by Sarah M. Agena-Wright, MS, RD, Adventure 212 Fitness
You’ve all heard this before “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” but why?
Starting your day with breakfast gets your metabolism revved up for a day full of activities. Think of your body as a car. You need to put gas in your car to make it run just like you need food for your body to function. By eating the majority of your calories in the morning it allows for your body to burn through those calories all day long. If you do the opposite like most of us do and eat a big dinner there usually isn’t much time in between the time we eat and the time we sit on the coach and watch TV or go to bed. What do you think happens with all those unused calories? They get stored as fat in all those unwanted areas of your body.
Here are some quick healthy breakfast ideas because we all know you really don’t want to have to think that early in the morning.
- Make plain instant oatmeal with milk instead of water. Mix in raisins or dried cranberries. Top with chopped walnuts.
- Layer low-fat yogurt with low-fat granola and sliced fruit or berries.
- Mix up a breakfast smoothie made with low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt, whey protein and a combination of your favorite fruit or peanut butter.
- Top a bowl of whole-grain cereal with blueberries, sliced peaches or any favorite fruit. Pour on low-fat or fat-free milk.
- Stuff a whole-wheat pita with a sliced ham, scrambled eggs and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Spread a flour tortilla with peanut butter. Add a whole banana and roll it up.
- Spread almond butter on a whole-grain toasted bagel. Top with apple slices.
- Add lean ham and low-fat Swiss cheese to a toasted whole-grain English muffin.
- Make an egg scramble with egg whites and veggies left over from last night’s dinner.
If you’re struggling with the nutrition portion of your wellness program come see me at Adventure 212 or email me at sagena@adventure212.com
