Breakfast. The mother of all meals.
A healthy breakfast, as a habit, is one of the best gifts to give your little people while they're young.
To start- chuck the ceral boxes. Please. Unless you're eating Uncle Sam- and you're probably not, cuz let's face it, Uncle Sam tastes like cardboard- then your cereal isn't really worthy to break your fast.
Granola might be ok, if you've made it yourself, but the store-bought stuff, including the health food store stuff, is so sugary you might as well eat a Snickers. Seriously.
And if 'Eggo' lives in your freezer, you'll have to kick him out, too.
The truth hurts.
While oatmeal is the easiest, cheapest healthy breakfast- especially when dressed up- all oats are not created equal. Instant oats are not your friend. And old-fashioned cook just as quickly. Really they do! If you like the texture of instant, try steel-cut oats cooked overnight in the crockpot.
Try applesauce, fruit-spread, grounf flax, almond or coconut milk, chopped nuts, cinnamon, carob powder... but not all at once, he-he. Try an oatmeal sundae bar. That's always a hit around here!
Homemade whole-grain pancakes and waffles (skip the Log Cabin on top- try agave nectar, real maple syrup, or raw honey), egg anything, leftovers from last night, and smoothies (if you use a protein in it) also make healthy breakfasts. Most people do best on a protein with a high-fiber carb. A handful of raw almonds with the carb when I don't feel like making eggs usually works fine.
If you struggle with low-blood sugar, protein in the morning is very helpful. Personally, leftover chicken soup is my favorite breakfast. One suggestion from my favorite book- Fertility, Cycles, and Nutrition- is to not consume wheat at breakfast. Find another grain, since the American diet tends to be so wheat-heavy.
Oh, and no, I don't care if you're not hungry. Skipping breakfast is the best way to build up the craving to binge later in the day. And if breakfast makes you super-hungry all day, try a different breakfast. You might need more protein or more fiber, or a healthy fat.
I'd love to hear your own favorite healthy, hearty breakfast!
Tomorrow- Baby Step #3: DON"T BUY ME!!!
"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring." ~George Santayana
I love breakfast. I think breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Around here we (well me and the kids) love pouridge (oatmeal). I like to dress mine up with nuts, fruit, real maple syrup, raw honey, etc. I've never added coconut milk but I have some in my pantry I should try that! I soak ours the night before and it makes it nice and creamy.
ReplyDeleteWe also do the bread-raw honey-sliced banana and nut thing i told you about in yesterday's pot a lot. And good ol' PB & J!
when we have time I like to saute zucchini and pour egg over it or really scramble eggs with a veggie mix of any variety is good.
We do lke to eat yogurt with 'cheerios' or nuts and/or granola a lot too. (I buy the stonyfield plain whole milk yogurt usually).
I also like to try and cook up a bunch of pancakes or waffles and keep them in the freezer for the week. It really helps the rest of the week's breakfasts and snack time go better when I do that.
I like all your baby step--nice and simple and still delicious and nutritious. :)
Thanks for sharing, Erika! As my most faithful reader and commenter, I sure am rooting for you to win the glass straws!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, all, I'm not going to rig the drawing :).
Okay...I just found your blog by following the link on my BlogHer sidebar...and now you'll have a new follower. I'm very interested in nutrition!
ReplyDeleteMy fav breakfast (because I stay away from wheat/gluten and sugar is a brown rice cake (Lundberg's organic) smeared with almond butter. It's hard to find breakfast foods that are wheat-free and sugar free. I get tired of eggs and need something quick so I eat this almost every day!
Also, have you ever tried Zevia soda? I like the caffeine free cola. It's sweetened with stevia. It's still soda, but it's WAY better for you than traditional brands. My health food store sells individual cans and it's a nice indulgence every once in awhile.