What you choose to break your fast with can impact the course of your whole day.
It controls your energy levels, mood, and will influence the food choices you make later throughout your day.
So, it's important that your first meal is comprised of foods that will properly nourish you and give you the energy and nutrition your body is craving. This should look like a combination of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and/or some complex carbs.
As always, the more whole, natural foods and less processed foods, the better.
Below are the breakfast foods to ditch & what to replace with instead to jumpstart your day the right way.
Doughnuts & pastries
Big no-no. These are a recipe for weight gain and low energy levels.
They're full of sugar and pack on lots of calories.
Avoid the Starbucks croissant; Dunkin Donuts Boston Creme; Little Debbie powdered donuts; local bakery pastries—ALL OF THEM. You can do better.
Instead, replace them with a whole wheat English muffin with a tablespoon of nut butter, or some mashed avocado & an egg. That will give you way more fiber, protein, and healthy fats without all the unnecessary sugars and calories. And, you'll stay fuller for way longer.
Sugary breakfast cereals
Many of us grew up eating cereal for breakfast, and most of us *including our parents* were taught that it was a healthy breakfast option.
...Wrong.
That is, if you're having the sugary, nostalgic cereals, like Fruit Loops, Cap'n Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, etc. Not only are they full of sugar and artificial colors & flavors, we also tend to eat way more than one serving.
Don't be fooled by marketing nonsense like the "whole grains" stamp on a box of cereal and just assume that means it's a healthy option. Look at the ingredients and make sure that sugar isn't one of the first ingredients listed.
Replace the childhood cereals with options that offer 5g or more fiber per serving and 10g or less sugar.
Better cereal options would be Kashi Whole Grain Puffs or Nature Path's SmartBran.
Healthy Hack: downsize your cereal portion and replace with some nonfat, plain Greek yogurt to give you a protein boost.
Flavored yogurt & granola
Flavored yogurts are almost always full of refined sugar; same goes for most store-bought granola. Don't be fooled by 'light & fit', or low-fat yogurt options.
Replace with plain Greek yogurt with some fresh fruit, like raspberries, some cinnamon to add flavor, and some chia seeds for fiber. That's a great breakfast option that gives you protein, fiber, and healthy fat. A recipe to kickstart your day!
White bagel with cream cheese or butter
We love a bagel on the go, but the ones we get at a deli or pop in the toaster and smother with cream cheese, butter, or Jiff pack on tons of calories and refined carbs. Not good.
Instead, choose a whole grain bagel that provides you with some fiber and consider downsizing your portion by having just half of the bagel and replacing the other half with something healthy & filling like an egg, some cottage cheese, a little mashed avocado, etc.
Crowd out the 'bad' with the good!
Pancakes & Waffles
Move over, Aunt Jemima.
Store-bought pancake and waffle mixes tend to be made from bleached flour, sugar, etc. And then we top them off by smothering on the butter and drowning them in sugar-filled syrups. Another recipe for weight gain.
Replace those by making your own pancakes/waffles from scratch.
You can find tons of recipes online, but all you have to do is combine some oats, egg, (or chia-egg or unsweetened apple sauce for vegan options), banana, maybe even a **clean* protein powder. Blend it all together, cook on the stove just like any other pancake/waffle mix and you'll have yourself a much more nutritious and protein-packed hotcake option!
As for the butter & syrup replacement, top your pancakes or waffles with some Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, or a little nut butter drizzle.
Tip: If you love Eggo Waffles and hate the idea of giving them up, try Kashi 7 Grain Frozen Waffles instead. A much more nutritious option, loaded with fiber, that doesn't compromise taste!
I hope that if you spot your go-to breakfast on this list, that you rethink your morning fuel & replace it with a more nutritious, satiating option!
xo Mackenzie.