How to Add a Healthy Breakfast to Your Morning Routine

Start your day with a nutritious breakfast you’ll be excited to eat every morning

How to create a healthy breakfast

Why is a healthy breakfast so important?

The phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” isn’t just something our parents made up to get you to finish your eggs. Yes, breakfast is actually important. A healthy, satisfying breakfast is the best way to start the day, breaking the overnight fast and activating the metabolism, boosting energy levels and alertness. 

So, is skipping breakfast bad for you?

We have this idea that skipping meals helps lose weight, but skipping breakfast can actually lead to unintentional weight gain. When you skip breakfast it’s common to experience ravenous hunger during lunch and eat a large amount of food in a short period of time. Skipping breakfast often leads to late night binge eating. Aside from weight gain concerns, skipping breakfast can leave you feeling cranky, sluggish, distracted and hinder your ability to be productive.

Five tips to avoid skipping breakfast:

Breakfast is easy to forget about, especially when you’re busy getting ready for the day and don’t have a plan. You might not feel hungry at the moment or distracted by the morning rush. Unfortunately this creates the vicious cycle of skipping breakfast, getting extremely hungry later in the day, binge eating late at night, and waking up full, just to skip breakfast again. Break this bad habit and kickstart your metabolism with a healthy breakfast using the mindful meal planning tactics below.

1. Ask yourself: what do you enjoy eating in the morning?

We tend to focus on what we think we should be eating and forget to remember food is not only about fuel, it’s also about satisfaction. It’s hard to maintain a healthy diet if you don’t choose foods you genuinely enjoy. Our food choices should be based on personal preference, not what a diet is telling us.

Do you prefer refreshing and hydrating foods like juices, smoothies and yogurt? Something hearty and filling, or savory and sweet? Listen to your body and honor what you’re craving. If you find you struggle with honoring or trusting your body signals, working with a dietitian can help you discover your balance.

2. Start small

In order to change your habits, it’s important to take things one simple step at a time. Start by trying to add in nutrient rich foods. Adding milk into coffee boosts your intake protein, calcium, and phosphorus with every sip. Blending a fruit smoothie or grabbing a fruit cup are small steps you can take to add a wide range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

3. Meal plan ahead

Once you decide what will be satisfying to eat for breakfast, take inventory of what you already have available and make a list of all the ingredients you will need to buy for the week. Do the necessary meal prep to make things a little easier during hectic morning rushes. For example, pre-slice and wash fruit, prepare overnight oats or prepare a veggie fritata or egg bakes to reheat the next morning.

4. Make it easy

If you're typically in a rush to get out the door in the morning, don't make things complicated. Simple meal ideas like peanut butter on toast, yogurt with fruit and granola, or fiber packed cereal or oatmeal, get you the nutrients and energy you need in minimal time without major clean up. No need to follow complicated recipes or lengthy wait times. Keeping it simple gives us a better chance of creating the time you need to eat a healthy breakfast.

5. Develop a morning routine

Set aside 15 to 20 minutes each morning and allow yourself time for breakfast, even if it means waking up a little earlier. Get into the habit of meal prepping ahead at a more convenient time, like the night before. Getting into a solid meal planning and prep routine can help you avoid skipping the most important meal of the day and put an end to late night binge eating.

Write out your ideal morning routine and put an event in your calendar to designate a specific time slot for your routine. Be sure to reevaluate how well your morning routine is working out for you after a few attempts. Readjust accordingly until you figure out a healthy morning routine that works best for you.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas to Start the Day:

A typical breakfast I see a lot of people consuming is often carbohydrate heavy, for example, bagels, waffles, pancakes, and muffins. Although there is nothing wrong with these foods, when our breakfast is not properly balanced it often does not leave us satisfied and it’s likely you’ll experience an energy crash later in the day.

Creating a healthy, balanced breakfast includes three main nutrient components:

1. Complex Carbohydrates (i.e. grains, oats, fruit, whole grains)

2. Proteins (i.e. egg, milk, yogurt, peanut butter)

3. Healthy fats (i.e. avocado, olive oil, nuts)

So it’s not about eliminating your carbohydrate intake, but instead adding in more protein and healthy fats to balance your breakfast. Protein and healthy fats like peanut butter, milk and eggs keep you feeling fuller longer and prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes.

Here are some simple ideas to get you started:

• Whole wheat toast with with peanut butter and banana

• Oatmeal topped with fruit and peanut butter

• Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola

• Fruit smoothie made with yogurt and milk

• Whole wheat toast with avocado and hard boiled egg

For a complete food lists to create your own balance breakfast download my free Mindful Meal Planning guide here.

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