When you're in a time crunch, a piece of whole-wheat toast and some fruit is a quick and healthy breakfast. But what are you putting on top of your toast? Healthcastle's dietitians review some popular toast toppers and give us the nutritional low-down:

• Nutella. While a hazelnut spread may seem like a healthy option, Nutella is packed with more sugar and palm oil than hazelnuts.
• Margarine. Be sure to pick a spread that has zero trans-fats. (Look for non-hydrogenated vegetable oil on the ingredient list.) For an even better option, choose a spread that has plant sterols added for cholesterol health.
• Cream cheese. You may think this yummy spread counts as a serving of dairy. While technically it does, it's actually pretty low in calcium. Calorie-wise cream cheese isn't too bad when you pick the lite versions.
• Peanut butter. This tasty treat is packed with protein and also provides some monounsaturated fats. Just choose a natural peanut butter that doesn't contain hydrogenated oil.
  
• Jam. It's fruit... so it must be healthy, right? Not when it's paired with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Choose 100% fruit varieties that are sweetened with natural juice. Or, better yet, make your own.

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I'm always shocked and amazed that anyone would actually consider the doughnut an appropriate part of breakfast. I imagine most folks would snub the idea of eating cake as a good idea in the morning. The doughnut is literally FRIED CAKE! Who the hell thought that would be a good idea for a meal?

In my younger years, I suppose I just considered doughnuts, well.......doughnuts! My parents always seemed to have a bag or box of them on the counter and they were a fairly regular part of my breakfasts growing up. (My Mom probably never thought about what she was actually feeding me either!) Then one day I had the epiphany. Doughnuts are made by frying cake batter in oil for about 90 seconds. They're also often filled or covered with cream, chocolate or just pure sugar.

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The Japanese are notorious for being slim and healthy. This is often credited to a diet rich in veggies and fish and low in sweets and fat. But as our sibling blog Gadling tells us, there's another key to the Japanese waistline: No-calorie Jello. Japanese women and girls who are looking to shed pounds will eat this jelly instead of a meal. And this jelly is easy to come by -- it's available in convenience stores throughout the country.

Jello can be a great thing to eat if you're trying to lose weight--it's a low-cal dessert that's great at satisfying a sweet tooth--but there's no way that eating it as a meal is healthy. Your body needs calories to keep going. Looks like whoever came up with this idea has found a way to make money off of eating disorders. Ick.

What do you think?

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Cranberries are associated mostly with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and are somewhat forgotten or overlooked the rest of the year. They have so many health benefits though that it might be worth working them into your diet more often year round. Just a short list of some of the many benefits of cranberries are:

• Cranberry juice has been shown to block urinary tract infections (no evidence at this time that it can be used to treat an already active infection).
• Cranberries contain a compound called proanthocyanidine that prevents plaque build-up on teeth. Researchers are looking into developing products to use it to prevent periodontal disease.
• In some cases, regular cranberry juice in the diet has killed the bacteria H. pylori that causes stomach cancer and ulcers.

In addition, ongoing research is supporting that cranberries and cranberry juice may have a positive affect on cholesterol, stunt tumor formation and growth, and prevent the growth of breast cancer cells in test tubes.

Not sure how processing the cranberries into that can-shaped "jelly log" affects these findings, but for all the high-fat, empty calorie splurge foods you'll have sitting on your holiday table this year (and it just wouldn't be the same without them!), you can feel a little better about the cranberries and cranberry sauce with your turkey and stuffing!

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