Running late for work? Trying to get the kids off to school? Do these scenarios sound familiar? Too often, the pace of everyday life leaves us with little time to cook and prepare healthy meals — especially breakfast. Often, it seems easier to grab a bagel or doughnut on the way to the office or even skip breakfast altogether. But both of these practices can sabotage your healthy lifestyle. Eating refined carbs are likely to cause cravings to return, and skipping breakfast may encourage you to overeat throughout the day. Fortunately, there are a number of delicious South Beach Diet–approved breakfast options that are perfect for eating on the go. Here, some Phase-specific choices:

Phase 1:

• Precooked deviled or hard-boiled eggs (hard-boiled eggs will stay fresh in the fridge for up to a week)
• Celery sticks with natural, no-added-sugar peanut butter
• Single-serve nonfat or one-percent cottage-cheese cups
• Turkey bacon (plan ahead and cook up some slices ahead of time)
• Individual reduced-fat cheese slices or cheese sticks (six grams of fat or less)
• Sliced turkey or other low-fat meats
• Tomato or vegetable-juice cocktail in single-serving cans
• Fat-free or low-fat plain yogurt

Phases 2 and 3 — all of the above, plus:

• Fat-free or low-fat artificially sweetened, flavored yogurt (limit to six ounces daily and make sure to avoid yogurts with added sugars)
• Whole-wheat sliced bread or whole-wheat English muffin topped with low-fat cheese or part-skim ricotta cheese
• Fresh berries or other seasonal fruit
• Whole-wheat tortilla (wrap ingredients like melted low-fat cheese, scrambled eggs, and diced veggies)