One of the meals clients seem to have the most trouble with is breakfast. Whether it’s a lack of hunger, lack of time, or lack of motivation or inspiration, breakfast is the meal the is often skipped or given little attention. Breakfast, however, helps set the tone for the entire day. This is your first opportunity to start fueling your body, to begin meeting all of your nutrient needs for the day. If you skip it or don’t give it the attention it deserves, you force yourself to make up the difference in the two remaining meals, making meeting your needs even harder, especially because you’re likely to be hungry!
So, here are some ideas to spice up your breakfast and get your day off to a proper start.
1) Smoothies – smoothies in and of themselves are great, but sometimes take a bit too much planning or thought early in the morning. CoreLife offers a great shake powder that can be a perfect base to a breakfast smoothie. On it’s own, the meal replacement pack only offers about 100 calories, which is fine for a snack, but not for a meal. To make it meet your meal needs, consider one of the following additions:
– use milk instead of water and add some fruit
– add nut or peanut butter and some fruit
– add some avocado (trust me! It’ll make the shake creamy and rich, and add some incredibly healthy fat!)
– hemp seeds and fruit
-chia or flax seeds
**baby spinach can ALWAYS be added to boost nutrition, get in a veggie serving, and not affect the taste one bit!
2) Toast – this is a super easy option, but not very nutritious or nutrient dense. Try spicing things up with one of these options:
-mashed avocado with salt, pepper, and a few drips of lemon juice
– hummus with cucumber slices and a little pepper for a more savory option
– peanut/nut butter with banana slices and cinnamon or strawberry slices
-scrambled egg with pepper slices
**boost the nutrition further by using Ezekiel bread!
3) Oatmeal – consider making a big batch at the beginning of the week and simply portioning it out and heating each morning. Alternatively, you can try overnight oats (oats soaked with milk and mashed banana overnight and eaten – no need to cook!) and then add…
-peanut/nut butter and some banana slices
-chia seeds or ground flax with blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup
-coconut oil and raisins with a good dash of cinnamon
-chopped walnuts and fresh berries
4) Fruit – fruit is always a good addition to your day, but in and of itself, is insufficient to count as a meal or a snack! Try adding these options to a piece of fruit to make a complete, nutritious meal.
-a handful of almonds or walnuts
-a couple tablespoons of peanut or nut butter
-cheese (for a more savory option)
-whole milk greek yogurt with chia seeds
-a hard boiled egg
5) Yogurt – often in a nice single serve container, this is a simple go-to for many in the morning. However, those single servings are typically only about 100 calories, no where near the 300 calorie needs of a “meal”. But, with a few simple additions, that can easily be remedied:
-a few tablespoons of chopped nuts and fresh fruit
-chia seeds or flax seeds with berries
-hemp seeds and fresh fruit
-nut butter/peanut butter and cinnamon
**be sure to use at least 2% fat yogurt and choose PLAIN to avoid unnecessary added sugar; you can add a bit of maple syrup or honey to sweeten, or just fresh fruit
For more ideas to improve your current choices and get the most from your mealtimes, come visit us at CoreLife.
Aubrey Phelps MS RDN LDN
