How To Create A Healthy Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is the time when you are breaking the fast your body has been going through during sleep, and revitalizing your brain for the day ahead. Eating breakfast can keep you alert throughout the morning and regulate your metabolism. This will help to keep you from overeating during the rest of the day. Breakfast also keeps your body out of starvation mode. Starvation mode can lead to weight gain because your body is trying to save every calorie you eat. Breakfast does not have to be a difficult endeavor. Follow these steps for easy weekday breakfasts.

Meal planning is the most important concept to getting a healthy breakfast on the table fast. It is important to sit down and plan out what you will eat during the week. Avoid fast food breakfasts as they will lead to weight gain, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It is a much healthier idea to make your own healthy breakfast. Think about the week ahead and what kind of breakfast you would like to eat. This is the time to get ingredients for simple but healthy high fiber muffins or breakfast scones. Make the muffins/scones on a weekend when you have more time. Bake and cool completely then place them into a freezer bag or freezable container. When you would like to eat one, take it out of the freezer bag/container and microwave for about 15-20 seconds. For something more substantial, you can even make pancakes or waffles. Mix up your favorite high fiber pancake/waffle recipe and cook according to the recipe. Once cooked, cool completely and place into a freezer bag or freezable container. When you need your breakfast, take out how many pancakes/waffles you want to eat and reheat in the toaster or toaster oven. Each of these items freeze perfectly until you want to take one or two during the week.

Another healthy breakfast idea is eggs. Not only are eggs cheap but they are quick cooking and filled with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Eggs are not the demons they once were but you do need to keep your consumption of eggs down to about 1 to 2 a week or less. Eggs still are a high calories food and contain some saturated fat.  A great way to use eggs is to make a vegetable omelet or frittata. Take any leftover vegetable you have in the refrigerator (you can also use a frozen vegetable mix with no sauce) and put then into a hot sauté pan. Cover the vegetables with two beaten eggs and scramble until eggs are firm and vegetables are hot. You could also serve this with two defrosted pancakes or a muffin.

Smoothies are another great breakfast option and they are so simple to prepare. Simply mix you favorite frozen or fresh fruit into a blender with some vanilla (or another flavor) low fat yogurt, add a little flaxseed meal and blend. You can drink alone or have with a defrosted scone. You can also make this mixture ahead and either keep it in the refrigerator or freeze to use later in the week. There are so many combinations that the possibilities are endless.

One of the most important aspects of any meal planning is to have a good source of recipes. There are many website online that have hundreds, even thousands, of recipes. These recipes will help you cook/bake healthy breakfast foods fast. There are also many cookbooks and cooking magazines at your local library that have a wealth of great recipes that will meet your needs. Using these techniques it is no longer too easy to skip breakfast.

Healthy Action Step: Aim to eat breakfast at least three times a week.

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