Breakfast overhaul is set to be a top trend for 2021. The grocery stores will be flowing with fun foods to try, and your favorite foodie websites are sure to revamp old recipes. If you’re jumping on the breakfast bandwagon, why not boost nutritional value as well? Here are some ideas for morning meal enrichment:
Add more veggies to your life:
-Sauté onions, garlic, kale, spinach, leeks, bok choy or mushrooms into your egg scramble.
-Throw a handful of spinach, kale, cooked beets or carrots into your fruit smoothie.
-Increase your hash value by adding asparagus or shredded squash to plain potatoes.
Eat oats, the champ of whole grain:
-Choose old-fashioned rolled oats or steal cut for their heartier texture and digestive benefits.
-Cook oats using milk or soy beverage instead of water to enrich taste and nutritional value.
-Add crunch factor with walnuts or pumpkin seeds, and sweetness with dried or fresh fruit.
-Cooked oats texture not your thing? Try rolled oats uncooked with cold milk or mix into yogurt.
Feed your “good” gut bacteria:
-Add prebiotics like bananas, apples, onions, garlic, oats, and flax seed meal.
Boost your omega-3’s:
-Sprinkling in flax seed meal or chia seeds adds nutrition without changing the flavor of a dish.
-Spending extra on eggs that boast higher omega-3 content is an investment in health.
Bickering Over Breakfast Benefits
The breakfast trend is not without controversy, especially with the growing popularity of time-restricted eating for weight loss. Breakfast has long been regarded as the most important meal of the day, but newer systematic reviews of research show that its value is debatable. If you’re wondering if you should skip the morning meal, here are questions you might consider first.
Will you make poor choices later if you skip breakfast now? Sometimes people skip breakfast only to pull into a donut shop two hours later, suddenly overwhelmed by hunger. In this case, eating a well-planned breakfast would better support nutrition and weight loss goals.
Are you hungry when you first wake? Skipping breakfast may be perfectly healthy as long as nutrient needs are being met without it. Many people simply do not have early morning hunger cues. However, these individuals might consider analyzing their appetites. If you’re snacking mindlessly or drinking late at night, closing the kitchen earlier may shift your hunger timing, leading to healthier food choices overall.
Can you get the nutrients you need if you skip breakfast? A well-planned breakfast at home can be a great opportunity to get nutrients from healthy foods like whole grains, fruit, and vegetables that may get missed during the uncertainties of the remaining day.
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30700403/ Meta analysis of breakfast and weight loss.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31918985/ Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis; skipping breakfast associated with obesity