What's the Ideal Breakfast to Have Before Taking the ACT?

The morning of the ACT or the SAT can be a tornado full of stress, anxiety, and yes, the occasional hair pulling moment.

Does your calculator have batteries that are ready to go?

Did you print out your admission slip?

Are your pencils sharpened?

While all of these questions should hopefully be answered the night before, the question that should be easily answered before you walk out the door is: did you eat a healthy breakfast?

That answer is and always should be yes, yes, most definitely yes.

Eating a healthy breakfast before a standardized test will not only fill your body with the necessary food to operate at peak efficiency, but it’ll also make it so you can focus on choosing the right answers and not whether or not the rest of the room can hear your stomach growling.

The last thing you want to have happen after working so hard to prepare for the ACT is to be hangry during the test.

Here’s a quick and easy list of foods to consider incorporating into your test day breakfast to make sure your stomach is full and your brain has the right fuel

Anything with Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Salmon, flax seed, hemp protein, walnuts, spinach

Omega-3 fatty acids are known to not only prevent heart disease and arthritis but for our test-taking purposes, omega-3s are the quintessential brain foods. They promote concentration abilities, keep you alert, and also are known to increase brain capacity. Plus, who would turn down a delicious smoked salmon and spinach omelet on a Saturday morning? Not me!

Lean Protein

Turkey bacon, egg whites, protein shakes, protein bars, chicken breasts

Lean proteins are great for keeping you fuller longer, producing energy that’s sustainable and doesn’t just boom and busts like energy drinks, and are perfectly delicious. Filling up on lean proteins will give you a good base for the rest of the test day and give you one less thing to worry about because you know your hunger won’t come knocking on the door while you’re mid-test.

Anything Rich in Antioxidants

Green tea, blueberries, apples, cranberries

Antioxidants are known as the Michael Jordans of the food world because they have vitamins and minerals to help improve cognitive function and memory. Plus, green tea can give students a nice caffeine boost in addition to the antioxidant powers without the jittery crash of coffee or an energy drink.

Go Nuts for Nuts

Walnuts, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews

Nuts are energy-producing, stomach-filling, deliciousness-having snacks that are portable and easy to enjoy on the way to the test or during a break. Trader Joe’s has awesome trail mix packs that you can fit in your pocket and pop open when you need a little boost.

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So for those of you keeping track at home, it seems like the ideal breakfast on test day would be a salmon and spinach egg white omelet with a bowl of blueberries, a cup of green tea, and a pack of trail mix for dessert.

Who’s going to say no to that?