Get the best start to your day with these balanced breakfast ideas
I am a firm believer of breakfast being the most important meal of the day. Your body has effectively been fasting while you slept and is now in need of some essential nutrients, to give you the energy you need to keep you going throughout the day. But, if you find yourself reaching for the toast or the sugary cereal every morning, or you skip it completely, then you’re not doing yourself any favours.
So how do I get a balanced breakfast? To help you, I’ve done a simplistic matrix showing the key nutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) that you need in your meal and now you just need to take one from each line for your balanced meal. See what different combos you can make! :-)
Some ideas for mixing and matching
Eggs, toast and avocado: low GI wholegrains give a slow release of energy, keeping you fuller for longer. Pair this with some smashed avocado for essential fatty acids and a poached/scrambled egg to top it off.
Overnight oats: mix oats with almond milk and leave in fridge overnight, then top with your choice of seeds when ready to eat. I often pop some berries on there for a boost of antioxidants too
Parfait: mix a plain Greek yoghurt with fruit and top with some sliced almonds. Check label when buying ‘low-fat’ as some yoghurts add extra sugar to make up for the loss in taste from the fat.
Chia pud: another one requiring overnight prep, mix the chia seeds with almond milk. The chia seeds expand by soaking up the milk, to make a more gloopy texture. Top with berries of your choice.
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Obviously some of these foods slot into more than one category, but thinking about it in this simplistic manner just shows you the main things to add into your meal to give you the most energising start to the day.
What do you have for breakfast? Let me know what kick starts your day.
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