Firing up – Breakfast is for Champions

Breakfast is a much abused meal. Many of us with busy schedules, a tribe of kids and a multitude of pressures on our time are, quite frankly, ‘pants’ when it comes to fuelling our bodies correctly at breakfast time.

Breakfast should be the meal we put the most thought into, not the least. A great brekky sets our bodies (and our minds) up for a great day. It gives us the fuel we need to work, play, train and is also crucial in our endeavour to become trim and terrific.

Breakfast also acts as a metabolism starter. So if our goal is weight loss, it is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL that we eat a good, healthy breakfast. We can actually burn more calories throughout the day if we eat breakfast – so why wouldn’t you take advantage of our amazing bodies and eat well at Brekky time.

Okay, okay – I hear you. In the mornings we have kids (and husbands) to hassle and hustle out the door, jobs to get to and a million other things to do. I have always thought that a ‘morning minute’ is worth 15 minutes at any other time of the day. The last thing many of us feel like is thinking about breakfast for ourselves.

Firstly, I would say – you need to find the time to eat breakfast. Secondly, in an effort to inspire you, and show you that it doesn’t need to be hard or take a long time, I have come up with a little list of my favourite breakfast options. See what you think.

By the way – it is vital that you eat something before coming to training with me. You will be able to train harder, get more out of your body, recover quicker and basically feel better (not to mention the fact that you wont pass out on me!).

Here are my top 10 brekky options. I’d love to hear yours…

The Muesli heart starter:

J ¾ cup muesli or oats

J 3 tbsp low fat yoghurt,

J A little honey

J Fruit (half a banana or some strawberries are my favourite).

J (Try Carmens muesli and Chris’s low fat greek style yoghurt…super yummy!)

Eggs all around

J 1 or 2 eggs. Boiled, scrambled, poached.

J 1 slice multigrain toast

J ¼ avocado

J Tomato sliced

J This is my all time favourite brekky. It is a perfect source of carbs, protein, fibre and yumminess. And it only comes in at around 300 calories!!! Bonus!

J My kids are also obsessed with scrambed eggs – so I just add a couple of extra eggs to the pan – done in 3 minutes flat.

Omega 3 kick!

J A little smoked salmon

J Multigrain toast

J 2 tsp low fat philly

J AWESOME! Grab a banana or an apple and you are good to go!

Old fashioned

J I small can of baked beans

J 1 slice multigrain toast

J Small low fat yoghurt or piece of fruit

J Personally, I am not a fan of the baked bean, but I do acknowledge that they are a simple, nutritious and low fat brekky alternative. So if you like them – knock yourself out. Tinned spaghetti is ok too, but not as good in the fibre department.

Quick getaway

J No reason you can’t have a sandwich for breakfast! Try this….

J Cheese slice (Low fat if you are watching your calories)

J Avocado

J Tomato

J Lettuce

J Bit like a BLT – without the B!

J This is a great one for an ‘on the run’ breakfast. Something I have done many times

Oldie but a goodie

J Any minimally processed cereal – Wheetbix, Just Right, Sustain, Sultana Bran etc.

J Skim milk

J Fruit of your choice (berries, banana, stonefruit..mango!)

J Absolutely nothing at all wrong with this breakfast. Great for a quick fuel stop. Just make sure the cereal is not too over processed…read the labels!

Toast deluxe

J 2 slices of multigrain toast. My personal favourite is Burgen Soylin.

J Your choice of healthy toppings…but skip the butter…such as:

J Avocado

J Tomato

J Low fat cheese

J Banana and honey (YUM!)

J Philly and vegemite

The emergency standby

J Have you tried Carmens muesli bars?

J They are not a good every day breakfast, but a great standby and they keep you feeling full for ages.

J The are a little high in fat (mostly good fats, not saturated) to be an everyday breakfast option, but are a great standby for those days when it all goes pear-shaped.

J My personal favourite is the apricot and almond version.

J An uncle Tobies will do at a pinch, but they are not as filling as the Carmens ones…just stear clear of the choc chip ones!

Doing it the French way…

J Remember French toast? It takes a couple of extra minutes, but only a couple.

J Mix up an egg with a little skim milk.

J Dip 2 slices of Soylin into the egg, then fry in a pan using olive oil spray.

J SIMPLY DELICOUS. And around 350 calories….

J This is a great alternative the the brekky fry-up on the weekends. Add some strawberries and a a tablespoon of low fat yoghurt..heaven!

FROOT SALAD

J Have a couple of extra minutes?

J Cut up a bowl of fruit of your choice; add a little lemon juice and a couple of tablespoons of low fat yoghurt and a teaspoon of honey.

J For the full monte – add a couple of tablespoons of muesli to the top…

And finally…..a word about drinks

Traditionally, breakfast has gone hand in hand with juice and tea or coffee. I am a bona fide coffee addict, so I am the last one to advise you not to drink the stuff (in fact, I think a cup of coffee helps me train better – it’s the caffeine kick).

Fresh juice is not only delicious, but in essence good for you. But (and it’s a fairly big but), it is full of sugar and calories and we have actually stripped a lot of the goodness from the actual raw materials (especially fibre). Think about it like this, it takes around 5 oranges to make one glass of juice. 5 ORANGES! One small glass (200ml) of orange juice contains around 100 calories, and virtually none of the fibre or carbohydrates found in the original product. So by all means have a glass of OJ in the morning, but just recognise that it is calorie dense and needs to be drunk in moderation…or better still eat the orange!

Ok – coffee…..Coffee itself (along with Tea) are pretty calorie neutral. Where we can hit a problem is the milk we add to our lovely Latte. A large full cream milk latte is worth around 200 – 250 calories – OUCH! Change to skim, and this goes down to around 100..much more palatable!

But, the winner, by a country mile is…WATER! Most of us don’t drink nearly enough water. We need around 2 litres per day, plus another litre for every hour of exercise we do. Set yourself the challenge, try drinking 2 litres a day and see if you feel better.