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Do you have breakfast?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Do you have breakfast? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Discover some great ideas for variation, original recipes for breakfast and tips for health.

Is breakfast your indispensable first meal of the day, every day, or is it relegated to just one of the Sunday pleasures?

Congratulations if you belong to the first group, you are on the right path, and you’ll find some ideas to make your breakfast even more balanced and more fun. If you belong to the second group… wake up! Breakfast is truly your trump card in the well being game. Get up a few minutes earlier, if necessary, and make room for breakfast.

Breakfast every day

A nourishing, well balanced breakfast will let you:

Reach nutritional balance - Breakfast is one chance more to give your body the carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals it needs to keep healthy. Those who don’t skip breakfast maintain better health overall.

Achieve optimum performance, body and mind - We sleep for seven to ten hours, after a whole night without any supplies, the organism needs to replenish energy stores. The first meal has to be more than a quick coffee and a doughnut. Those who don’t do breakfast suffer an authentic low by the end of the morning. Consider you would not go without food for seven hours during the day.

Manage your weight in an intelligent way - A balanced breakfast is the best way to prevent continuous morning nibbling, a major disruption to your diet. Latest studies have hinted people having more trouble maintaining a healthy weight usually skip breakfast.

Increase your intake of essential fiber - Not only fiber eases the transit of food but can help to prevent a host of health problems. Get your fiber facts straight.

Boost your calcium intake - vital calcium for bone health.

Spend quality time with your family - Breakfast is as essential for kids or teenagers as it is for adults and everyone is usually home at that time, a feat not so easy to accomplish in the evening.

Guidelines for a basic breakfast

Breakfast does not need to be complicated. There are some basic guidelines that will ensure a good start to your day. Your daily breakfast should have some sugars as source of energy, a source of protein and a selection of vitamins and minerals to jumpstart your body in the morning.

What if I don't want to cook?
It's fine if you don't feel like cooking first thing in the morning; leave cooked breakfasts for weekends, when you are more relaxed, or have cooked breakfasts for dinner. You can get all the nourishment you need without cooking.

Where to find the right nutrients

Have some cereals – Cereals come in many shapes, not only traditional breakfast cereals, cereal may come as bread, either toast, a bagel, French baguette, country style, loaf, rye bread , or any other of the multiple types of bread. Cereal may also come as pastries, cookies, cake, pancakes, even French crepes or Indian rice pudding.

Why cereals – Cereals provide energy in the way of complex and simple sugars. Cereals also deliver fiber, vitamins of the B group and minerals.

Have fruit – Fruit in any shape, fresh or dried, and there is a wide selection: Freshly pressed juice, fruit pieces, fruit salad, compotes, smoothies… jams don’t count as a helping of fruit, but some fruit spreads could be considered.

Think of sweetening your yogurt with applesauce, or adding fresh strawberries to your bowl of cereals, of starting your day with a mango-pineapple smoothie… the choice is in your hands.

Why fruit – for the vitamins and minerals. Fruit is unbeatable as source of vitamins. It also contributes with some fiber.

Have some milk – Feel free to flavor your milk with cacao, vanilla, coffee or toasted cereals. If you don’t like milk, have yogurt, cottage, cream or plain cheese instead.

Why milk – Milk contributes with proteins, calcium and vitamins, specially A, B2 and D vitamins.

Have something to drink – it doesn’t matter if it is tea, coffee, milk, juice or simply water.

Why a drink – Your body dehydrates while you sleep and needs to restock on fluids. Weigh yourself before going to sleep and then again as soon as you wake up. The difference –2 lb is normal- is the water you lost during the night.

Your favorite complement – You could need the extra protein an egg or a slice of ham bring, or a little butter and jam to make that toast palatable. You may prefer honey to sugar or adding cinnamon to your milk; any little extra to make it more pleasurable.

Variety is the spice of breakfast

You don’t have the same lunch every day and you don't dinner daily on the same food. Same thing in the morning, thus vary your breakfast options. Alternate sweet and savory, hot and cold, shape and texture. Above all, enjoy!

Take action. From now on, start the day on the right foot. In no time at all, you’ll get used to do breakfast and feeling more energized than ever, you’ll find impossible to skip it again.