inflated, but, to me, it is well worth the cost to have a proper breakfast in the morning.

Fit & Fresh offers a variety of other products for food storage and transportation, all which promote on-the-go healthy eating. You can purchase the products through most major retailers.

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