How to make a great breakfast. Begin your day with important nutrients such as calcium, iron, vitamin B and protein. You will need fiber to get your digestive track off to a good start. The right foods will curb your appetite.
A great start to your day can help with weight loss. Don’t wait until you feel famished and make poor food choices in the mid-morning. A healthy protein will go a long way to keep you from that mid-morning slump.
Breakfast for School Children
School children that come to school without breakfast find it hard to concentrate. Having a good breakfast stimulates the brain and makes it easier to focus and process information.
Many school districts have adopted breakfast programs to make sure that children do not begin the school-day with an empty stomach
What is a Healthy Breakfast?
A healthy, nutritious breakfast is made from these five food groups: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy. Include protein from foods like eggs, nuts and beans or seeds and yogurt (check the label on the yogurt container to see that it does not contain a lot of added sugar).
How to Make a Great Breakfast – My Plate
My Plate is the current nutrition guide put out by the USDA Center for Nutrition, created to make healthy eating simpler for the average person. The idea was to go by the size of your plate.
Divide your plate into 4 sections, you should place 30 percent of your plate with grains, 40 percent of your plate with vegetables, 10 percent of your plate with fruit and 20 percent of your plate with protein. At the side of your plate place a dairy product, such as a glass of milk or a yogurt cup.
Healthy Breakfast Foods
Bananas
Bananas are a high fiber, natural sweetness food that are full of potassium. They curb cravings and help you feel full longer. By topping yogurt or cooked cereals with a banana or by eating one alone as a fruit, you will get the natural goodness of the banana.
Berries
Berries are high in nutrients and low in calories. They are packed with antioxidants which help protect your heart and your brain. Berries reduce markers of inflammation, and keep the cells lining your blood vessels healthy. What a great way to eat and stay young!
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds can be a thickener to make healthy, homemade puddings. Rich in protein, they are high in fiber and can absorb liquid to form a gel. This expands in your stomach to help keep you feeling full longer. Chia seeds increase weight loss by reducing appetite and stabilize blood sugar levels.
Eggs
Eggs are rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals. A study of 152 adults found that by replacing a bagel with a breakfast with eggs resulted in 65% more adults losing weight and 34% in the study decreased the size of their waist over an eight-week period.
Flaxseed
Flaxseed is high in soluble fiber and increases feelings of fullness and reduce appetite. It assists in regularity.
Green Tea
There are limitless ways to enjoy green tea. With a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of honey or brewed with ginger or mint, it makes a great beverage. In a small study it was shown that green tea, enjoyed three times a day for three days increases your metabolism. In the study, the number of calories burnt per day was increased by 106 calories.
Kiwi
It is high in vitamin C, vitamin K and potassium, and can be added to smoothies, yogurt, or oatmeal.
Nuts
Nuts are naturally high in fiber, protein, and are healthy fats. Studies show that adding nuts to your diet may increase weight loss if you don’t over-do it! They are calorie dense.
According to the USDA, about 14 raw almonds contain 100 calories., so go easy on them! In a 14-almond serving, you will get approximately 9 grams of fat, 4 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is high in fiber and protein and low in calories. Many people make oatmeal the foundation of their daily breakfast.
Wheat Germ
Wheat germ is the center of a grain of wheat. It is full of nutrients and helps stabilize blood sugar levels. Topping oatmeal or yogurt with wheat germ is a great way to add a concentrated number of vitamins and minerals to your diet. This includes manganese, thiamine, and selenium.
Yogurt
One study was done of 8,516 men and women. Those who included fruit in their diet and had yogurt 7 times a week, had a lower body mass index (bmi) than the others in the study.
Smoothies
Smoothies are a quick and easy way to customize your breakfast and add lots of nutrients to your diet. You can add yogurt, veggies, and low-calorie fruit to your smoothies. Some people like nuts and seeds added to their smoothies as well.
There are many options as to what you can put into your smoothie. Be careful that you don’t end up with more calories than you anticipated! Adding protein powder and nuts and seeds can easily increase your calorie intake substantially.
Intermittent Fasting and Breakfast
Intermittent fasting (IF) has become a popular topic recently and there are some who would like to follow this eating plan. Some feel intermittent fasting helps them lower their A1C levels.
If you eat your last meal of the day around 4 p.m. and eat breakfast at 8 a.m. you would have a 16-hour window of fasting.
Allow a 4-hour gap from the last meal of the day and bedtime. If you ate supper at 6 p.m. and went to bed at 10 p.m. you could eat at 10 a.m. in the morning and have your 16-hour of fasting.
How to Make Breakfast Appealing – 5 Fun Breakfasts
1. Make a breakfast taco
2. Use your cupcake tin to make petite vegetable frittatas
3. Put sausage and egg on a pizza
4. Make your own panini in a traditional toaster oven or in a panini maker
5. Try peanut butter, banana, and raisins in a whole-grain bun
Quick Flexible Breakfast Options – Grab and Go Breakfasts
1. Prepare for the morning rush. Some make ahead breakfasts could be veggie and egg muffins; or pop some healthy egg muffin cups into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Pair fruit with eggs, cheese, or Greek yogurt for a healthy breakfast.
3. Cottage cheese and fruit is another quick and easy breakfast option.
4. Make breakfast in a jar by layering oatmeal, some kind of milk and your favorite toppings in a small Mason jar. You could add yogurt and fruit. Refrigerate overnight. The milk will soak into the oatmeal. Grab it to take a delicious cereal with you in the morning.
5. Pack protein snacks into small plastic containers. Nuts or hard-boiled eggs and cheese are good choices. You could add vegetable sticks of celery, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower to round out your breakfast.
