It’s not a time for my best breakfast ideas. Or any ideas for that matter.

That’s why I go for the same old, same old breakfast. Usually something with a mule-like sugar kick and loads of carbs. Delicious, don’t get me wrong, I love the sugary, carby cereals. Fortunately (or is that unfortunately?) there’s lots of breakfast cereal brands out there to fill the gap.

It’s now 7.48pm on a Monday night…

…Perfect breakfast ideas time.

So here’s some of my favourites:

1. Liquid Breakfast – blend a banana, low fat milk or soy milk, soy, linseed and almond meal, low GI cereal and go, go, go. Actually make it a fruit salad smoothie. Throw in whatever fruit you have, even the slightly overripe stuff.
2. Eggs-cellent breakfast idea – eggs on whole grain toast are a great under-rated way to start the day.
3. Low GI diet breakfast – sounds complicated but low GI foods and cereal products are easy to find. And well worth the effort. Start the day with a slow-release food and avoid the m-id-morning ‘sugar low’.
4. Oats with grated green apple – simple, delicious, cheap and nutritious. A great combination.
5. Healthy Breakfast – low GI cereal, whole grain toast, fresh juice and a green tea. This is not only super healthy, a low GI diet helps keep your hunger away for longer than higher GI foods.

Sometimes the best idea is to prepare a little before bed the night before.

Also, a healthy breakfast sets you up for a virtuous day. You just feel better about yourself safe in the knowledge you’ve started the day healthily.

Enjoy!

Breakfast cereal is good. Right?

For some reason most of us think cereals and especially muesli are good for us and our family. Of course, there are the obvious examples but surely grains and milk are are a healthy way to start the day.

If only it were so.

Are your kids eating a bowl of sugar?

Eating a healthy breakfast or a bowl of sugar?

Take 2 minutes and check the levels of sugar in the cereals your kids are eating. Go on, I’ll wait.

Surprising isn’t it?!?

Even the so-called ‘healthy’, ‘whole grain’, ‘all natural’, ‘real fruit pieces’ claims can mask sugar levels of 25%. And more.

Healthy foods aren’t always healthy I’m afraid.

The good news of breakfast cereal.

The good news is there are a few really healthy breakfast cereals on the market.

The first place to look is not the the front of the pack. That’s where all the marketing hype is. Go straight to the back. Check out the nutritional panel. There’s no hype there. Just facts.

DIY breakfast ideas

If you can’t find something healthy and low in sugar, it’s pretty easy (and cheap) to make you’re own. Plus, you can tailor it to suit your tastes.

Try nuts like:

• almond flakes
• hazelnuts
• linseed
• walnuts

Seeds like:

• sunflower
• pepitas
• sesame

Grains (whole) like:

• Oats
• Puffed wheat

Fruit (fresh is best)

• Whatever’s in season
• Kids favourites
• Berries
• Green apples, sliced or grated

Develop your own breakfast recipes. Share them with friends.

Maybe one day they’ll be so popular you can market them.

Enjoy!

If it’s so great why is it so hard to have a healthy meal at breakfast?

Many of us think eating cereal with a few slices of toast is a healthy start to the day. Many of us would be wrong!

You are what you don’t eat

Just take a look at the nutritional panel of the cereal you’re eating. Yes, even the so-called healthy muesli. While you’re at it also peek at the bread and the spread you’re using.

Chances are you’re eating a great big bowl of sugar.

Are you eating sugar or breakfast?

You’re not eating a healthy meal, that’s for sure. What you have in sugar and carbs you’re going to miss protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Not eating enough protein and fibre is a recipe for feeling hungry in just a few hours. You know, that familiar mid-morning snack.

Healthy meals, healthy appetite

Enjoying more healthy meals more often will, over time, change the expectations of your body and mind. Soon you’ll start craving healthy meals instead of junk and sugary snacks.

Here’s a few ways to get more healthy meals into your life.

• Sugar fix – every day, every meal look for ways to slightly reduce the amount of sugar you’re consuming. If you have 2 sugars in coffee, make it 1.
• Take your time – at first preparing healthy meals will take some mind power and time. You’ve got to get used to the idea. So think about a few breakfast ideas the night before or while shopping.
• Green scene – have some green vegetables with lunch and dinner. Throw some spinach leaves on the side. Oh yeah, then eat them.
• Go Low – try introducing low GI (low glycemic index) foods into your diet. This is a whole new topic but low GI foods are easy to find. Plus you’ll find they fill you up for longer…less snacking.

A low GI cereal is a great start

Enjoy!

In today’s world it just means fast. No-one has time for cooking or complicated breakfast recipes in the week, especially the working week.

But, that’s no excuse for eating badly in the morning. I think most of us have heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s just that not many of us treat it importantly.

Looking at the supermarket breakfast aisle we’re faced with a wall of cereals all making some sort of health claim. To be perfectly honest not many of them really live up to their healthy messages. But this is not an article about the pros and cons of breakfast cereals.

In short, a good short-hand for a healthy start to the day is a low GI, all natural cereal with less than 10% sugar (nb. even low GI products can be high in sugar).

