A nutritious breakfast is a vital component to a life of optimal health
Let’s change that today. First, ask yourself if your health is important. If the answer is yes, decide to add breakfast to your daily routine if you have been skipping it regularly. Some people do not like to eat right after they wake up, and that’s fine–it’s a totally normal feeling–but eating a healthy breakfast before you become focused on your schedule can kick-start your metabolism and lay the foundation for a perfect day.
Once you’ve hurdled that obstacle, focus on what you are eating for breakfast. Beginning a breakfast routine is great, but you can easily ruin it if you choose the wrong foods and then make poor decisions the rest of the day.
To really kick-start your day the right way, consider these bullet points the next time you sit down for your early-morning meal.
1. Eat egg whites, not yolks
Eggs are one of the most common breakfast foods, and why not? They’re tasty, they’re easy to prepare, they’re relatively inexpensive, and you can prepare them hundreds of ways. However, the next time you enjoy eggs for breakfast, separate the yolk from the whites.
Egg whites are packed with protein, and they contain far fewer calories, cholesterol, and fats thank yolks. To illustrate, 100 grams of egg yolk contain 1085 mg of cholesterol–361 percent the daily recommendation, while 100 grams of egg whites, contain much less; in fact, they contain 0 mg!
With egg whites, you’re getting all the nutrition you need from the egg and you are avoiding the potential negatives. It’s a win-win for your taste buds and for your health.
2. Make steel-cut oats, not instant oatmeal
Steel-cut oats get a bad reputation for taking forever to prepare, which causes a lot of people to choose instant oats instead. While steel-cut oats do take significantly longer than instant oatmeal to make, they only require about 10 minutes of your attention if you cook them in a slow cooker, and then they finish overnight.
Steel-cut oats are high in fiber, lower in calories, and low in sugar than their instant counterpart. With instant oats, you might find tasty flavors like maple and brown sugar or apples and cinnamon, but these packets are usually loaded with unnecessary preservatives and extra sugar for taste. Make the smarter decision and prepare your own oats!
If the taste of the fresh oats is just too bland for you, add a handful of fresh, anti-oxidant filled berries to bring them it to life.
3. Sit down, relax, and enjoy your meal
Breakfast offers the opportunity to sit down, relax, and converse with loved ones. It’s the perfect chance to connect with your family, to have real conversations about what is going on in your life and to start the day off right.
It’s a great alternative to the usual practice of grabbing a breakfast bar and hitting the road in a frantic state. Instead, decide tomorrow to wake up a little earlier, prepare a meal, and sit down for a moment. You might even tempt the whole family to get together for a healthy meal and a nice dose of laughter and pleasant conversation.
That will set a positive tone for the rest of the day and leave you feeling both connected and healthier as you begin your daily activities.
4. Take a walk
You just finished your grapefruit and a black coffee, now what? You can lounge on the couch and mindlessly watch your favorite TV show, or you can take a walk and soak in the early-morning air.
One shows your health is actually important to you.
Starting your day with a brisk walk will recharge your batteries and leave you motivated to conquer the rest of the day. Even better, once you eat a healthy meal and take a walk, you won’t want to make unhealthy decisions the rest of the day, because you know it will ruin the foundation you’ve already put down.
Other forms of exercise, like a light workout or yoga, will also work, but I personally find a walk to be the most relaxing and beneficial for my mood and overall demeanor for the rest of the day.