Your mother was right – breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. We’ve all heard this before, but has anyone ever told you that what you eat makes a crucial difference to the way you feel the rest of the day? And yet, according to food industry studies, more than 30 million people in the U.S. skip breakfast on a regular basis.
Now, I’m not talking about eating a breakfast of coffee and Lucky Charms (or even Whole Wheat Cheerios) or a bagel and cream cheese with a skim-milk latte. These kinds of breakfasts start your day in a deficit – you’re already giving your body too much sugar (and possibly too much caffeine) so you are bound to crash mid-morning and crave something sweet or caffeinated to perk you up.
Instead, a healthy breakfast includes unprocessed protein, fiber, and healthy carbs and fats.Protein is brain food – just what we need to start our day at school, work or running a household — and it also stabilizes blood sugar levels. Fiber supports healthy digestion, elimination and weight loss. Unrefined carbohydrates give us energy – both for our body and our brain. And healthy fats help us absorb vitamins and minerals while giving us a steady, slow-releasing source of energy. For breakfast, I like to include Omega-3 fats that help our mind and body, and that’s where this month’s Superfood comes in: Flaxseed! Read more about this brain-boosting, memory-enhancing, fiber-rich food below.
A Big Deal, Not A Big Production
Breakfast does not need to be a big production. Even if you have limited time in the morning, you can still whip up one of my fast and healthy recipes. But you’ll need a plan! Make a list of the recipe ingredients you’ll want for a week of breakfasts and buy them at the start of the week. Prepare some foods ahead of time (for example, the Quinoa for the porridge recipe below keeps for days!) And don’t be afraid to eat leftovers for breakfast.
If you feel that you’re “just not a breakfast eater” or “never hungry in the morning,” you may want to consider how late you are eating at night. You want at least two and a half hours between your last meal in the evening and the time you go to sleep so that in the morning you are ready to “break the fast.”
But maybe you need more convincing, so here are the top reasons that all of us should start our day with a healthy breakfast:
• Supports your brain function so you have greater clarity and focus.
• Promotes consistently high energy levels throughout the day (instead of being on a “rollercoaster” of energy highs and crashes)
• Helps you lose and maintain weight
• Reduces your cravings for sugar and caffeine
• Supports balanced blood sugar levels
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