Sure, you’ve started waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual, just so you can eat breakfast before going to work or drop the kids off to school. That’s one hurdle crossed!
Next up, the challenge is to really look into what exactly is going on your breakfast plate or bowl, so you don’t get the hunger pangs an hour after your first meal.
Breakfast is supposed to be the biggest and most nutritious meal of the day. It literally breaks the fast that you’ve been involuntarily keeping overnight, so you’re preparing your body, muscles and mind for a productive, healthy day.
How agonising would it be to find yourself running to the vending machine way before mid-morning snack time? And this is only to be blamed on bad breakfast choices.
Here are five perfectly healthy breakfasts that are useless in the hunger-fulfilment department, and perhaps you should avoid them if you suffer from snack attack around 10am.
- Wholegrain granola with skim milk and fruit: Technically this is a gold star meal where you’re getting the right amount of complex carbohydrates, protein and fibre, all in a bowl. But it’s likely to be really low in calories and not have enough protein to keep you going all morning. Replace milk with greek yoghurt, add raw nuts and seeds and some flaxseed oil to the mix, so the protein and good fat levels increase.
- Wholegrain pancakes with agave syrup: Everything about this meal is all tick on paper, but it won’t keep you going for longer than an hour. The simple carbohydrates from the whole wheat pancakes will break down in your body super quick and make you want to crave something more substantial. Try making the pancake with part almond, coconut or quinoa flour – all really high in protein and fibre – mixed in with the whole grain flour. For the topping on the pancake, spread unsalted peanut butter or fresh berries and bananas, which are much healthier alternatives to agave syrup.
- Cup of yoghurt and a banana: Have no time, so you go for the value deal of a small tub of flavoured yoghurt with a fruit for your morning fuel. The problem here is that the simple carbohydrates in the yoghurt will quickly absorb and digest in your body and leave you hungry. Substitute it with natural greek yoghurt which has more protein and less carbs than the regular kind, hence more satisfying.
- Store-bought breakfast muesli bars: They might be sold as value packs with the tagline of providing all nutrients within a bite-size bar, but these muesli blocks have more sugar in them than fibre, protein or good fats. Don’t fall in the trap of grab n’ go with these, instead have a proper bowl of muesli with yoghurt and fresh fruit instead.
- Wholewheat toast with vegemite: An Aussie ritual indeed, but little does this carb and yeast full snack does to satisfy the morning hunger. Your morning toast needs a topping that’s high in protein and good fats so it can keep the hunger at bay for long. Swap the vegemite for avocado; each half will give you two grams of protein and more than 10 grams of healthy fats.
Which of these breakfast mistakes are you currently committing? What are you going to replace it with now?
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