Benefits of Breakfast

Benefits of Breakfast

Do you eat breakfast? If you care about your health, or want to lose weight then you should. Having a healthy breakfast improves concentration and performance, provides energy for physical activities, is a major contributor to daily nutrient intake and has been linked to lower levels of cholesterol. Breakfast eaters also tend to have a lower BMI (body mass index i.e. weight for height) as well as improved blood glucose levels over the course of the day.



Dorset Cereals sent me a selection of their products (above). They believe in natural goodness and enjoying a healthy lifestyle.. their website is packed with healthy tips! [click here] for a visit :)

Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, and if you're looking for more reasons to 'break- the over night -fast' then look no further than the National Weight Control Registry: NWCR. The NWCR is a large database of information gathered from people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least a year. Most of the members report maintaining a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity, with 80% of the members reporting to eat breakfast every day.

A 45g serving of muesli with baked chopped apple & skimmed milk *yum*

I often hear 'I don't have time for breakfast', but grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl takes literally 2 seconds .. or surely getting up 5-10 minutes earlier to have a bowl of cereal is worth it for the benefits?! Some people report nausea first thing in a morning, so why not start with something small, such as a cereal bar or a glass of fruit juice - anything to kick start your metabolism and get your body burning calories. For those who like to 'save' calories, an average bowl of cereal and milk is typically less than 200 calories.. which can easily be exceeded by a high-fat mid morning snack (due to that hungry trip to the vending machine).

Research has shown that including protein at breakfast time helps people to stay fuller for longer.. so don't forget your low-fat milk or fat-free natural/Greek yoghurt on your cereal or in your smoothie, or have eggs on toast.

Adding milk or natural yoghurt to your smoothie increases the protein & fullness factor

A balanced breakfast is one that contains a mix of food groups: carbohydrates, protein/dairy and fruit/veg.. Try any one of the following low glycaemic (release their energy slowly over the morning) suggestions:

- Porridge topped with chopped banana or strawberries & cinnamon

- Overnight oats with blueberries & poppy seeds

*Top Tip* - If you struggle with portion control with oatmeal/porridge then why not buy the packets that are already weighed out for you. My personal favourite is Dorset Cereals Porridge with zingy cranberries & raspberries (50g servings).

- Oat bran & raisin muffin

- Fruit smoothie & oat cakes

- Fruit based muesli and milk or natural yoghurt: my personal favourite is 'Perfectly Balanced' - as it's nearly HALF fruit!

- Reduced sugar apricot jam on granary toast & a sliced peach/nectarine

- Wholegrain cereal with milk & a glass of fresh orange juice

- Homemade granola fruit pots

And for when you have more time...

- Scrambled egg, smoked salmon on rye bread

- Oat & blueberry pancakes (protein pancakes!)

- Kedgeree with grilled mushrooms & tomatoes on wholegrain toast
 

Oat & Blueberry Pancakes



So I guess the only question left to ask is.. what's for breakfast?! Have a great week everyone!

 

Nic x

P.s I just wanted to end with a little comment about the programme 'The men who made us fat' ... Episode 3 was shown last week on the BBC. Although the programme had some very good messages e.g. that just because a food is labelled healthy doesn't mean that we can eat as much as we want of it without piling on the pounds, I also feel it had some rather misleading messages, particularly at the beginning..

The presenter started by comparing the calories in a can of Coke with an Innocent Smoothie.. as though calories were some evil substance that we should not consume! Just for the record, a smoothie is a perfectly healthy start to the day (and a can of Coke is not) .. a smoothie contains vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fibre.. a can of coke does not. I know where I'd like to spend my daily calories! We should count the nutritional content of food/drink.. not just calories.

The show then went on to point out that there is more saturated fat in Dorset Cereal's Granola than Weetabix.. after looking into this, Dorset Cereal's is not indeed a 'high' sat fat food and contains a lot higher healthy fats and less salt! - hardly looking at the full picture!

I guess what I am trying to say is to be aware of 'media sensationalism' and to research the facts before making up your mind about a food. No food is good or bad, it's the amount of the food that we eat that matters!