“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper!” – this simple quote illustrates pretty well how important your first meal of the day is. The word “breakfast” itself describes the “break” after “fasting” during the night. Upon waking up, your body needs energy and nutrients to work properly. This can also help you to be more concentrated doing your activities and avoid a mid-morning slump. Without breakfast you may start snacking in the morning or have an excessive lunch or dinner. Therefore, the breakfast allows you not only to start your morning full of energy but also to eat less during the day. Yet, also with your breakfast there is a difference of “doing the right things” and “doing things right”. This is why you should not only eat something in the morning but also take care that your breakfast is balanced and healthy. Basically, a healthy breakfast combines good carbohydrates with proteins which will boost your metabolism.
Carbohydrates provide your body with the energy it needs in order to function properly. Generally, nutritionists distinguish two types: simple- and complex carbohydrates. Due to their molecular structure, simple or bad carbohydrates (sugar, white flour, etc.) are the quickest source of energy but they are also digested quickly which means that you will be hungry again after a few hours when your blood sugar level has fallen again. Complex or good carbohydrates (whole grain, oatmeal, etc.) are digested more slowly and will stabilise your energy levels. For different foods, the so-called glycemic index (GI) indicates the extent to which carbohydrates are digested quickly or slowly.
Moreover, proteins are important for the lifecycle of your organism and are essential for the growth and repair of your cells. 10-15% of your daily energy intake should be made of proteins. You can find proteins in low-fat Greek yoghurt, eggs or porridge, our favourite breakfast recipe is a pudding made of Chia seeds. This plant grows natively in South America but is also available in local grocery stores. They are full of proteins (17g/100g) fiber and healthy Omega 3 fats. You can simply mix the Chia seeds with almond or nut milk, put it in the fridge and enjoy a yummy and healthy pudding in the morning.
Your healthy breakfast should also cover valuable vitamins which you can find in seasonal fruit. Fruit can be added to your porridge, muesli or chia pudding or you can create your own power smoothie my mixing fruit with yoghurt and some green vegetables (spinach is an excellent addition to smoothies). While the supply of a great variety of fruit might be challenging, we add from time to time some frozen berries to our smoothies. You can also try superfoods like the south American Camu Camu: it contains 30-50 times the amount of vitamin C as oranges and other citrus fruits.
Jon
Employee in Luxembourg