Quick & Simple Breakfast Ideas
Most of us are in a hurry in the morning, making it difficult to get a decent breakfast to help start our day on the right note. Grabbing some fruit, a bagel or muffin, plain oatmeal, or just coffee with creamer isn't going to set you up for success later on during the day. Instead, grabbing a breakfast that is PFC balanced and based around real food will help keep your blood sugar stable, thereby keeping your mood and energy stable throughout the day as well!
It's frustrating to me that so many of the "healthy" breakfast options aren't so healthy. Plain oatmeal, for instance, is basically straight carbohydrates (aka sugar) without any real boast of micronutrients. Sweetened yogurt and granola is basically a sugar bomb. Granola bars are another freak of nature by way of food manufacturers. Frozen microwave 300 calorie or less breakfast concoctions...all of these things don't help your health and are the furthest thing from healthy. You wouldn't give someone a bag of sugar for breakfast, but we'll gladly give them oatmeal or yogurt, or a low-fat muffin. Isn't basically the same thing?
Okay, done with my rant. Here are some quick and easy breakfast options to try!
1. Hard Boiled Eggs + Banana + Nuts
This is the simplest breakfast I recommend to clients. 3-4 hard boiled eggs (yes, eat that many and don't worry about cholesterol), a banana, and some sort of nut whether it be raw almonds or walnuts or almond butter. It can be easily eaten in the car or on the go.
2. Egg Bakes/Muffins
Making egg bakes that are basically eggs and vegetables ahead of time and keeping them in the freezer or in the fridge for the week is a great way to get a real food based breakfast without having to cook every morning. Here are some great recipes to get you started! Add a little avocado on top, and you are good to go!
3. Smoothies
Smoothies are tricky - they are usually loaded with lots of not-so-good items. However, they can be made healthy AND they can be made the night before and left in the fridge for the morning. Perfect!
Here's my recommendations for smoothies:
1. Pick a fat source - sugar free peanut butter or almond butter, avocado, full fat coconut milk, heavy cream, whole milk, coconut butter
2. Pick a carb source - fruit is the obvious one, but you can also add in some leafy greens or other veggies as well
3. Add a liquid plus a little ice - full fat coconut milk, water, whole milk, almond milk (one without a ton of ingredients); I would stay away from juice
You can also add protein to the smoothie. If so, I prefer Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides. Most other protein powders are from a poor source or loaded with tons of artificial ingredients. Another option would be to use plain, full fat yogurt (Greek or regular, although Greek would have more protein) to the smoothie as well. Otherwise, to get your protein with the smoothie, you can also just have some hard boiled eggs or some form of meat on the side.
4. Hashes
A hash is basically meat + veggies + fat in a pan, sauteed until everything is cooked! Preparing this ahead like the egg bakes makes it easy to reheat in the morning and eat on the go. Typically, ground beef or sausage paired with onions, peppers, mushrooms, and some form of potato or winters squash makes a great combination!
5. Leftovers
Breakfast food doesn't have to be "breakfast food." You can have leftover steak or soup or casserole for breakfast. It won't kill you, trust me. If it contains a dense source of protein, some healthy fat, and a few carbs, you'll be good to go!
6. Plain Full Fat Yogurt + Nuts + Fruit + Raw Honey (if needed)
Taking plain, full fat yogurt and adding some chopped up raw nuts and fruit of choice is another great breakfast that is quick and easy. If needed, you can also stir a little raw honey into the yogurt to help curb the taste at first, but I would recommend trying without it to start!
Starting your day off on the right foot with a balanced breakfast is the best way to start any day. Choosing real, whole food options and staying away from the not-so-great breakfast options that are so prevalent will go a long way in helping your health and energy!
xoxo Olivia
