By Sarah Hunt, AZFB Communications Intern
As we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gives you the energy you need for your daily activities and gives you a great start to your morning if done right. Here are some tips to make the most of your breakfast.
- Add protein and fiber: This gives your meal what it needs to keep you full until lunch. Protein can come from many sources: eggs, greek yogurt, ham, bacon, sausage, beans, etc. Mix up your protein sources each day to give your diet variety. Adults with a 2,000 calorie daily intake should include 25 g of fiber. Fiber can come from many sources, including oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and nuts.
- Avoid sugar: One thing to be careful about with breakfast is sugar. Cereals, yogurts, muffins and baked goods, smoothies, and more all have a high content of sugar. If you only eat sugar and carbohydrates first thing in the morning, you will crash within the next hour and feel hungry even though you just ate. Replacing sugar with protein solves this problem.
- Check your nutrition labels: I used to love eating Chobani greek yogurt, thinking I was eating so healthy because of the high protein in it. Little did I know it had twice the amount of sugar in it than protein! I now eat Oikos greek yogurt. It has more protein and much less sugar, only 5 g per serving. It’s also the official yogurt of the NFL! If it’s too thick for you, add a little honey to thin it out and add flavor.
- Add fresh veggies or fruit: Vegetables for breakfast? Yes please! Some people may think, how do I put veggies in my morning meal? It’s actually pretty easy. Add potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and onions to your omelets or make Huevos Rancheros with beans and pico de gallo. Fruit is another good thing to add. Bananas fill your potassium needs. Fruit gives you antioxidants and gives you something sweet and natural to eat instead of processed sugar.
- Eat a balanced breakfast: Don’t eat the same thing every day, and eat a variety of foods in your meal. This ensures you don’t get tired of one food and gives you the most nutrients to fill your daily needs. Additionally, eating all different colors of fruits and vegetables have many benefits. Learn more about this from Fill Your Plate’s article, Why You Should Be Eating The Colors of the Rainbow.
Learn more by typing “breakfast” into Fill Your Plate’s search engine!