Low GI foods are in good taste

Fast Breakfast Recipes

Low GI cereal with low fat milk and fresh fruit. Not only good for you the low glycemic index (GI) means you’ll feel fuller for longer.

Eggs and sausage. Yes, eggs and sausage! Use a non-stick pan (no oil), free range egg and a low fat sausage. Fast to prepare and filling.

Fruit salad, low GI cereal and yoghurt. Just grab whatever fruit you have handy or is in season and chop roughly (no time to spare on nice cuts). Adding low GI cereal adds some texture and protein. Yoghurt adds some calcium and sweetness.

Bubble and Squeak. Almost forgotten gem but one of my all-time favourite fast breakfast ideas. Using last night cooked (ideally steamed or stir-fried) vegetables, add an egg and pan-fry. Add a slice or two of whole grain toast and away you go.

Get creative with your breakfast recipes. In no time you’ll break free of the cereal routine.

Enjoy!

We often place breakfast cereal in the ‘healthy’, ‘good for me’ category. It must be to do with the ingredients – grains, dried fruit and the milk we add. I wish it was so simple.

Are you eating a healthy breakfast cereal or a bowl of sugar?

More and more we’re becoming aware of just how much sugar many cereals contain. The sugar is either naturally occurring in the ingredients or added. (Nevermind the sugar we add ourselves either through table sugar, honey, chocolate, fruit etc).

Naturally occurring sugar is fine. Up to a point. If a cereal contains dried fruit, as many do, they actual sugar level can be as high as 25%.

Added sugar is far worse. Check the contents of the cereal you’re eating. If it states ‘sugar’ high on the ingredients list then you could be starting your day effectively with a bowl of the stuff. Not a good start to the day.

The nutritional panel doesn’t lie.

If you’re trying to reduce the amount of sugar you consume (and that is probably most of us), then the first place you should look is on the back of the pack. Even on so-called ‘healthy’ mueslis you might be shocked and awed by the amount of sugar.

Low sugar (and by ‘low’ I mean under 5%) cereals do exist.

It’s just takes some detective work. What’s especially hard is finding a low sugar breakfast cereal that actually tastes good. (We can’t escape from the fact that sugar makes things taste great). But they do exist.

Your own breakfast cereal.

In the meantime you may have to create your own breakfast recipes. If you do, try brans, nuts and seeds. Rolled oats are good but I find them boring. In any case, the best breakfast ideas include a balance of carbs, protein and fibre. And another thing, go for whole grains.

Far easier than making your own is to find a cereal with taste and without sugar. My advice is to start Googling.

Now, with all the information available about what’s in many cereals I’ve changed my mind. I also think many others have changed theirs as well.

Nothing good ever comes out of a box.

I once heard this from a nutritionist friend when we were chatting about cereals. (Yes, I actually do chat about cereals).

And when you look a bit closer at what’s in most breakfast cereals you’ll probably agree. It’s too easy to point the finger at the obvious culprits – the mass-produced kid-friendly cereals, especially the chocolate based ones. We know these are nutritionally poor. But what about the so-called healthy cereals?

Many of these healthy cereals point to the fruits included in their ingredients as if that’s evidence of their goodness. What they don’t highlight (but it’s there on the nutritional panel) is the surge in sugar levels from dried fruit.

Don’t get me wrong, fruit is vital everyday food. But the better option is fresh fruit added to your cereal. It’ll taste better and give you far more nutrition, especially fibre.

The most important part of any cereal – the nutritional panel.

Have you noticed when you’re considering a new product you immediately turn it over to check-out the nutritional panel? I know I do. Without really thinking about it.

I guess the reason is that it just feels more credible than other claims made on-pack. The nutritional panel and ingredient list seems like a government requirement to manufacturers and wrong information would be punishable – which, in fact, it is.

Ticking the cereal boxes

So what should we look for in the nutritional information? Of course, it depends on what you’re looking for, for example weight-loss, low GI, organic or just an all-round healthy start to the day.

For me, the best breakfast cereals have to tick all the boxes: natural ingredients, low carb (say, under 50%), high protein, high fibre, low salt, no additives and, most of all, low sugar.

Sugar is the enemy of a healthy breakfast.

Starting your day with a hefty dose of refined, processed sugar like what is found in many cereals, is not a good start. Tasty, sure, but the honeymoon is soon over when the sugar-high wears off and your energy levels dip. Not to mention the 10.30am hunger pains.

Wean yourself off the sugar by mixing some low sugar cereal with your regular cereal. Gradually, over a week or so, increase the level of the low sugar cereal and you’ll notice your body get used to (and appreciate) the goodness of a healthy, low sugar cereal.

Enjoy!

A diabetic looking to hit below that magic number on your blood glucose score?

