What should you be eating for breakfast?

What should you be eating for breakfast?

A good breakfast provides the nutrients to kick-start your day the right way. But with Weet-Bix under scrutiny as a breakfast option, you could be left wondering what on earth is a healthy breakfast? The simple answer to this question is something that will both nourish and sustain you, and that you’ll enjoy.

Here’s how:

Choosing breakfasts based on minimally processed foods is a good place to start.
Most people find a breakfast that is based mainly on carbohydrate (cereals, toast etc) isn’t sustaining enough, even if they do choose a wholegrain option. So putting together a breakfast that contains some protein and/or healthy fats, such as eggs or nuts and seeds, is a generally a good idea. This also increases the nutrient density of your breakfast by providing a wider range of vitamins and minerals.

Nuts and seeds are a great source of healthy fats. They provide fibre and contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including zinc, magnesium and potassium. While they can be expensive, there are cheaper options such as ground linseed. This has the added benefit of also providing a source of omega-3 fats.

If you can also add in a vegetable serve at breakfast, then this will also boost your nutrition intake for the day, and give you a good start towards getting your 5+ fruit and vege serves a day.

While there are some people who believe carbohydrates are something that should be avoided, I do not believe the research shows that this is necessary. Quality carbohydrates provide a source of fuel, dietary fibre for a healthy gut, and vitamins and minerals.

Wholegrain cereals without added sugar include porridge, quinoa, buckwheat and millet. Weet-Bix is also a wholegrain, low-sugar option. A good quality wholegrain and seed bread is also another option. Fruit, starchy vegetables and legumes also provide quality carbohydrate.

So, what does this look like in practice? Here’s some ideas:

• Oats with a tablespoon or two of LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seed and almond), milk, yoghurt and a piece of fruit
• Eggs and tomato on wholegrain toast
• Chia pudding (chia seeds soaked in milk, topped with fruit and yoghurt)
• Smoothies made with milk, yoghurt, a piece of fruit or berries, a handful of greens and some nut butter or nuts/seeds
• Omelettes
• Peanut butter and cottage cheese on grainy toast
• Quinoa porridge with yoghurt, nuts and berries
• Avocado and boiled egg on wholegrain toast

Experiment with what foods make you feel the best – we’re all different so it’s about making it work for you. There are lots of ways to put together a healthy breakfast.