What’s for Breakfast?

The Fit Kitchen has some healthy breakfast advice to kick-start your day with the supposed “most important” meal of the day. Hint: They’re ALL important!

What does your average morning routine look like?

• Alarm sounds at 6am
• Fall into the shower
• Wash clean and dress for the day ahead
• Scatter around the house with a sleepy head looking for the car keys
• Rush into work, possibly stopping on the way for a breakfast roll to ease the morning pain

OK I admit, that’s slightly exaggerated, but I’m confident that someone reading this has a scarily similar morning routine. What’s missing?

Breakfast.

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? No. No ‘meal’ is the most important, food intake will come down to the full day of eating, however there are several benefits to having a good breakfast in the morning before you set out on your day.

It ‘breaks the fast’ from our sleep, so it’s the first piece of fuel and nutrition that your body is getting. For that reason, it’s important that we give our bodies the right fuel to kick-start the day. It can be the core source of energy for the day ahead, regulate our appetite so we don’t go over board at lunch time because ‘we haven’t eaten all day’. The latter is one of the biggest flaws in missing the morning meal. Skipping breakfast will not be the end of the world, but it does cause our hunger to build up throughout the morning, and then when faced with a selection of food at lunch-break, our minds be on overdrive and we consume 2–3 times as much food as necessary. For this reason alone, having something to eat in the morning — along with adequate hydration — will help regulate appetite and cravings and ultimately can make the daily calorie intake lower, resulting in weight loss and reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, stokes and obesity.

So, what should we eat? Great question, and you’re asking the right person. Below are my top choices for breakfast, all with their own benefits and perks that vary based on individual daily routines and time schedules.

Eggs

A personal favourite and regular option in my breakfast artillery. Eggs are such a versatile food and changed and varied using simple cooking techniques. Being a fantastic source of protein and healthy fats, not only is a great way to start the day, but it has been shown that meals that are higher in protein and fat will help keep us satiated and feeling fuller for longer.

Scrambled, boiled, fried, poached or in an omelette; eggs truly hold the number one position in my breakfast ranking, with my favourite being poached eggs on top of avocado toast and a sprinkling of spring onion and fresh tomatoes. Add a couple bacon medallions, grilled mushrooms and baked beans; sign me up.

Oats

Ah, the humble bowl of porridge. A country favourite, the cold morning classic — warm creamy oats that can be pimped with whatever takes your fancy on that morning, with fantastic nutritional benefits from a host of minerals and great source of fibre. Being a slow release carbohydrate (low level of sugar), a bowl of oats will keep you full throughout the morning and prevent any cravings that may occur if a sugar carbohydrate was consumed in the morning. Topping can be a fantastic way to add more nutritionally benefits to the breakfast, using food like fruits, chia seeds, granola, nuts, nut butters etc. that all work beautifully with the creamy breakfast and will have benefits for your daily grind. My personal favourite is a warm bowl of oats topped with frozen berries, peanut butter, cinnamon and sprinkle of chia seeds.

Smoothies and Yogurts

We live in a fast-paced world nowadays, so getting the time to sit and enjoy a hearty homemade breakfast isn’t always an option, especially if you’re slow to hit that alarm button. All is not lost, and these scenarios are made a hell of a lot easier if you have some sort of smoothie or yogurt breakfast either prepared prior or can be whipped up in minutes. Smoothies are fantastic as they can pack in several of your five a day nutrients, be a great source of fibre, great for kids to help eat more fruit and vegetables and are the ideal grab and go food to carry to work, school or college. My go-to favourite smoothie is one with a frozen vegetable (usually spinach or kale), frozen fruit (usually blueberries), a scoop of protein powder, splash of milk, ice cubes and sprinkle of chia seeds. A yogurt breakfast could look like a bowl of layered yogurt, fruit and granola; again, packing in good amounts of protein, antioxidants, minerals and healthy fats from the granola. These options are ideal to make the night before, so you can grab and have this wholesome, nutritious meal to fuel your busy morning

Cereals

Cereals have really gotten a bad hype over the past few years. This came from the high sugar content, low nutritional benefit and false marketing in a way, suggesting that certain cereals were ‘great sources of iron’, when the milk in the cereal had more than the cereal itself. Having said that, if cereal is your thing, then that’s perfectly OK. There is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods, just foods that will carry more nutrition than others and effect our hunger, mood and energy levels differently as the day advances. That is the downside to the convenient breakfast option. If I start my day with a bowl of Rice Krispies, Cornflakes or All Bran, with lower protein and fat quantities then I am guaranteed to be hungry an hour of two later, and often that hunger will be geared toward something sweet and sugary, as the high sugar cereal can cause increased cravings for sugar as the day advances. This can lead to an increased daily calorie intake, which will cause weight-gain if it is not counter-acted by some sort of calorie expenditure (exercise). I never say you can or cannot eat a certain food group, but if you are looking to lose weight, or struggle with mid-morning cravings, then choosing a different breakfast — mentioned above — can make all the difference.

Creative Breakfast Treats

Getting creative in the kitchen can lead to some seriously tasty breakfast options if you put in some effort. Often a weekend venture, but pancakes will always hold a high ranking in my breakfast selections. Quick, healthy and versatile, pancakes can do no wrong. Below is a link to my favourite protein pancakes, but feel free to sub out the protein for some extra oats, or any seed or flavours your desire.

Other great options are granola breakfast bars. Again, ideal to pick and go in the mornings and can be tailored to pack a host of healthy vitamins, minerals fibres and fats. Simple mix oats, nuts, honey, coconut oil nut butter, seeds and dried fruit in a bowl and spice with cinnamon, nutmeg and a crack of sea salt. Bake at low heat for 30–35 minutes for amazingly warm, gooey granola bars that make fantastic lunch box fillers or weekend treats.

For many, breakfast is the only time of the day were they will get to sit and eat with their family, before the kiddies go to school; parents go to work or teens head to college. It’s the first meal that can shape the day, both positive or negative. Make the effort to start in a high note, and enjoy the food that you eat.

For a selection of recipes for breakfast, brunch, dinner or sweet treats, the TFK Recipe eBook is now available (www.thefitkitchen.co/store) and has all the answers when it come to the kitchen.