What all healthy breakfasts have in common

How does your morning meal rate?

Are you eating a meager morning meal, or is your breakfast fit for a champion? According to the experts, all healthy breakfasts have these things in common…

It takes time

“Many people either skip or rush breakfast. But, as the saying goes breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We should be putting thought and time into our morning food choices,” says accredited practicing dietician Samantha Cowan, who recommends planning your breakfasts in advance to avoid running out of time in the morning.
Instead of grabbing something quick and pre-packaged which will likely be high in sugar, soak some oats before bed and wake up to a hearty porridge or a filling bowl of bircher muesli that will satisfy you with low GI fibre right through till lunchtime.

It primes you

“A healthy and satisfying breakfast provides you with the energy, stamina, brain power and satiety you need to get you through the morning,” says Cowan.

“A decent breakfast will prime you for the day, warding off sugar-cravings and unhealthy meal choices.”

In a six-year study comparing a group of adults who ate a nutritious breakfast every day against a group who didn’t, participants who ate the healthy breakfast were able to perform daily tasks efficiently, whilst those who didn’t performed with decreased efficiency as the day went on.

It packs a punch

All good breakfasts pack a punch when it comes to hitting your daily nutritional needs, covering your bases across all the essential nutrient groups.
“A good breakfast combines a variety of foods that offer low GI carbohydrates, dietary fibre, lean protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals,” explains Cowan.
“Together, these nutrients provide long-lasting energy and a feeling of fullness that will last for at least three hours, until morning tea or lunch.”

It’s real

When it comes to selecting the right foods for your breakfast, Cowan says it’s hard to go wrong using real, unprocessed foods.
“A good healthy breakfast should be easy, delicious, and include a variety of whole foods to fuel you. Oats are a wholegrain cereal high in fibre and protein, with a low GI, so they’ll provide you with long-lasting energy and a feeling of fullness – exactly what a good breakfast aims to do,” says Cowan, who recommends pairing your porridge with low fat milk, nuts and seeds for added calcium, omega 3s and protein.
And if you’re on the run and don’t have time to prepare breakfast?
“Look for packaged foods that contain less than four grams of saturated fat per 100 grams and no more than 10 grams of sugar, ideally with at least six grams of fibre per 100 grams.”
Ideal choices include instant oats, natural Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit.