A nutritious breakfast can provide long-lasting energy to keep you full for hours. A good breakfast is typically high in fibre, protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals.
We are often shown marketing of what a well-balanced breakfast should look like...
For example: The Kellogg's Cornflakes television advertisement for decades, of ice cold milk being poured over the Cornflakes with-in the bowl, and the person scooping up the Cornflakes to their mouth, then eating them and hearing them crunching as they are being eaten.
But are cereals, pastries, confectionaries and batter-based traditional breakfasts as Marketing leads us to believe a 'Well Balanced Breakfast.'
In fact these processed carbohydrates and sugars cause our blood sugars and insulin levels to rise quickly, and then fall quickly too, often with-in a couple of hours, causing us to crave more food to sustain our energy, concentration, mood...
I know most of you smile at my breakfasts... Curry, Soup, meals others often have as lunch or tea, and that I eat cereals for lunch or tea occasionally.
Following basic healthy eating guides using single ingredient foods rather than processed foods. i.e. fruit, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins which are much healthier for our health and well-being. To follow this advice for the first meal to break the fast i.e. breakfast, will sustain us for much longer without causing our blood sugars and insulin levels to rise quickly in fact they support blood sugar and insulin maintenance.
We should still have cereals if we enjoy them, however later in the day, and maybe consider chosing wholegrain options i.e. Oats, Granola made with whole grains, nuts and seeds without added sugar.
Enhancing the cereal with proteins i.e. Milk, Greek Yogurt, Nuts and Seeds, and whole carbohydrates i.e. Fruit both fresh and frozen.
There are many ways we can build healthy breakfasts. The key is to think outside traditional cereals, pastries, confectionaries and batter-based foods, and choose options that are well-balanced and add nutrients to your day.
Resources: