Throughout the years, my breakfast consisted out of two slices of toast with hazelnut/chocolate spread, jam, cheese or cereals with milk. When I was younger I was used to drinking a glass of milk alongside with my breakfast, but the older I grew the more did I start to replace the milk with tea. Over all the years, I never spent many thoughts on how to “optimize” my breakfast and on how to get a kick-start in the morning through the breakfast, if you so want. My awareness on the topic rose, when I was reading in a magazine about healthy foods that one should consume throughout the day and noticed that I didn’t cover nearly half of these important foods. Hence I started to change my breakfast in order to transform it from a regular one to a healthy power breakfast for the true champions.
Did you know that Breakfast is considered to be the most important meal of the day? In 2003, American doctors conducted a study and found out that the chances of obesity, diabetes or heart attacks would increase when skipping the breakfast regularly. Furthermore, the study showed that the positive health benefits of having breakfast range from an unlikelihood of blood-sugar problems, lower cholesterol and a reduced risk of heart attacks.
No matter what your plans are when it comes to nutrition, such as losing weight or gaining muscle mass, it’s not a good idea to skip the breakfast. The misconception of skipping the breakfast intentionally in order to lose weight is very common and can be completely counter-productive to your plans. The thing about skipping your breakfast is that you’ll be more likely to become tired as your whole body slowly starts running out of energy, which most people try to compensate with sugared coffee, energy bars and the like. Rumors say that regular breakfasts throughout the week increase one’s chances to maintain a healthy weight and I – for myself – can back this claim.
So, if breakfast is really the most important meal of the day, why not increasing its power even further, with the following power-food?
Healthy Power Breakfasts:
In the following, I’m going to present you some power breakfasts with recipe and directions on how to prepare the breakfast.
#1 Porridge
Porridge
I guess I’m not the only one who associates the word “porridge” with a slimy gray sludge that only tastes slightly palatable when loads of sugar or honey is added. Well, at least that was what I had remembered of porridge from my early childhood days, which is why I (successfully) avoided eating gruel as a breakfast for years. Nevertheless, porridge is a true power breakfast and can be easily improved to be a tasteful part of your power breakfast, when you know how! The reason that I call porridge a true power breakfast cereal lies in the fact that it is – unlike other highly-sweetened fiber-low cereals – very rich in nutrients, fiber-high, digestible and very satiable.
Ingredients (for 2 portions):
- 1 cup of oat flakes/porridge oats
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 cup of water
(optional additions:)
- 1 handful of raspberries
- 1 handful of cranberries
- 1 banana
- 5-10 almonds with skin
- honey/maple syrup/sugar
- salt/cinnamon
Preparation:
Mix the oats with a cup of milk and a cup of water in a saucepan. Stir well, while boiling the mixture. You can feel free to add a pinch of salt at this point, but only if you like. Once the porridge is boiled up, let it slowly simmer under reduced heat and add your favorite nuts, e.g. almonds. The oats are cooked when the water is all absorbed; at this point, you can turn off the heat and let it cool down for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, you can crush a banana in a bowl, add the raspberries and cranberries and mix it with the porridge. Add your preferred sweetener (honey, maple syrup, etc.) and you’re done!
#2 Power Sandwiches
The regular sandwiches you can find at your preferred fast-food chain aren’t nearly as rich in nutrients as the ones that I’m going to present you in the following. The basic ingredients for the sandwiches are:
- 2 whole wheat toasts
- 1 whole wheat toaster waffles (alternatively!)
- 2 whole wheat English muffins (alternatively!)
- 1 whole wheat sandwich (alternatively!)
- Low-fat mayonnaise/butter
a) Veggie sandwich
- 2 tomato slices
- 1 hard-boiled egg
- 1 handful fresh spinach
Slice the hard-boiled eggs into widthwise slices and toast the whole wheat toasts/muffins on a toaster. Brush the bread with mayonnaise or butter, top it with the spinach and the tomato slices and lay the egg slices on top of it. Feel free to heat the sandwich on a toaster or by placing it into a pan or the oven, for about 2 minutes.
b) Peanut butter sandwich
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1-2 tablespoons cranberries
The whole wheat peanut butter sandwich is rather easy to prepare; just heat the bread, spread peanut butter on it and top it with the cranberries.
c) Turkey & cheese sandwich
- 2-3 slices deli turkey
- 1-2 slices low-fat Cheddar
Heat the bread, spread the mayonnaise or butter on it and top it with the deli turkey slices and the Cheddar cheese. You can also add tomato slices and fresh spinach at will. Furthermore, you can also heat the sandwich in the oven or on the toaster to found the cheese.
#3 Cream of Wheat
Cream of Wheat is basically the same as porridge, but I’ve also included it with some slight variations to the above-named porridge recipe.
Ingredients (for 2 portions):
- 0,5 cup wheat cereal/whole grain cream
- 1 cup of fat-free milk
(optional additions)
- 1 tablespoon of flaxseed
- chopped walnuts/almonds
- honey/maple syrup/vanilla extract
- 1 handful of cranberries
- 1 handful of raspberries
Preparation:
Mix the wheat cereal with the milk in a saucepan. Turn up the heat and stir well, while the mixture starts boiling. Let it slowly simmer under low heat, once the cream of wheat has boiled up and add the chopped walnuts or almonds. At the point the cream of wheat has thickened you can stir in the honey, maple syrup or vanilla extract and the flaxseed. Serve with the cranberries and raspberries on top of it.
#4 Bagel with salmon
The following breakfast recipe will supply your body with important fatty acids (omega-3s) from the salmon and many other important nutrients.
Ingredients:
- 1 whole grain bagel
- 1-2 slices low-fat Cheddar
- (alternatively) Low-fat cream cheese
- 2-3 ounces canned salmon (drained)
Preparation:
Slice the bagel and heat it in your toaster. Spread the bagel with low-fat butter/mayonnaise or the cream cheese and top it with the canned salmon and the low-fat Cheddar.
#5 Scrambled eggs
There was a time when doctors had spotted eggs as the sole reason for a high blood cholesterol level, which is why they often advised their patients to waive eggs from their menu. Nevertheless, if you don’t have any problems with your cholesterol level at all, you should make use of the positive benefits that eggs provide. The protein in eggs provides the highest biological value of all proteins, above of meat, milk, and yogurt.
Well, there is nothing more to add here. Just scramble 2-3 eggs in a pan, while heating it until it’s done. Add some salt and enjoy!
#6 Fruity yogurt
“Yogurt as a part of my breakfast is boring.” At least, that’s what I was thinking before I started to experiment and added some great ingredients that spiced things up!
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural yogurt (sugar-free & low-fat)
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed
- 2-3 tablespoon rolled oats/cereals
- 1-2 tablespoon walnuts/almonds (chopped)
(optional additions):
- 1 Apple
- 1 Banana
- 3-4 Strawberries
- 1 Tablespoon Raspberries
- 1 Tablespoon Cranberries
- (alternatively) dried fruits
Chop the fruits into pieces, chop the nuts and stir them with the flaxseed and the oats into the yogurt. You can feel free to add some honey, cinnamon or maple syrup to taste.
Photo by a little tune
Enjoy eating this healthy power breakfast.
