Getting up on a cold winter’s morning is much easier when you have a warming and energizing breakfast to look forward to. With a little forward planning, this can be relatively easy to make and supply leftovers ready for reheating the next morning.
3 Reasons you should eat breakfast:
- It kick-starts your metabolism and burns energy more efficiently for the rest of the day. Research shows that breakfast eaters have a lower body mass index (BMI)—a technical way of checking whether your weight is appropriate for your height.
- To help keep your cholesterol down. People who eat breakfast have a lower blood cholesterol level than breakfast skippers. Enjoying a healthy breakfast is one of the easiest ways to keep your heart disease risk lower.
- It gets your bowels working properly. A good breakfast can supply a third or more of your daily dietary fiber needs. Fiber provides the bulk to help push food contents more quickly through the eight or so meters of digestive tract they need to travel. Constipation is common in Western countries but should be guarded against as it is linked with bowel cancer and other bowel disorders such as hemorrhoids and diverticular disease.
High-Class Carbohydrates
What you eat for breakfast matters. Try to include a wholegrain—or high fiber—food as this will generally be more filling, and give you longer lasting energy.
- Traditional rolled oats with cinnamon and/or some fruits such as chopped dates, dried apple slices, or raisins.
- Millet with chopped nuts, shredded coconut, and dried apricot pieces.
- Buckwheat pancakes topped with poached winter fruits.
- Quinoa cooked in juice with mixed dried fruits.
- Polenta (yellow maize meal) or mielemeel porridge (from white maize).
For a more instant breakfast, simply pour warmed low-fat milk or soy milk onto a ready-to-eat high-fiber cereal or serve wholegrain toast with natural peanut butter, warmed baked beans, or a vegetarian sausage and grilled tomato.
Nutritionist Sue Radd is the award-winning author of The Breakfast Book and co-author of Eat To Live, internationally acclaimed for showing how savvy eating can combat cancer and heart disease and improve well-being. See the latest at http://www.sueradd.com.
