Don't Skip Breakfast!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I know you have heard it before, but the healthiest people eat breakfast. So why does that one meal affect our overall health? Breakfast is the fuel you give your body to start your day. It gets the metabolism going and jump starts your brain to wake up. Skipping breakfast leads to inability to concentrate, irritability, mood and behavioral problems, increased weight, and more. Guess what moms, children who eat a nutritious breakfast score higher on grades and testing throughout the day. Breakfast sets the standard for nutrition and body function for the rest of your day. People who eat breakfast consume less calories per day than those who skip it!

So does that mean just grab whatever for breakfast and go. NO! It has to be a nutritious. So what is that? Well, let's go back to the challenge from last week...that tells you what should be at each meal. Eat a complex carb and a lean protein at each meal. Did you know that ideally one quarter of your daily nutritional requirements should come from breakfast? Studies show that people who skip on this meal rarely get the recommended daily nutrients. This can have a negative effect on overall health.

My favorite breakfast food is oatmeal with walnuts, flax seed meal, and blueberries. I add a little local honey and I am good to go. I often fix a big batch of oatmeal and keep it in the fridge to warm up each day. I cook raw oats myself and add what I want instead of getting artificial stuff added for me in the quick cook kind!
Here are some breakfast ideas below..some of my family favorites!

1. Oatmeal with flax seed, wheat germ,honey,blueberries, and chia seeds. YUM!

2.These are grab and go bars that Chad likes. Check the ingredients on these..they are great. Anything in the Kashi brand is clean and this other brand is safe too. I found them at Ingles. Remember..this alone is not enough to get all your daily requirements, so add a glass of milk and a piece of fruit, this has a lot of whole grains and fiber.

3. Organic Pop Tarts are great..they have all clean ingredients. They have a lot of different flavors. I got these at Ingles..but they also have these at Walmart. Again..by itself not a full breakfast..so add protein like milk or yogurt and a piece of fruit.

4. Kashi cereals and Cascadian Farms are both clean brands..the Healthy Sunshine, well, the kids think it's captain crunch if they don't see the box, and Jacob loves the raisin bran...

5. This is not the best choice for oatmeal, cooking them yourself is better..But if you didn't have time the to do it, then this is a great alternative. Clean ingredients and quick. Take the pack with you if you have to. You can add wheat germ, flax seeds, some fruit and drink with milk and you are good to go..Joseph likes it with flax seed, I mix some ground and some not ground. No joke..it's kid approved.

6. Smoothies!! you can make flavors you want..you can add yogurt, protein powder milk, almond or coconut milk..any fruit you want, add honey, agave, or truvia...get this.. you can make a big batch, pour them in plastic cups with foil over the top and freeze them. Put one in the fridge the night before and grab it as you go out the door. Oh wow! So easy!!

7. This is my breakfast I ate the other night for supper. I like to do that sometimes. It's a farm fresh egg, bacon (yes bacon, preservative free and nitrate free) kashi blueberry waffles with blueberries and pure maple syrup, and a glass of 2% milk.