Some Breakfast Inspiration

According to the University of Alberta, only 12% of Canadians eat a balanced breakfast in the morning. In my last post, I shared my top 5 benefits for having breakfast daily. Today, as a follow-up, I will provide quick, convenient meal time ideas to get you nourished and on your way in the morning!

Anatomy of a Balanced Breakfast: Easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Think Fibre!

Choose foods that are high in fibre to provide long lasting fuel until your next meal. Fibre not only fills you up, it also lowers cholesterol, stabilizes blood sugars and promotes regularity.

Examples: Oatmeal, Bran cereal, whole grain breads, chia seeds, flax seeds etc.

2. Include Protein:

Balancing a meal involves including a source of protein to help sustain the feeling of fullness (ie. satiety).
Examples: Milk or fortified soy or almond milk beverage, Greek yogurt, cheese slice, eggs, cottage cheese, peanut butter, nuts or seeds, hemp hearts etc.

3. Select a fruit:

Include a piece of fruit or berries in your breakfast to contribute vitamins and minerals and benefit from a food group serving.

Examples: Blueberries (1/2 cup) added to cereal, medium orange in slices etc.

Breakfast Combinations:

Idea 1: B-fast Cereal

• Fibre cereal (5g fibre or more on label) 1% milk (protein)
• 1 Tbsp unsalted sunflower seeds (protein)
• ½ cup raspberries (fruit)

Idea 2: Egg Sandwich

• Whole grain English muffin (fibre) Egg (protein)
• Cheese slice (protein)
• 1 small banana (fruit)

Idea 3: Fruit Smoothie

• 1 cup milk (protein)
• ½ cup strawberries & ½ banana (fruit)
• 1 small yogurt (protein)
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds (fibre)

B-fast in a Hurry?

Here are some quick “grab and go” combinations with nutritional balance.

1: Homemade muffin (fibre) + cheese slice + fruit
2: 1 cup dried cereal + ¼ cup unsalted nuts + ½ cup berries
3: Peanut or almond butter on an English muffin with banana

Presto! Easy as 1, 2, 3! Right?

Bottom Line:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and does require a little pre-planning to ensure that it is nutritionally balanced. Stock your fridge and pantry with breakfast options that fit into the fibre, protein and fruit category and you can mix and match 🙂