Drinking water, taking time for reflection, having a plan, and preparing your body for the day are just some of their insightful tips.

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Try this stretch as part of your morning routine to set you straight for the day…

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It’s the morning meal that ‘breaks a fast’. Enjoying a nutritious breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, energizes your morning and fuels your body with a healthy dose of nutrients.

Busy mornings and tight schedules can result in some of us skipping breakfast entirely or opting for something unhealthy instead, leaving us fighting against a grumbling stomach, crashing energy levels and even mood swings!

Make the most of your morning meal by following these top nine tips. You’ll be amazed at the difference!

1. Add A Little Healthy Fat

Healthy fats from whole foods provide essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds, plus they help you to feel satisfied for longer as they’re slow to digest in the body.

What to add: Healthy fats with nut butters, tahini, mixed nuts and seeds, avocado or coconut butter. Slices of avocado, sautéed greens and mushrooms in olive or coconut oil are great for hot breakfasts.

2. Eat Enough Protein

You can enjoy a delicious breakfast low in protein, but we bet you’ll be hungry shortly after! Protein is similar to fat as it’s also a slow release energy source making it a powerful appetite suppressant! It also contains essential amino acids for the body to function optimally and repair itself, making it a necessary ingredient in the food you eat, especially post workout!

What to add: You will get a small amount from some cereal grains and milks, but sprinkle some extra nuts and seeds in your bowl, or top your smoothie with a nutty granola instead! Add nut butters, spirulina, goji berries, hemp seeds, or a vegan protein powder to your smoothie to bump up the protein power!

Prefer a cooked brekkie? Eggs, meat, fish, beans, legumes and mushrooms all contain protein!

3. Fill Up On Fiber

A gut health and weight maintenance essential. Having a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber in your diet helps your bowels to function properly, feeds your healthy gut bacteria and supports natural detoxification.

What to add: Add plenty of greens and berries to your smoothie. Avocado is also a good source of fiber, and will make your smoothie extra creamy!

Or if you’re after something savory, mash some avocado with some wilted greens, add some beans or legumes, and make sure if you’re having toast, that it’s a high fiber variety such as rye, multi-grain or whole wheat.

If opting for cereal, swap the chemical-laden, commercial ones for high fiber whole grains such as oats, buckwheat and quinoa. You’ll cut out a tonne of unnecessary sugar and additives!

4. Choose Good Quality Carbohydrates

Choosing the wrong kinds of carbohydrates can have you feeling flat and hungry in no time! All carbohydrates turn to sugar in the body, but how quickly the sugar is released in the bloodstream depends on what else they’re consumed with! Protein, fats and fiber help to slow down digestion of your overall meal, so having some of each with a source of carbohydrates helps to prevent blood sugar crashes!

What to do: Avoid highly refined sugars, added sugars, processed sugars, white bread and baked goods made of refined flours. Opt for low GI, unrefined carbohydrates including whole grains such as almond flour, oats, buckwheat and quinoa, as well as sweet potato, beans, legumes and lentils. Add some extra protein or healthy fats to sweet dishes, and don’t be afraid to go savory for breakfast!

5. Aim For Nutrients, Not Calories

The front of food packets love to trick us by promoting how few calories their food contains, and that this is a good thing! The problem is that real food ingredients contain calories. They provide us with energy to thrive! When a manufacturer reduces the calories of a food, they alter the mix by removing real, nourishing foods, and replacing them with chemicals and artificial ingredients that our bodies don’t recognise and can do us harm. Avoid falling into the trap of eating to fit a daily calorie count, and stick to food in it’s most natural state instead! Your weight and your health will flourish!

What to add: Plenty of real, wholesome foods – fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, full fat milks, and other nutrient rich, minimally processed ingredients!

6. Avoid Refined Sugars

Most commercial cereals, granola and baked breakfast goods are loaded with added sugars. High fructose corn syrup, glucose, dextrose, cane sugar, beet sugar, the list is endless! Start your day with slow-releasing carbohydrates instead such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Having processed sugars at breakfast can cause you to crave sweet foods for the rest of the day, as you search for ‘quick fixes’ to energize your body!

What to add: Stick to fruit to naturally sweeten your breakfast. If you do desire a little drizzle of sweetness, use a small amount of low GI, natural sweeteners such as raw honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar.

7. Get Enough Variety

It’s so easy to get caught up in the same old breakfast routine, but mixing things up not only gives your taste buds a welcome change, research shows an increase in food variety is actually linked to a longer lifespan!

What to add: Mix it up! If you’re short on time in the mornings, prepare a few different breakfast meals on the weekend in bulk. Store in the fridge, or freeze for later. Try these delicious ideas to get you started:

• Chia Pudding with Granola and Mixed Berries – Make the pudding in advance, then top with granola and berries at breakfast time!
• Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa – Make a big batch of fritters and freeze. Defrost the night before and serve with your favorite topping!
• Chia Flaxseed Loaf – Slice and freeze this loaf, then simply toast and add your toppings each morning.
• Powerhouse Overnight Oats – Make the night before, or prepare in bulk and store in the fridge.

8. Size Matters

Racing out the door with a piece of fruit is better than nothing, but it’s not enough to provide your body with all the energy it needs. Consuming a healthy breakfast can help control blood sugar levels and assist in weight management, helping to prevent and manage Type 2 Diabetes.

What to do: Try eating like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. After all, you need more energy to get you through the day than to sleep!

