What is the best way to reheat bagels?

Waking up early to cook breakfast isn't always a realistic option to start your day.

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Waking up early to cook breakfast isn't always a realistic option to start your day. Sometimes you just need to microwave a bagel, eat it and run out the door. There are several ways to warm this quick snack, depending on how much time you have.

Bagel Nutrition Facts

A bagel by itself isn't the most impressive breakfast food. It's mostly made of starch, which means it is high in carbohydrates. Depending on what spread you use, there might not be any fruits or vegetables in your breakfast.

A regular bagel has 277 calories, according to the USDA. It also contains 11 grams of protein, a little over 1 gram of fat and 55 grams of carbohydrates. If you're looking for a balanced breakfast, you can see why bagels aren't a great option.

Grains are one of the main categories in the USDA ChooseMyPlate's food groups. Bagels belong to this food group, but there are two kinds of grains, according to the USDA's classifications: whole grains and refined grains.

Whole grains include the entire kernel of the grain, whereas refined grains have the bran and germ removed. Ideally, you should eat bagels made from whole grains. They contain more fiber, vitamins and minerals compared to those made with white flour.

Heating Up Your Bagel

While there might be more balanced options for breakfast, like oatmeal or eggs with vegetables, bagels are very convenient. Most other foods require cooking and clean-up. Depending on how you prepare your bagel, it can be ready in minutes.

You can buy frozen bagels from the store or fresh bagels from a bakery. These products can stay in a refrigerator after thawing for one to two weeks, according to the Food Marketing Institute. However, you can refrigerate it for up to two months. If your bagel is frozen, it will take a little longer to heat up.

You may use a toaster to heat bagels up. Depending on how long it stays in the toaster, you can char the surface to make it crispy. This trick also gives more flavor to the bagel. You can also toast a bagel in the oven to get a similar texture, although it takes longer to heat up your oven than the toaster.

How to Microwave a Bagel

You can microwave a bagel, but you won't get the same crispiness as with a toaster oven. Microwaves can be more energy-efficient and cook food faster than other methods, notes the Food and Drug Administration. That makes them particularly useful if your bagel is frozen.

Some microwave bagel tips including the following: Before you microwave a bagel, cut it in half first. That way, each half will cook faster than trying to heat up the entire bagel at once. If you're going to freeze your bagels, it can help to cut them in half first.

After your bagel is heated, you can put on whatever spread you want to use. Peanut butter and cream cheese are delicious but high in fat. One tablespoon of cream cheese has 50 calories and 5 grams of fat, compared to 95 calories and 8 grams of fat in the same amount of peanut butter.

You can opt for low-fat cream cheese to cut calories, or you may use a spread like this easy LIVESTRONG.com recipe for Classic Hummus, which has less fat and more carbs. A tablespoon of hummus boasts 26 calories, a little over 1 gram of fat and 3 grams of carbohydrates.

What Is the Best Way to Toast a Bagel?

When a bagel is stored for a day or two, two processes occur. The first is dehydrating, which happens when the bagel loses water inside it to the atmosphere. You can slow the dehydrating process by storing your bagels in a plastic bag.

The other process is staling, which occurs when starch molecules become rigid. This makes the bagels tough, even if they have not lost moisture. You can reverse minor staling by heating the bagels to make the starch molecules fluid again.

It is important to store your bagels properly so they will reheat well. You can store them in a zipper-lock plastic bag in the refrigerator for a few days. If you need to store the bagels longer, wrap them individually in aluminum foil and put them in the freezer for up to a month. If you store them longer than that, they can develop freezer burn. Defrost the bagels at room temperature in the foil for a few hours before you toast them.

If you have a day-old bagel that needs to be restored, you can slice and toast it. If the bagel is stale but not dry, toast the entire bagel intact. Put it in a toaster oven or an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for four to five minutes. If it has been stored in an airtight container or plastic bag for no more than three days, toasting the bagel whole will reverse the staling and give you a crispy crust and chewy interior. This method also works well for bagels that were frozen and thawed. It will not work if your bagels were stored improperly and dried out.

If the bagel is stale and dry, dip it in hot water and then toast it whole. Since bagels are prepared by boiling and then baking, this replicates the process originally used to make the bagel. The water will re-moisten the bagels and will evaporate when it is toasted. The exterior may not be quite as crisp as a bagel that is not moistened before heating, but this is a good solution if the bagel is dry and stale and you still want to be able to enjoy it.