No time for breakfast before work. What can I eat?

If you have no time for breakfast before work, choose foods you can set out the night before or eat on the way, such as a boiled egg, wholegrain bread or a small box of rice, a piece of fruit, and plain milk or unsweetened soy milk. You are not alone: in a study of staff at Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok, Manmee and colleagues found that lack of time was the most common reason for skipping breakfast. England's NHS describes a healthy breakfast as high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt. A simple target is a starch, a protein and a fruit or vegetable.

How many Thai workers skip breakfast, and why?

A Bangkok hospital

Manmee and colleagues surveyed 356 staff at Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok between February and May 2015. Most were women (87.1%), with an average age of about 39, and most worked in nursing.

The staff had a moderate level of knowledge about breakfast, and knowing more was not linked with eating breakfast. In this study, the most common reasons were about time and convenience.

Young adults

Studies of students have found high rates too, and many students are about to start work:

• In a study of 280 university students aged 18 to 22 in southern Thailand, Petchoo and colleagues found that 49% did not have breakfast and ate staple meals only twice a day.
• In an online survey of 464 undergraduates at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok from March to May 2021, when classes were online, Chusak and colleagues found that 75.4% skipped breakfast 3 or more times a week.

Middle-aged and older adults

In the national Health, Aging and Retirement in Thailand study, which followed 2,863 people aged 45 and over in 2015, 2017 and 2020, Pengpid and colleagues found that 4.6% skipped breakfast across the study years. Lunch was skipped more often, by 6.0%.

What these numbers can and cannot show

Each study covered a particular group, used people's own reports, and asked about breakfast in a different way, so the figures cannot be compared directly. The student studies found high rates of skipping breakfast, and in the Bangkok hospital study, time was the main reason.

What makes a good breakfast?

The NHS description

The NHS says a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can form part of a balanced diet and help you get the nutrients you need. Its example is a wholegrain lower-sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk and fruit sliced over the top. More broadly, it advises eating a variety of foods from the 5 main food groups and basing meals on higher-fibre starchy foods such as rice or bread.

The 2:1:1 plate at breakfast

Ramathibodi Hospital's 2:1:1 healthy plate divides a 9-inch plate into 4 parts: vegetables 2 parts (half the plate), rice or starch 1 part (no more than 2 ladles, preferably wholegrain such as brown rice or wholewheat bread), and meat 1 part (low-fat choices such as skinless chicken, fish, eggs, soy or tofu). It advises avoiding processed meats such as Chinese sausage, sausages, ham and bacon.

A full plate is a lot to manage before work. A quick breakfast can still cover the same groups:

What can I eat when I have only a few minutes?

Ready at home

• Boiled eggs. Boil several at once and keep them in the fridge, so you can take one or two in the morning.
• Bread with a filling. Wholegrain bread with egg, canned tuna or chicken takes a few minutes and is easy to eat on the bus or train.
• Last night's rice. A small box of rice with leftover egg, tofu or vegetables from dinner, kept in the fridge.
• Fruit that needs no knife. Bananas, oranges and other fruit you can peel.

On the way

In Thailand, breakfast is easy to buy on the way to work:

• Convenience stores: boiled eggs, plain milk or unsweetened soy milk, wholegrain sandwiches, bags of cut fruit, plain yoghurt.
• Street stalls: rice porridge (jok) or rice soup with egg or minced pork, sticky rice with grilled chicken, or rice with a couple of dishes, choosing one vegetable dish.
• Fruit stalls: cut guava, papaya or pineapple to go with an egg or milk.

Choose boiled, steamed or grilled items more often than fried ones, and add a fruit if the meal has none. For eating out often, see I eat out and have fried food often. What should I add?

Can I prepare breakfast the night before?

Yes, and it is the easiest way to take time out of the morning. In Thailand's heat, keeping it cool matters.

Keep food cold

The CDC advises:

• never leaving perishable food out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if the temperature is above 32°C (90°F)
• keeping the fridge at 4°C (40°F) or below
• when reheating in a microwave, checking with a food thermometer that food reaches 74°C (165°F)

Temperatures in Thailand are often above 32°C, so the 1-hour limit is the one to go by. On a long commute, keep eggs, rice dishes, sandwiches with meat or egg, and milk in the fridge overnight, carry them in an insulated bag with an ice pack, and eat them soon after you arrive. Whole fruit, bread and unopened UHT milk or soy milk are easier to carry.

A simple evening routine

• Boil eggs for 2 to 3 days at once.
• Pack a small box of rice and a side dish from dinner straight into the fridge.
• Put fruit and a carton of milk by your bag or keys so you don't forget them.

If you live alone and cook for one, see Living alone with patchy meals: how can I cover food groups? for more on preparing food ahead.

Is a sweet iced coffee enough for breakfast?

Many people buy only a sweet iced coffee or tea on the way to work. It gives sugar but not the food groups of a meal.

In a lab analysis of drinks sold around Mahidol University's Salaya campus, Sridonpai and colleagues found that milk coffee averaged 21.3 g of sugar per 100 mL, about 9 to 12 teaspoons for a cup as sold, and iced Thai milk tea 20.5 g per 100 mL. A guide in Ramathibodi Hospital's @Rama magazine puts the limit at 4 to 8 teaspoons of sugar a day, depending on energy needs.

If coffee is part of your morning:

• have it with food, such as an egg and bread or a banana
• ask for less sugar, or choose black coffee or unsweetened tea
• choose a smaller cup

For more on the sugar in iced drinks, see Sweet iced tea or coffee every day: how much sugar is that?

What if I'm not hungry early in the morning?

Eat a little later

Breakfast does not have to be eaten at home. If you are not hungry when you wake up, take something easy and eat it when you reach work, such as a boiled egg and a banana or a carton of plain milk.

Split it into two small parts

Have a small item early, such as milk or soy milk, and the rest mid-morning. The NHS suggests swapping your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit, and the 2:1:1 guide suggests fruit as a snack 1 to 2 times a day, a small plate each time, choosing less sweet fruit such as apple, guava or dragon fruit.

Drink water too

The NHS recommends 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day, with water, lower-fat milk and lower-sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, as healthier choices, and more in hot weather. A glass of water on waking and a bottle for the commute are easy habits.

If you wake up too late because your nights are short or irregular, see Hard to get up and tired by afternoon. What can I do?