Following a night of sleep, our brains need food in order to establish functionality for the day. If we miss out on breakfast, our body will suffer from decreased energy levels and will have difficulty concentrating and will experience cravings.
What Does Breakfast Do For My Body?
Breakfast breaks the fast your body has experienced due to not eating overnight, and as such begins the body’s metabolic process by aiding your body’s ability to convert the food you eat into usable energy, and will also support your ability to use cognitive skills properly, such as memory, focus and supporting overall effectiveness for students and employees.
Role of Macronutrients in Breakfast
These 3 macronutrients will provide the body with sustained energy, and allow you to remain full longer. Using whole foods such as fresh fruit & or vegetables, and whole grains, ensures that you are receiving the vitamins and minerals necessary for your body.
- Whole grains
- Fresh fruits
- Vegetables
Quick and Easy Breakfast Preparation Ideas
Use simple, easy-to-make recipes that contain items you always have on hand. Even large food manufacturers, such as Nestle, have been developing quick-and-easy breakfast products for consumers to buy, however, you can prepare your breakfast at home.
Simple and Quick Breakfast Recipe Examples
There are a lot of quick and nutritious breakfast items that can also be made in a very short time frame; smoothies, overnight oats and scrambled eggs with a vegetable side can all be completed in under 5 minutes and provide you with a balanced meal. Pre-prepping ingredients will help you to have a stress-free morning, if you have the time, cut up your fruits before you go to bed and cook grains so you don’t waste your time and also help you feel less stressed on a busy day.
- Boiled egg with your favorite fruit
- Smoothies
- Overnight oats
- Scrambled eggs with vegetables
Nutrient Dense, High Protein Breakfast Foods to Energize You
A well-rounded, nutritious breakfast is balanced with 3 macronutrients – Protein is 1 of the macronutrients included in a good breakfast! By including protein in your breakfast, you are also helping to heal damaged tissues and build muscle that helps you to remain satisfied longer after your meal is consumed.
Studies have also shown that consuming a high protein breakfast is linked to a decrease in appetite and healthier body weight. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other fitness professionals know that protein is an important part of your daily dietary intake and can significantly improve both energy and performance by adding protein to your first meal of the day.
Great Sources of High Protein Food for Breakfast
- Nuts and Seeds
How Protein Provides Energy and Focus
Protein takes more time to digest than other macronutrients allowing for a longer period of time that you can maintain your blood glucose level, helping you avoid the blood glucose rollercoaster that most experience in the morning, which in turn provides a consistent supply of energy and focus.
Breakfast Meal Prep for Busy Mornings
The morning rush is hectic! In order to get to work/school and prepare your family for their day, there are so many other responsibilities you may have, the morning can feel very hectic. For people who want to achieve daily healthy eating goals one of the best strategies is to prepare breakfast ahead of time.
Breakfasts you prepare ahead eliminate stress during your morning rush while ensuring you will eat a nutritious breakfast every day. By planning ahead, there is always a healthy breakfast option available and that you can grab when time is tight or you simply had too much to do the night before to make time to prepare breakfast.
Benefits of Preparing Breakfast in Advance
By preparing breakfasts ahead of time, you also retain control over what types of foods you are consuming and how much food you are consuming. You can create meals to your liking without using preservatives or receiving inadequate nutrition.
Meal Prep Ideas
- Egg muffins with vegetables and cheese
- Pre-prepared smoothie ingredients
- Freezing pancakes or muffins
Another way to prepare breakfasts in advance is by baking a large muffin tin of egg muffins, using eggs and adding vegetables/ cheese to them. You can also prepare ingredients for your smoothies ahead of time to speed up the process of making them and possibly eliminate the preparation time each time you make smoothies.
You can create numerous versions of breakfast with homemade meals. Freezing pancakes or muffins is a great way to save time on breakfast during the week, but make sure that you reheat them before eating.
Smoothies & Other Drinks for Breakfast
Smoothies are one of the easiest and most diverse breakfast options. The next ingredient that can be added to a smoothie to increase the protein content, is either yogurt or protein powder.
Healthy Smoothie Ingredients
In order to include a healthy fat source in the smoothie, you can add walnuts, almonds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds or many other healthy fat sources. You can increase the vitamin content of the smoothie by using vegetables (spinach is a great example) in conjunction with the added fiber from the other ingredients, but these vegetables will not change the taste of the smoothie.
Smoothie Examples
As mentioned before, smoothies may be made using combinations of fruit and nut butters. Example combinations such as banana with peanut butter or mango with yogurt/milk are great options for creating a smoothie with good flavor and healthy nutrition.
- Banana with peanut butter
- Mango with yogurt or milk
Healthy Breakfast Habits for Children
Managing one’s weight effectively is heavily dependant on what you eat at breakfast. However, in many cases, home-cooked meals are going to be the best option for your kids.
Encouraging Healthy Eating in Children
The more basic yet creative you make breakfast meals, the better chance you have to instill healthy eating habits in children at a young age. Children are more likely to eat their food if they see it in a fun and colourful manner.
Creative Breakfast Ideas for Kids
- Fruit pancakes
- Fruit smoothies
- Cool-shaped sandwiches
By using fruit as a natural sweetener, you are able to eliminate any addition of sugars in the creation of this food item. Engage your child in the preparation of breakfast will assist in enhancing your child’s interest in healthy foods as well as developing additional memories through a positive experience with their family and other members of the family.
Nutrition and Taste Work together as Breakfast
Healthy Breakfasts provide many positive benefits for children in their overall physical health, cognitive skills, mood and emotional stability. Creating and reinforcing good nutritional habits in your child’s early years will result in long lasting benefits for you as a family.
Summary and Sustainable Breakfast Routine
Daily breakfast is one of the most effective and easy food choices to make that offer the potential to establish long-term improvement in your overall health. Breakfast replenishes your body after a long night of not eating, allowing for the brain to function better for the remainder of the day.
Establishing a breakfast routine will allow you to maintain healthy food choices and will improve the likelihood of you eating poor quality food outside of breakfast times. The biggest part of developing a breakfast routine is establishing the habit rather than the complexity of the actual statements representing good habits.
Simple Breakfast Routine Ideas
A simple and quick breakfast could be smoothies or Saturday morning breakfast preparation that all provide the same nutrient value and nutritional quality. Research indicates that many companies (e. g., Quaker Oats, Amul) now produce good quality breakfast products and with a short amount of effort, many of those companies offer several healthy recipe options to create nutritious breakfasts.
Sustainable Breakfast Routines
This will allow you to have greater control of your breakfast and provide you healthy options. The best way to create a breakfast routine that is sustainable is to have good prep time and be flexible.
Listening to Your Body
Listening to your body will assist with developing a sustainable breakfast routine. Knowing when you feel satisfied, as compared to being hungry will provide insight as to the number of calories you consumed at your last meal.
Final Thoughts on Your Morning
Developing healthy mornings is all about creating good habits, as opposed to strict guidelines.
