“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!!!!”
Can’t you just hear your mom saying it in a sing-songy voice with a slight undertone of condensation as you lay sleeping in your bed praying that she leaves you alone. You need just 5 MORE MINUTES of sleep!!!?
The concept of eating breakfast everyday is certainly not a new one.
You know should eat a good breakfast, but most days….. the best you can manage is a banana or something packaged you can eat on the go.
Hey… Better than nothing right?
Right??
Maybe, maybe not.
Bottom line is that you’re about to know better. And when you know better…. you do better.
So here. we. go.
I am a firm believer though that breakfast is WHERE ITS AT.
When you can start your day with the right kind of breakfast you set yourself up for not only feeling great all day but also avoiding shoving shit food in your face all day because you are STARVING and its all that sounds good.
Because lets be honest… if you’re STARVING you aren’t craving a salad.
No… you’re craving pizza and sandwiches.
The key to setting yourself up for a successful day of eating is to start with breakfast.
This is the very first concept that the women in my small group training program conquer because I’m of the mindset that a balanced breakfast starts a cascade effect that lasts all day.
So what the hell is a healthy breakfast?
How about we start with what a healthy breakfast is NOT.
It’s not
- Cereal
- Instant oatmeal
- Granola bar
- Yogurt
- Bagels, Muffins, Toast
Sorry to rain on your parade but a healthy breakfast doesn’t involve the items listed above.
Why?
Because they are FULL of sugar, lacking in protein, and generally have little to none of the right kind of fat in them.
They are simply junk food in disguise that spike your blood sugar which ups the level of insulin in your body, and inevitably causes you to crash leaving you hungry and ultimately craving more sugar.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess here that if one of the above items is your go to breakfast then its pretty likely that mid morning you’re craving more food.
Looking to the breakroom donuts, the office candy jar, or your kids fruit snacks to get you by until lunch.
Sugar is no bueno people.
Real or artificial you’ve got to start limiting that shit if you want to look and feel healthy and fit. That’s as deep as I’m going to go into sugar today, but if you want more check out the free mini course I just put together.
I’ll have you cleaning out your pantry in no time.
So what makes a healthy breakfast?
There are 3 key elements to a healthy breakfast. When you understand HOW to get these types of food in your body there will be endless possibilities for what you can eat on a daily basis.
- Protein
Strive for 25-30 grams of protein for breakfast.
I know that may sound like a lot, but its generally pretty easy to make it happen.
Ideas include: Eggs and chicken sausage, With just those 2 ingredients alone you could have breakfasts for months!
- Fat
Don’t hate on fat. Fat DOESN’T MAKE YOU FAT. Its sugar you’ve got to worry about. Fat’s gotten a bad rap and you shouldn’t buy into it. Read more about that HERE.
Fat leaves you feeling full and you’ll be less likely to be eating again in 2 hours.
My most favorite source of fat??
Avocado. Tastes damn delicious and like eggs its pretty versatile.
Other options would be coconut oil (cook something like sweet potatoes in it), coconut butter, or another form of nut butter.
- Fruits and veggies.
AKA Carbs.
No you can’t sub fruits and veggies for a grain based carb like bread or a bagel.
Ideas included sweet potatoes (taste great with eggs over top), a handful of berries, sauteed spinach, or cherry tomatoes.
How the hell does anyone have time to eat like that?
I know what you’re thinking now.
“That sounds great Heather but I have ZERO time to cook like that every morning.”
I can actually feel you thinking that through the screen.
You need to get over your “but” because eating a balanced breakfast like this is easier than one might think….
But it’s going to require some planning on your part.
Heather’s Quick & Dirty 5 Healthy Breakfast Ideas
- 2-3 Eggs (however you’d like them) plus 2 pieces of chicken sausage (I like Applegate farms brand) and ½ avocado. If you’re feeling kind of crazy add a handful of berries.
- Egg Cups (make them the weekend prior) plus 1/2 banana.
- 2 Hardboiled eggs, plus pre-cut celery sticks and plain almond butter.
- 1 Piece of Ezekial sprouted grain bread, ¼-½ avocado spread on top, 1 egg (however you’d like it) plus 2 pieces of bacon. The best damn breakfast sandwich you’ll ever eat.
- A smoothie (Spinach, unsweetened almond milk, blueberries, almond butter) plus a hard boiled egg.
As you can see MOST of those breakfasts can be pre-made the night or weekend before and you can speed up your egg cooking time on the mornings you do cook by grabbing these egg rings. Cook the eggs while you are packing all your crap up.
The extra time can be minimized by simply planning ahead.
A note about early morning workouts
Some of you have early morning workouts to attend to.
So what do you do about breakfast?
Well… I generally don’t recommend a FULL breakfast like this pre-workout. This kind of thing is better suited post workout (unless you’d like to barf mid workout then by all means)…..
My best advice to those of you crazy cats who are up at 5 am exercising is to TEST what works for your body.
Some people prefer to fast.
Others like ½ banana for a little AM fuel
You have to see what works for you and I can’t tell you what that is (unless its shit food… don’t eat that).
Get some more breakfast ideas
Time to get your butt in planning gear. All the great recipes I find can be found on my pinterest board HERE.
I’m also that creeper that takes pictures of my food so if we aren’t pals on instagram its time to change that.
What’s your favorite breakfast
I’m always looking for fantastic ideas so hit me up in the comments with your best breakfast recommendation.
