When it comes to making an eclipse snack, one of the most popular recipes is a quick and easy breakfast, but some experts say it’s not the most nutritious option.
The eclipse has been an eye-opener for some Americans who have been avoiding the sun for months.
A study released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that an estimated 3.3 million people in the U.S. ate the sunniest hours of the day on average between April 15 and September 4, the eclipse’s peak, in the last three years.
The CDC analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a monthly survey conducted by the U,S.
Department of Agriculture, and found that 6 percent of Americans said they ate the least amount of calories during the eclipse.
That’s well below the average daily caloric intake for the U of S population of nearly 22,500 calories.
And a more recent study by the University of California, Davis, found that more than two-thirds of people surveyed said they had eaten the sun-niest hour of the morning between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., according to the study, which was published in the Journal of Nutrition.
This means that the majority of Americans eat less than they should during the month of September because of the eclipse, said University of Alabama, Huntsville nutritionist Robert P. Dye, who co-authored the study.
In the past, Dye has offered advice to eclipse eaters, including suggesting that they eat only one slice of bacon and eggs and a half cup of oatmeal before breakfast.
But he said he was skeptical of this approach because most people don’t know what they’re eating during a solar eclipse.
The best way to maximize your eclipse meal, he said, is to make a list of ingredients you want to eat.
“You want to have a lot of things in your meal that you can make yourself,” he said.
A breakfast of omelets and oatmeal might sound simple, but the USDA study shows that people are actually consuming about 2,700 calories less during the lunar eclipse than during the solar eclipse, according to data from NASA.
And the total amount of carbohydrates consumed by eclipse eatters was about one-third lower than during solar eclipses.
Dye suggested that eclipse eater should be cautious about using ingredients like oats, brown rice and beans.
“It’s hard to find something that’s going to be high in fiber and that’s not going to make you hungry,” he told CBS News.
“They can use beans and other grains to get them into the bloodstream faster and have more energy.”
While this is good advice, Dyer said that eating only a handful of ingredients is not the best strategy.
“When you’re trying to get people to eat fewer calories than they otherwise would, you have to be very careful about what you’re putting in their food,” he explained.
“If you put a bunch of foods in their mouth, you’re not going for the full meal.”
For example, if you have some type of cereal, Dierksons recommends making your own cereal by mixing it with water and a little flour.
If you’re planning on having a meal in the morning, you may want to consider adding an additional serving of nuts, such as almonds or walnuts.
Dyer also said that if you want something to add to the eclipse meal for a different reason, such a peanut butter cup or muffin, you might consider a fruit or a vegetable.
If the eclipse is a family gathering, you can also make the meal ahead of time and have it ready to eat when it’s time to go outside.
In other words, if your eclipse snack is going to involve lots of veggies, you’ll want to try to keep it simple and to get all the veggies into the meal, Dayer said.
While it’s certainly easier to eat a quick, filling breakfast during the eclipses, you should also try to have the eclipse as a whole meal rather than just one serving.
For example, Dyers recommends having a half-cup of oat milk for breakfast, two slices of toast with oatmeal for lunch and a few slices of bacon for dinner.
And you can eat whatever your eclipse snacks are, but you shouldn’t just go with the “one serving of oats and omelet” recommendation, Dany Dyer added.
“One serving of oats and omeal is not enough.”
Follow David Lunt on Twitter at @DavidLunt.
