Breakfast! It is my favorite meal. (My go-to meal when I don’t know “What’s for Dinner” is “Breakfast”.) You can be so creative in your kitchen, so instead of dreading the age-old question “What’s for Breakfast?”, be excited by all the possibilities. It’s time to break out of the breakfast slump!
Cooking breakfast does not need to be difficult, time consuming or inconvenient. Meals can be simple, delicious and satisfying.
I always challenge everyone to think about some simple meals that we can do for breakfast or plan ahead and have easy things to pull from our freezer or refrigerator. Our society now substitutes breakfast for a tall mocha latte at Starbuck’s. Many of my clients will tell me they don’t have time to eat breakfast. But we have been told our entire lives that breakfast is the most important meal? Is that true? Yes, so why is it so important?
Breakfast for our Blood Sugar and Overall Health
Breakfast means to “break your fast”.
Skipping this meal could potentially push your blood glucose higher. When you don’t eat for several hours because of sleep or other reasons, your body fuels itself on glucose released from the liver…hence your blood sugar going up.
Keeping track of your blood sugar levels is essential if you have diabetes, but it can also help you to understand how your body reacts to the foods you eat. You can easily obtain a blood glucose meter at your drugstore to check your blood sugar levels at different times throughout the day.
I suggest drinking room temperature water/hot water with lemon when you wake up. I drink both. I grab a few nuts or seeds in a bag and head out to work. If you’re drinking coffee or green tea — drink after you have the water and a bit of protein. This will help keep your sugar levels from increasing too fast in the morning (fruit will do that if you have by itself). This combination will help keep your sugar level more balanced and increase your metabolism.
Stable Energy Levels
Eating a healthy breakfast can refuel your body, and help you to eat less later in the day. When you skip, food in the morning, you are more likely to overeat later in the day. Consuming a healthy balance of carbohydrates, fat, and protein can fill you up, and satisfy your hunger.
Eating breakfast can also help to jump-start your digestive system. Consumer Reports agrees with the benefits of breakfast, stating, “Eating within 2 hours of waking can make a difference in the way you metabolize glucose, or blood sugar, all day. Your glucose level rises every time you eat, and your pancreas produces insulin to shuttle the glucose into your cells, where it’s used for energy. Research is finding that keeping glucose and insulin in the right balance has important effects on metabolism and health.”
Learning your style of planning, shopping and eating will be critical to support healthy eating.
Having Fun with Breakfast!
Have fun with creating “What’s for Breakfast?”, but also think about setting the table with beautiful flowers, plates, and napkins. Enjoy some peaceful time instead of always rushing. Enjoy the weekends to really splurge with all of this. Instead of splurging on sugary items (like waffles, pancakes covered in syrup, or sugary coffee drinks), splurge on the table, music, and a good book. Breakfast is the setting for the entire day!