Non-traditional Breakfasts
Make a non-traditional breakfast from last night’s leftovers. You could make a casserole from hash browns, eggs, and sausage, and pop it in the oven. Or why not try a breakfast pizza as a treat?
Foods to Avoid in the Morning
• Toaster Pastries have lots of fat, sodium, sugar, and calories. They contain little fiber and protein for the number of calories and fat they have in them, making them a poor choice for a healthy breakfast. There are some healthy homemade varieties that you can try if you want to try your hand at creating your own.
• Toast and margarine may be a quick and easy breakfast. By adding a healthy nut butter as a topping it becomes a healthier option.
• Sugared breakfast cereals are full of empty calories and little or no fiber. That makes them a poor choice.
• Fruit Juice often contains little juice and is sweetened with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. This provides a lot of calories for very few nutrients.
What to Do If You Cannot Face Food in the Morning
First thing in the morning, food may not be your thing. Pack a healthy snack to take with you. When your blood sugar runs low, you will need a pick-me-up before lunch. Pack a snack. It will give you great energy, stable blood sugar levels, and give you good appetite control.
A healthy breakfast sets your day up for you to have great energy, stable blood sugar levels, and good appetite control. It improves your metabolism and provides beneficial nutrients to your day.
If you know how to make a great breakfast you will have plenty of energy to get through the day. A great breakfast improves concentration and memory. Stay on top of your day by eating a healthy breakfast.
Please Leave a Comment
I love to hear from each one of you. Tell me what type of breakfast you and your family enjoys on rushed weekday mornings. What about lazy weekends? Any special treats?
Disclaimer: If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. No content on this site should be substituted for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare practitioner. The information contained here is for informational purposes only. It is from my research and personal experience.
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I’ll admit I love toast, but wholegrain gluten-free no butter I love peanut butter no salt. I love your article. I consider breakfast as the comfort food but healthier, and sometimes I fast, so I have late breakfast. At heart, I’m a coffee and gluten-free bagels kind of dude, but love chia seed pudding previously had never thought of this as like a get-up and go breaky food so I’ll give that a go. I still love porridge as a breaky, but it does slow you down, I know there are better alternatives as I think dense gluten type foods effect myself and your post got me thinking.
Many Blessings
Hi and thanks for stopping by with a comment! It makes life interesting to add variety to your food. There are lots of healthy choices available. As close to nature as possible is usually the best way to go. Processing destroys so much of the goodness of our food.
Stay safe, and all the best!
Thanks for an authoritative explanation of what makes a good breakfast. I have long found that oatmeal is an excellent and satisfying way to start the day and I particularly love adding nuts and sliced banana. We had been buying I suppose what would be called regular oatmeal and for our daughter instant oatmeal. Then recently my spouse bought plain simple oatmeal that has a 30 minute cooking time and no short cuts. I have been treating myself to this every weekend and the taste and texture is vastly superior to the quick cook variety. It is good to know that this is based on solid nutritional science. Best regards, Andy
Hi Andy, thanks for stopping by with a comment! Oatmeal is a whole food that has long been a staple breakfast cereal. It sticks to the ribs and is good for regularity. Fruit with oatmeal is always a nice addition. It is what a great way to start good eating habits for the entire family.
All the best!
Hello; Your breakfast health guide is fantastic! I use some of these nutrients in my breakfast sometimes. What is the standard time for breakfast? The night fast is a computer fast for many people who do not eat after six p.m. but breakfast time is only real when some family members go to work or school.
We often mistreat our bodies when we work from home without having a helper in the house to fix breakfast. Work many times takes precedent over mealtime. Thanks for the breakfast tutorial
DorcasW
Hi Dorcas, thanks for stopping by with a comment! Breakfast time needs to fit each individual person’s time-clock. If you work an early shift, you will need to eat earlier than some one who works an afternoon or evening shift. If you are trying to follow the intermittent fasting diet, you can adjust it to fit you and your family’s needs. You need healthy food to keep you going while you work, and you need to adjust that time to suit your needs for the best time.
Quite amazing tips you have here on how to make a quick, great breakfast,,, breakfast being the first and most important meal of the day is one that is not supposed to be skipped. It places a vital role in building us up and helping us perform all that is needed for today..I do really love to take fruit in the morning as my breakfast so fruit do a lot of body building and I enjoy it..
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Evans and thanks for stopping by with a comment! I am glad you benefited from the tips that I gave in the post. Fruit is a natural, whole food and is great way to nourish the body/!
Hello there, This is an amazing article that you have got here. I enjoyed going through this article in your website. I felt the urge to undergo some cooking process immediately. Your post is well detailed and filled with lots of information that is just too exceptional. I am glad I stumbled onto this post on your website.
Hi and thanks for stopping by with a comment! I tried to give a variety of suggestions for many different appetites in this post. With a little extra preparation the night before or by getting up 10 minutes earlier, you can enjoy a healthy breakfast!
Great topic to get me on the go with the best healthy looking breakfast ever. It makes me feel hungry, even though I am not. No question, but excellent topic loaded with valuable information on keeping your day in an energetic healthy mode with the right products that can give you all the vitamins, protein, minerals, and nutrients.
I love eating, so this is a welcoming topic for me, and I am also gaining more knowledge from this topic. I am at the present time watching my morning intake where I am eliminating my pastries eating habit that has lots of fat, sodium, sugar, and calories. I know these choices taste good, but are not good for my health. I found out the hard way, now I am learning how to take care of my health better, engaging in the healthiest choices of morning, noon and evening preparation of meal consist with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, that has nutritional.
Hi, and thanks for stopping by with a comment! A healthy breakfast provides us with a good start, with adequate vitamins and minerals. It give us a welcome nudge in the right direction. Highly refined fat and sugar products give us quick energy, but rob us of long term benefits that whole foods provide.