9. Focus On Your Food

Mindfully focusing on the food you eat by sitting and limiting distractions will help you avoid overeating and aid proper digestion. It takes around 20 minutes for your stomach to register if you’ve eaten enough and send that message to your brain. Give your stomach some time, and really enjoy your meal!

What to do: Avoid eating on the run, in the car, or at your office desk. Take at least 15 minutes to sit down and focus just on eating (and cherish a little family time if possible!).

Take the time to treat your body with a nourishing breakfast.  All it takes is a little forward planning, and a list of choices to whip up! Enjoy!

Source: http://www.foodmatters.tv/content/9-tips-for-healthy-breakfasts

About the Author

James Colquhoun, filmmaker of Food Matters and Hungry For Change and founder of FMTV. Along with Laurentine ten Bosch, James founded Food Matters, giving people the tools (films, books, website, TV) to take charge of their own health. Food Matters is an internationally acclaimed widely popular documentary about the medical and healthcare industries. His latest documentary, Hungry For Change, reveals how the diet and processed food industries are the enemies of permanent weight loss, vibrant health, and natural living.

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Choose from omlettes, pancakes, scrambled eggs, muesli, porridge, fritters and more!

And remember to take a pic of your tasty creation and post your feedback on the Working-IN members Facebook page to part of the “Working-IN with Nadia Challenge” – bring on breakfast team!!! : )

http://nadiafelsch.com/recipes/breakfast/

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Nadia Felsch explores how to know what’s best for you at brekkie time and provides some tips on trying out different options to keep things interesting.

http://nadiafelsch.com/2014/10/31/breakfast-sweet-vs-savoury/

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That was until a friend innocently asked if I ever sat at the dining room table and ate my breakfast with my family. A defining moment which highlighted the fact that life needs to be slowed down. It was at the same stage that I was completing a ‘Mindfulness program’ (see Week 2) – which defined similar sentiments.

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, so making time to enjoy it means, not only do I get to savour the moment, but I also get to spend some quality time with my family. This sets the tone for the day – you get to enjoy your breakfast, your body is better able to digest the contents, you are not rushed/stressed, you enjoy time with your family… you start as you mean to go. It does require some effort –

1. have a breakfast meal plan;
2. ensure you allocate breakfast time;
3. silence your phone;
4. appreciate the food on your plate;
5. commitment to make it happen.

This is a small way in which we can make a big difference in our lives. Every little step adds huge value!

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I’m Robyn, I’m 35 and I have three kids. I live on the Northern Beaches and I’m a full time mum. I also work part-time from home as a blogger. My passions in life are taking photos and long walks on the beach. I also enjoy cooking with my thermomix, although cooking everyday for a busy household is not really something I’m passionate about – yet.

Fitness is always something I’ve enjoyed, but I’ve never seemed to find the right balance with it. I’ve either gone for it all guns blazing and then hit a wall and stopped, or I’ve struggled to find the enthusiasm and time. I’ve pretty much been the same with it comes to healthy eating too.

My ‘baby’ is about to turn three at the end of this month and I still haven’t managed to keep off the weight that I gained during my last pregnancy. Since she was born, my weight has yo-yoed up and down more times than I can count, and currently I am sitting at the heaviest I have ever been. I’m terrified that my weight is going to keep on creeping up if I don’t do something about it now.

I joined the Working-IN program at the beginning of May because I really liked the way that it offered more than one element of ‘well-being’. The program focused not only on losing weight but also on all elements of fitness as well as nutrition, yoga and mindfulness.

I’ve tried to do one class every day of the week since I started, and I’ve been amazed by not only how much I’ve enjoyed it, but how easy it has been to achieve. I’m learning to run outside, I’ve done yoga, spinning, strength, flexibly, breathing techniques, mindfulness and core work. It’s fantastic and impossible to get bored.

I love that the classes are small and there are a variety of trainers, each brining their own individual advice and expertise. I’ve felt like every session has been tailor made to suit my body and my ability.

The very best part about the program is the enthusiasm and back up that comes from Debbie and the Working-IN community. The Facebook page is also a place where all members get together and cheer each other on as well as swap stories and share tips. It’s an amazing support. I can easily see this becoming a life long program to follow.

The Working-IN program also offers nutritional advice to go alongside your fitness and I’ve found these invaluable. Not just to me but to my family too. I really want to give my kids the best nutrition start in life so that they really understand what goes into their tummies. Using the weekly shopping lists and meal plans have made that so much easier. It’s still early days for us on this but I am determined to master the whole package.

At just three weeks into my Working-IN journey and I feel like I have only just scratched the surface. There is so much more to learn and discover about keeping my family and I permanently fit and healthy. So far I feel fantastic and would highly recommend it to anyone.

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Granola or Toasted Muesli

• 1 cup almonds*
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 10 medjool dates, seeds removed
• 1 teaspoon concentrated natural vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter (40 grams)
• 1/4 cup goji berries

Preheat your oven to 175°C or 350°F

Line a large tray with baking paper.

Place all ingredients except for the goji berries into your food processor in the order listed above. Pulse and stir until the mixture resembles muesli or is chopped to your liking.

Spread the mixture evenly over your tray and bake in the preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes. Stir and bake for a further 5 – 7 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the goji berries. Allow to cool.

Store. Eat. Enjoy.

*to make this nut free simply increase the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and desiccated coconut by 1/3 cup to make up the 1 cup of almonds in the original recipe.

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