I like to think of food, especially breakfast as FUEL. If I am a high-performance vehicle (a guy can pretend), I need to put high-quality fuel into my engine so I can run more efficient. If I put poor fuel into my system I will probably not run as smoothly, won’t utilize the fuel as efficiently, and probably have build up in my system. Good fuel for our body is the food that gives us positive energy, sustained energy instead of the blood sugar highs and lows, and makes our bodies feel nourished. Signs of poor fuel in our system are gas, bloating, inflammation, fatigue, hyperactivity, occasionally skin conditions, or other physical symptoms.
The hard part for most people when it comes to nutrition is knowing what to eat. The food industry has made this difficult since it is highly marketed, and they understand what “buzz words” to place on their products. Here is one of my favorite lines when it comes to thinking about food. “If your grandma’s grandma wouldn’t recognize it as food, it is probably not food.” Shopping the perimeter of a store is where you will usually find foods that are in their whole form and less likely to be processed. If you start with a whole food and add it to other whole foods, it is easy to know what ingredients are in your food.
Keep it simple
Another good tip when it comes to nutrition is to plan your meals in advance. We typically make worse choices when we don’t plan ahead and then just grab something quick. Quick meals typically equal less healthy meals.
Let’s keep this simple and start with the most important meal of the day…BREAKFAST! I will fully admit that I use to barely eat breakfast, and if I did it was cereal or something quick. Breakfast, or Break-the-fast, is a great time to put some good fuel back into our system after it has spent the night resting, repairing, and recovering from the day before. To recover it uses a lot of protein to rebuild broken down tissue.
Replenish The Body
Breakfast is a great time to replenish the body with protein, healthy fats, and typically less carbs. Most people eat carbs for breakfast (toast, cereal, bagels, fruit, etc) and have no protein or fat. Carbs break down quickly, produce a quick rush of energy (blood sugar spike), and are short lived. This leaves us with uneven energy in the morning, and typically makes us hungry earlier in the day. Protein and fat break down more slowly, are better at balancing our blood sugar, keep our energy more consistent, and keep us full longer into the morning.
Here’s my typical breakfast in the morning. I know there are protein shakes, but I like to eat my food rather than drink it. I also like a hot breakfast. This takes me about 20 minutes, and I also pack my lunch while I am cooking. Keep in mind that I have 3 little kids that I am cooking this for too every morning and can still be out the door by about 7:00 AM. If you are trying to come up with excuses why this isn’t possible…if I can do it, you can too! If you don’t like that challenge, how about the idea of just feeling better in the mornings because you are more nourished.
My Breakfast Foods
I am not that creative, so I tend to have similar breakfast food but I just add different things to it to change it up slightly. We usually try to get the foods that have minimal ingredients and are nitrate/nitrite free for meats. I usually make 4-6 eggs (PROTEIN/FAT-feeds 4), and sausage, or bacon (PROTEIN/FAT). The bacon I cook in the microwave on this fun pan we have (no smoke in the house, no grease splatter, it collects the grease under the meat, and it’s done in 5 minutes).
I add different things to the eggs such as goat cheese, ground hamburger, ground sausage, chipotle Tabasco sauce, vegetables etc. I will also cut up some apple slices, bananas, or a small cup of berries. The fruit and carbs are typically only offered after the main meal is gone. Slices of avocado are also good to start the day with due to the healthy fat. Another option would be goat yogurt with berries. Goat milk/yogurt is usually much easier for most people to digest compared to cow milk/yogurt. What are your favorite breakfast foods? Comment below and let’s share with each other our breakfast favorites!.
