Breakfast: Doctor gives tips on how to eat pho, broken rice, and bread that are both delicious and healthy

Each person will choose a different breakfast. Some eat broken rice, bread, others choose pho, sticky rice... However, for those who need to monitor their weight, blood sugar or specific nutrition, what should they pay attention to to ensure their health?

Doctor Le Nhat Duy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - Branch 3, has shown how to help people balance nutrition for breakfast dishes, so that they are both delicious and healthy.

Broken rice

Broken rice provides energy from starch, along with ribs, pork skin, and sausage. The advantage of this dish is that it is rich in energy, keeps you full for a long time, and has protein. However, the disadvantage is that it is often high in fat, sugar (from sweetened fish sauce), and lacks green vegetables and fiber.

“To make broken rice healthier, people can reduce the amount of rice by half, add more boiled vegetables or cucumbers and tomatoes when eating. Prioritize lean meat, limit fatty grilled ribs,” Dr. Nhat Duy shared.

“Revealing” how to make broken rice delicious and healthy: Replace white broken rice with brown rice or brown rice mixed with beans. Reduce the amount of rice, add steamed vegetables, and serve with pan-fried chicken breast or grilled fish.

To make broken rice healthier, people can reduce the amount of rice by half, add more boiled vegetables or cucumbers and tomatoes when eating.

Photo: AI

Bread

Bread is a convenient breakfast food, rich in starch. If eaten with meat, eggs, pâté, and vegetables, it provides enough nutrients, but is often unbalanced because it contains a lot of refined starch and saturated fat from pâté. Some types also contain very few vegetables.

If you want to be healthy, Dr. Nhat Duy recommends choosing whole wheat bread or black bread, with lots of lettuce, cucumber, carrots, and sliced ​​avocado. At the same time, reduce pate, replace the meat inside with chicken breast, tuna, or boiled eggs, fried eggs without oil. "This is 'Vietnamese-style fast-food' but still nutritious, with less risk of increasing blood sugar," the doctor said.

Porridge

Porridge is easy to digest, suitable for the elderly and children, but if you only eat white porridge in the morning, it is quite poor in nutrition and can easily cause hunger.

Therefore, to be “full and nutritious”, people can try cooking porridge at home in the morning, adding healthy ingredients such as green beans, lotus seeds, minced lean meat, etc. Add chopped vegetables to increase fiber in the total portion.

Sticky rice

Sticky rice is often the “filling, long-lasting” choice of many people, providing a lot of starch, often eaten with fatty meat, fried onions, and green beans. The downside of this dish is that it is difficult to digest, easily causing excess energy if there is little exercise.

“If you choose to eat sticky rice in the morning, you should only eat a small amount, avoid eating it with a lot of fatty meat or fried sausage. You can add peanuts or sesame to supplement healthy vegetable fat,” Dr. Nhat Duy added.

Pho is a familiar choice for people in both the North and South.

Photo: AI

Noodle soup

Pho is a familiar choice for people in both the North and South. The broth from bones and meat of pho provides protein; in addition, there are herbs and blanched bean sprouts to make the dish more balanced. However, the downside is that the amount of starch in pho noodles is still quite high, while vegetables only make up a small part.

When eating out, people should ask for "less bread, more vegetables", choose lean meat, and remove the layer of fat on the surface of the broth to ensure a balance of nutrients for the body.

If you want to cook it yourself, Dr. Nhat Duy recommends using dry brown rice pho cooked with vegetable broth, adding lean meat or eggs to make the pho dish quick, low in fat, and better for your health.

“With a modern lifestyle, the key is to keep the soul of Vietnamese dishes but adjust the ingredients and cooking methods to suit your health. The important thing is to know how to add green vegetables, protein and good fats to balance nutrition. With just smart variations, Vietnamese dishes can still retain their traditional flavors, protecting your health in the long term,” Dr. Nhat Duy shared.

Besides traditional dishes, Dr. Le Nhat Duy suggests many other healthy options that suit Vietnamese habits:

Whole grain cereal with unsweetened milk or nut milk : Convenient, rich in fiber, helps keep you full longer.

Boiled sweet potatoes, boiled corn : Source of slow-digesting starch, rich in fiber and vitamins.

Bean porridge, oatmeal porridge : Easy to digest, suitable for both the elderly and children.

Sugar-free yogurt mixed with chia seeds, walnuts, and fresh fruit : Supplements probiotics, fiber, and good fats.

Boiled eggs or steamed eggs with vegetables : Rich in protein, easy to prepare, combine with raw vegetables or salad for adequate nutrition.

“From the perspective of traditional medicine, breakfast should be light, easy to digest, not too fatty to help the spleen and stomach function well. Dishes that strengthen the spleen such as coix porridge, green beans, sweet potatoes, and steamed vegetables are very suitable,” said Dr. Nhat Duy.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/an-sang-bac-si-chi-meo-an-pho-com-tam-banh-mi-vua-ngon-vua-khoe-185250915160959591.htm