Breakfast. When broken up, spells break fast — and that’s literally what breakfast means! It’s breaking the eight hour fast you had while you were sleeping. Despite being known as “the most important meal of the day”, many of us still end up skipping it.
So… Why is breakfast so important?
- Breakfast gets you readyfor the day ahead. It helps to restore your glucose levels. The brain needs glucose (energy) to work at its best, and breakfast replenishes it.
- Breakfast is good for the waistline. People who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight. When you skip breakfast, you are likely to feel hungry by mid-morning, which causes you to reach for high sugar and fatty snacks.
- Eating breakfast has health benefits. According to the National Health Service, “eating breakfast has long-term health benefits. It can reduce obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes”.
To reduce skipping breakfast, it is important to cultivate good breakfast habits. This can be practiced in childhood, and maintained throughout adolescence, which can then last a lifetime.
Besides eating breakfast everyday, some good breakfast habits include:
- Eating your breakfast within 2 hours of waking
- Consuming 20-35% of your recommended calorie intake during breakfast
- Having a mix of foods for your breakfast. You don’t have to have a big meal for breakfast, but you should be consuming a mix of carbohydrates, protein, fibre, and healthy fats! (This means that just eating donuts for breakfast isn’t that healthy…)
If you’re still having trouble making a quick and nutritious breakfast, here is a recipe to try:
A Cereal Killer Breakfast
– your favourite cereal (for a more nutritious breakfast, choose a whole grain!)
– 3 scoops of your favourite GoodMorning drink (VGrains, VPlus)
– 300ml of water
A. In a bowl, add 3 scoops of your favourite GoodMorning drink.
B. Add 100ml of room temperature water, and mix until the powder has dissolved and it turns into a paste.
C. Add 200ml of hot/cold water (to your preference).
D. Add in your cereal, and top your fruits!