Mornings often begin rather rushed, with breakfast left ignored. The alarm buzzes and we are off to the races, rushing to get everyone dressed and ready to go. Because we are often so pressed for time, we tend to stick to the easiest meal in the morning: Cereal!
Breakfast, being the first meal of the day, needs to pack the fuel to keep you going, even if there is no time to finish lunch.
Breakfast has the great responsibility of providing the energy that we need in order to stay attentive, energized, and ready to tackle anything that is placed before us.
Here’s the thing, some of us have plenty of time to prep and schedule our meals, others are confined to someone elses schedule (as in someone attending school). Either way, each meal has the power of helping us maintain our energy for wahtever time we have in between meals. You see, breakfast kicks off the day, gets the engines running. The question is, how much power do you need that engine to give off, like literally.
Are you eating breakfast at nine and lunch at noon? If so, equal proportions of carbohydrates and proteins will keep you functioning well. On the flip side, if you eat breakfast at 6am, grab a workout, and can;t have lunch untl 1pm, your breakfast should be higher in proteins, with enough carbohydrates to get you through your workout.
The key is to play around with your food proprtions of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to help maintain your energy, focus, and health.
I want you to begin to think differently about breakfast. If breakfast is tasked with getting us through most of our day, we need to think of it as the powerful fueling meal that it is.
A typical breakfast of cereal, milk, and juice simply digests as a sugar. This means that it won’t last in our system long enough to carry us to lunch, without a sugary binge in between. For those of you with kids, realize that they don’t have the option of reaching for a snack at any point they choose, it can lead to hunger resulting in crankiness and distraction. And actually, these symptoms can happen to the adults as well, and lead even deeper to …HANGRY;)
How do we fix this? Choosing a powerful breakfast is key! Think good quality proteins and fats.
Here are a few examples:
Eggs
Eggs are a great source of protein and they are versatile. Chop some of your favorite vegetables, to add some veggies to your omelets or scrambled eggs.
Oatmeal
Oats include a small amount of protein, but prepared with chopped nuts, fresh fruits, you now have a breakfast filled with plenty of proteins, vitamins and minerals. Always choose regular Old Fashioned Oats, as most of the nutrients are refined out of Quick Oats. Oh, one more thing…no need to cook, simply add warm water to cover the oats – not soupy – grab your nuts and fruit, and they are ready to go.
Nut butter and fruit spread sandwich
Quick, sweet and perfect for late mornings! Choose any raw nut butter, as long as the ingredients on the label are just nuts (unfortunately peanut butter does not taste good raw, and this is where the nutrients are, so choose from raw almond, cashew, or even walnut). Also, skip the jelly, mashed up banana can substitute that well, if not add in thinly sliced pieces of strawberries, pears, or even an apple to give it that touch of sweetness to get you going. This makes for an easy “on the go” solution when you are on the run!
Leftovers from the night before
A little bit of chicken on toast can be filling for hours. Equally satisfying is a serving of black beans and rice with a boiled egg added. Think out of the box, thre are actually NO foods that are specifically for breakfast.
Click HERE for more “Adita Approved” Breakfast ideas
Let’s reframe the way we think about breakfast and ditch the traditional sweet treats every morning in favor of meals that enhance our ability to be resilient, attentive and alert!
In Peace, Love, and Health,
Adita
©Copyright 2023, Adita Lang. Adita Lang works with individuals and groups to maximize their health through exercise and nutrition. She is available for Coaching and Public Speaking.
For questions or booking, please email her at info@AditaLang.com.
For recipes, lifestyle tips, and more visit her at www.AditaLang.com.
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