Healthy Breakfast Ideas
One of the most common things I see people having for breakfast is your run of the mill breakfast cereal. Even worse- I see people feeding that to their kids. This blog article is about how to have a healthy breakfast- why I do not feed cereal to my daughter nor have it for myself. I will also include other breakfast ideas that I recommend instead!
Did you see my latest reel on my Instagram about why I don't feed myself or my child cereal for breakfast? Let me break it down for you!
***Quick disclaimer: this is not medical advice. Also, there's affiliate links in this article. If you click them and end up purchasing, I may get a lil' cut at no cost to you :)
No Nutrient Density
Traditional cereals are basically all carb and nothing else that we want like fats or protein. Carbs spike our blood sugar and then we crash because we have nothing like protein to sustain us. I am a firm believer that every meal should be high protein and low carb. This is especially true for breakfast.
Check out this nutrition label from a popular cereal brand. There's mostly carbs (37 grams) which consists of a lot of added sugars and then a little bit of fats and protein.
Sugar, Sugar, Sugar
A majority of the carb content in cereal is from the "sugar". I use quotation marks because it's all artificial sugars such as corn syrup. Therefore, it's manmade, which is very difficult for our bodies to break down. This can lead to toxin overload in our bodies, which is stored in our fat cells. This, in conjunction with the sugar content, can lead to weight gain. For a majority of these cereals, there's no real sugar in them such as cane sugar.
Artificial Dyes
If the cereal has color, it has artificial dyes in it. Artificial dyes have a plethora of negative consequences from consumption that include hyperactivity in children, impaired digestive health, rashes, and more. You can read about ingredients I avoid for my child's health in this blog article.
Yum, PESTICIDES!
The grains that cereals are made with are typically sprayed with glyphosate- that's the weed killer that you hear all of those lawsuit commercials about. They're known carcinogens an horrible for our gut. Again, this can lead to toxin overload in our bodies and will be stored in our fat cells if our bodies can not properly detox.
The Longterm Effects
If we continuously consume things like these traditional cereals for breakfast, it has a few outcomes:
First, weight gain. The most important thing you can consume for breakfast is protein. Cereal has hardly any (if any at all) protein. Therefore, a blood sugar spike will occur which leads to weight gain.
Second, consuming cereals could lead to impaired gut health. Filling our bellies with pesticides/herbicides and artifically made ingredients make our guts work overtime. It depletes our stomach acid, which allows for bacterial overgrowth in our guts.
Third, poor health overall. Our gut is essential for keeping bacteria in check, breaking down food and assimilating our nutrients. Nutrients contribute to pretty much every bodily function we have. It also contributes to excreting waste, which is how our body detoxifies itself. If you're not going to the bathroom or sweating, then you have toxins within you which will also impair your hormonal health as well.
Breakfast Ideas
I am not going to lie to you, I hate breakfast. It's my least favorite meal. I generally like to fast through breakfast, but since I am female, I have to be careful. I follow the protocol by Dr. Mindy Pelz in her book Fast Like a Girl. However, whenever I do have breakfast, I generally have these options because they’re blood sugar balancing and nutrient dense. If you’re interested in learning how to balance your blood sugar, check out my online course that is now available!
Here's 3 easy and nutrient dense ideas for breakfast that are balanced and enjoyable.
Yogurt+Granola/Fruit+Sausage
Opt for full fat, plain organic Greek yogurt- this has the most protein and fat content. We get ours from Aldi and it is very affordable and good! For granola, I use One Degree brand. If I have fruit, I like berries because they're low glycemic. If we have sausage, I look for nitrate free, organic and typically chicken.
Fried Egg+Sourdough+Sausage
Opt for free range chicken eggs. I like sourdough bread because I can make it myself and it has 3 simple ingredients: organic flour, filtered water, and salt. I love a hefty swipe of grass fed butter on top with a smashed up avacado. If you can't make sourdough yourself, that's cool. You can generally find a loaf at a farmer's market. Again, I always buy the same type of sausage.
Protein Shake
Keep in mind- not all protein powders are the same. Most have way too many ingredients that include gums and seed oils which are horrible for our gut. I like Truvani brand because it has simple ingredients that I trust. I mix it with about 8 oz filtered water and 8 oz Malk brand almond milk- again, simple ingredients. This is high protein and keeps me feeling full until lunch time!
Don't get me wrong- I am not saying it's wrong to indulge sometimes. But I see people consuming these high carb breakfast options nearly every day. I see children consuming them and "acting out" and parents seeing no correlation. Now, I do believe there are healthier options of cereal than our "traditional" brands that we grew up with. I'd opt for one of the healthier options over the traditional every time. However, if your goal is to attain optimal health- I'd avoid traditional cereals altogether.
If you're wanting to change you or your child's health naturally, we should work together! My health coaching programs could be perfect for you- let's book a call to chat!