Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day not only because of timing but also due to the act that it gives us fuel to carry on our daily chores, think , act & do all sort of physical movement. So what food items should be part of your diet & in what quantity? Should bacon be part of your breakfast? Should you consume bagel with cheese? Should you have white bread?
Let’s dig into this in detail.
We need to make sure that we should have macro-nutrient balance consisting of right amount of fat, carbs & protein since we receive calories from these macro-nutrients. Protein helps in muscle recovery & repair, carbohydrates gives us fuel & fats stimulate growth & development. Vitamins, minerals, water & other micro-nutrients helps in body functioning. However, these macro-nutrients does not provide energy or aids in weight management.
Ideally the meal has to be balanced between these macro-nutrients. It is essential to understand that consuming dietary fat does not increase your body fat. It is consuming any of the 3 macro-nutrients in excess that leads to fat gain. Your body loves having a balance, calorie consumption = calorie burn which promotes weight maintenance.
Most of us on the name of consuming protein have egg omelette or bacon fried in refined /canola oil which is high in saturated fat & increases your body fat. Having a one to two serving of unsweetened butter either mixed in your smoothie or spread on multigrain bread or cooking egg while omelette in olive oil/rapeseed oil is a good way to consume healthy fat.
On the other hand having white bread of bagel along with creamy cheese would provide source of energy for your body. However body uses some of it as fuel & rest is stored as fat in the body. Unless you are burning it through mild walk or some sort of physical activity to burn it, consuming simple carbs can increase your body fat. The best time to consume carb is post workout since it replenishes the glycogen stores depleted during workout.
So your diet should have keep your heart healthy & at the same feed your cells with carbs your body needs( not in excess).
How to prepare the right breakfast?
Choose a whole grain & high fibre( part of plant we do not digest) carbohydrates that keeps you full for a longer period of time. The best is to have white oats or multigrain bread( or brown high fibre bread). Such food components keep your blood sugar level stable, lowers cholesterol & regulates blood pressure.
For fat, select source of unsaturated( poly or mono) fat which is also high in protein is the best way to keep your heart healthy & also results in muscle recovery at the same time.
A perfect breakfast could include- boiled egg white, Banana Shake & multigrain bread tossed up with unsweetened natural peanut butter( 1 to 2 servings).
The following alternatives are good to go for a healthy breakfast:
High fibre carbs( at least 3 gram fibre)
- 1 cut white oats
- 2 small tortillas (whole wheat) /2 multigrain(whole wheat) bread
- 3 to 4 low GI digestive whole wheat cookies
- Veggies- Tomato, Onion, Capsicum, Spinach, Zucchini
- Fresh berries coupled with honey.
Lean Protein( atleast 5 gram protein)
- 6 oz low fat greek yoghurt
- 2 servings( table spoon) of peanut/almond butter- This is a good source of fat as well
- 2 Oz canned chicken or tuna/baked beans
- 2 Oz of smoked salmon- a good source of healthy fat as well
- Egg whites/Bacon
Healthy fats
- Chia Seeds
- Peanut butter
- Almonds
- Olive oil used for cooking Omelette or bacon
- Avocados
