Despite all the reports how important breakfast is, it appears we’ve been too busy to eat it for a long time.

It was in 1965 that Carnation Instant Breakfast became an overnight sensation as a fast, nutritious breakfast for hectic lifestyles. It was advertised as being the equivalent of eating an egg, toast, juice and milk. In seconds, they said, you can get the same nutrition out of a packet mixed with milk. As a child, I wondered how they did that. But I remember thinking the chocolate was pretty good.

Times have changed for the busier. And Carnation has come up with the solution: Carnation Instant Breakfast Ready to Drink. It comes in resealable, single-serve plastic bottles and is advertised as having twice the protein of an egg, twice the calcium of yogurt and 21 essential vitamins and minerals. There are 150 to 260 calories in an 11-ounce bottle (260 for milk chocolate, 250 for French vanilla and 150 for no-sugar-added milk chocolate).

I have to say, it doesn’t get easier than this. There’s nothing to mix, and the bottles are even easy to open. If you can just remember to take it out of the refrigerator, it makes a convenient breakfast drink you can grab and go with. The milk chocolate tastes pretty much how I remember it from the packet form — not the rich chocolatey flavor you would get in a milkshake, but a pleasant chocolate taste nevertheless.

The bottom line: I can’t imagine that this is better for you than a sit-down breakfast with all the food groups, but it really takes away any excuse for not eating breakfast at all. And at $1.69 per serving, it’s going to be cheaper and better for you than a cafe latte and pastry on the road.

Lifestyles reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com.