Then consider low glycemic index (low GI) breakfast ideas are easy with little change in routine and without having to eat boring, tasteless foods. There are no pills, supplements, or protein shakes to buy. It is all part of a healthy and good for you low GI diet.
A low GI diet can increase your energy and fill you up throughout the day. This can help with weight loss and mood swings. In the long run a low glycemic index diet can prevent the spread of blood sugar related complications, even heart attack and stroke if combined with many other healthy choices.
Many people have their own breakfast ideas that are unhealthy for them. Sugar laden breakfast bars may fill you with short-lived energy but they do not really fill you up. The problem is that high GI foods break down very quickly and release carbohydrates in such large amounts, that they are gone before you know it. You are left with a rumbling tummy and a crash after all that energy goes away. The good news is that with a little research and a little determination to get and stay healthy, you can invent some pretty awesome breakfast ideas that are delicious and good for you.
Natural fruits and whole grains contain low glycemic index levels and make wonderful breakfast ideas. Try a natural organic jelly with no sugar added on your whole wheat toast or consider some natural low fat cream cheese on toast with a side of organic, sugarless apple sauce. Whole grain pancakes with honey or natural maple syrup still taste great and don’t leave you feeling as bloated or yucky as all the processed sugar and chemicals as standard store bought syrup does. You can even make your own maple syrup or buy home harvested from the local farmers.
All bran muffins are a great breakfast idea and can include a wide variety of fruit. Popular blueberry muffins traditionally have a lot of calories and a high glycemic index. However, made with all bran and natural fruits, they are tasty and carry a quarter of the calorie count. You can always apply a dab of low calorie cool whip to the top of the muffin to top it off. Another great breakfast idea is low fat plain yogurt with granola or bran buds, these can also be mixed with fresh or free dried natural fruits like strawberries.
Eggs have a low GI count, just make sure you buy organic and cage-free eggs as the hens in commercial hen houses are often sickly and pumped full of chemicals to mass produce as many eggs as possible. This is bad for the chicken and you, so support your local farmer who offers his chickens room and does not force shots on them to produce more eggs than is recommended. For great breakfast ideas that include eggs, try a western omelette’s with rye toast or scrambled eggs and imitation bacon.
So why not try some of these great ideas for a lower glycemic index diet?

I love the the fact that eating is the best strategy to losing weight.

Diets, especially those that demand complete and instant change to routine, in many cases are counter-productive. That is, after the diet you put the weight straight back on. Maybe even more weight than you lost.

Plus, diets are plain boring, hard-work, anti-social and expensive.

Much better to eat your way to weight loss or weight management. Or to general health and wellbeing for that matter.

And there’s no better place to start than at breakfast.

If you had just one weight loss strategy to use then a good, filling, healthy breakfast would be it. (On the other hand, skipping breakfast is probably the worst weight loss strategy).

It’s pretty simple. What you eat at the start of the day sets your body and your mind up for the rest of the day. Throwing down a high carb, sugary cereal may be quick and taste great but the sugar rush is over as quick as it starts. What you’re left with is the familiar mid-morning slump. And that takes many of us straight to the cookie jar for yet another quick, tasty, sugary hit.

The good news is a filling, low carb, low sugar, high protein and fibre breakfast is easy to make and will keep you going through the day. You just need to top-up with smaller meals at lunch and dinner.

Here’s a few breakfast ideas and breakfast recipes to get you started. We recommend low GI cereal for weight loss and general health for many reasons especially it’s ability to make you feel fuller for longer.

Traditional Big Breakfast

Low GI cereal with low fat milk

Eggs, poached

Wholemeal toast, no butter

Coffee or tea with low fat milk and sweetened with a natural sugar alternative like stevia

Banana or small juice

Breakfast, Fast

Low GI cereal or porridge with low fat milk and fresh fruit and mint

(avoid cereals high in carbs and sugars, even the so-called ‘healthy’ cereals)

Chinese herbal tea throughout the day

Sweet Success

Low fat, low GI cereal with low fat yoghurt and fresh fruit (look for cereal high in protein and fibre)

Chinese herbal tea

Breakfast Crunchie Smoothie

Blend low fat milk or soy milk, banana, strawberries, low fat yoghurt and low GI cereal

Enjoy!

The biggest, most brilliant idea is to actually have breakfast. Maybe not a big idea to you but many people skip the most important meal of the day.

The only thing you should skip in the morning are diets that don’t fill you up with natural, healthy, sustaining foods. There is one more thing you should skip (no, not a rope) and that is high carb, sugary, fortified cereals. You know, the ones that taste great and give you a surge of energy (a surge of sugar more like) but leave you hungry and lacking zest by mid-morning.

Breakfast – make a meal of it

That’s right. A delicious, natural, filling meal you crave every morning. Fuel up on healthy foods and you’ll be amazed how you can push through “hunger o’clock”, that is, 11am.

Make Low GI Breakfast Cereal high on your list

Most simply, low GI foods release their energy slower than medium or high GI foods. That means a longer feeling of energy and hunger satisfaction. And that means they keep you going for longer.

Breakfast Ideas

Traditional egg breakfast – why not?!? Eggs fill you up with protein. Poach them to avoid adding oil to you day. Add some wholegrain toast (no butter, you don’t need it with egg) and herbal tea. And go.

Liquid Breakfast – blend a banana, seasonal berries and low fat yoghurt with low fat milk: cow, soy or oat, bran and some healthy muesli. A meal in a cup.

Enjoy!