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Breaking the Fast
Breakfast has long been hailed as the most important meal of the day. After a long night of fasting it's important to refuel your body with a big, hearty meal first thing in the morning. While you've been snoozing all night, your body's busy performing maintenance and repairs. So, although you may not feel hungry, you shouldn't deprive yourself of this opportunity to start your day off right. Think about it, when else do you go for a period of 8-12 hours without eating? A healthy, balanced meal in the morning helps to stabilize blood sugar and provides your body with the nutrients it needs to function optimally. And if that's not enough motivation, eating breakfast has been shown to prevent overeating at later meals. CrossFitters beware that skipping out on breakfast can cause your body to break down your own hard-earned muscle for energy in a process called "gluconeogenesis." So, do your body good by eating within an hour of waking. A good, solid breakfast should include a balance of protein, healthy fat, and carbs (preferably from nutrient-rich vegetables and fruit).
Check out this NY Times piece on the importance of eating breakfast to stave off weight gain.
Here are a few ideas for getting your morning off to a good start.
Here's what I had for breakfast today:
2 WHOLE eggs (including yolk; please don't miss out on the most nutritious part of the egg...more on this in a later post!)
3 slices of bacon (a little indulgence on my part, not recommended for daily consumption)
3 cups asparagus
1/2 a yellow onion
1 small serving of jicama and raspberry salad
[In a large frying pan, combine the onion, asparagus and eggs, in this order until fully cooked.]
No time to cook? Try a smoothie, they are quick, easy and delicious! You can get really creative with the flavors by mixing in different types of fruits, nuts or greens.
Here is one of my favorite smoothie recipes:
1 cup goat's milk Kefir
1/2 cup frozen berries
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp brewers yeast
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp ground Flaxseed
2 tbsp chocolate flavored whey protein powder
This vitamin-packed smoothie is loaded with all the right fixings and the best part is it tastes more like dessert than breakfast!
Post your breakfast recipes to comments.
Thanks for the wonderfully practical post, Connie!!!
It is really helpful to have concrete recipes to work with.
Thanks.
can't say I ever eat breakfast anymore...
on the go I would throw in anything...
2 cups oatmeal dry
2 scoops protein powder
peanut butter
milk
egg whites
stir together and chow down!
Tuna
1 spoon
1 can of tuna (chunk light or albacore)
in a spot where you don't mind tuna splatter, take a can opener and begin to puncture can. Once can is punctured, rotate lever doohicky to cut into can and continue till cut all the way around. Drain fluid, or if you are bad a$$ you can leave it.
T and MJJ breakfast of champions
Pop tarts
Take package out of box and open package. place individual pop tarts into toaster if desired and toast for preferred length of time. Let cool or eat while piping hot.
That looks really good. I will try out the recipes this week.
2 scrambled eggs with Marie Sharps habanero salsa
1/2 avocado
Yeah, I love that salsa! Where do they sell it?
Steven- try mashing up a ripe avocado with canned tuna or salmon, salt & pepper- its delicious! You can it as is or throw it on top of a salad.
Farmer Joe's sells Marie Sharps. There is always a bottle upstairs if anyone wants to try it :)
That smoothie recipe that Connie posted is the real deal.
Make sure you're using high-quality whey, though!
Nicole - shouldn't you be providing a warning with that sauce?
Thanks Connie! Where do you get chocolate whey?
Easy comfort food for dinner tonight (12 blocks total)
one pkg organic firm tofu, chopped in dice pieces
one onion, chopped
one head rainbow chard, veined and chopped
chopped garlic, 3-4
half red pepper chopped
handful green beans chopped
2 sticks chopped celery (optional, leftover)
6 ounces of turkey or chicken breast (deli meat/spiced turkey loaf or whatever you got)
some goat feta
large can of organic chopped tomatoes
one jar of your favorite trader joes curry or cacciatore sauce plus 8 oz water
almonds or avocado on the side.
saute all of the chopped items in a big skillet until cooked, then stir in the tomatoes, sauce and simmer 5 min.
Serve with almonds or avocado on the side.
Here's a breakfast that I often have:
4 blocks at 2 to 3 times fat
226 g of Lowfat Cottage Cheese
1/2 bag (8 oz) of Trader Joe's Frozen Mixed berries
1 small apple or 8 ounces of frozen broccoli warmed in microwave
A small handful of almonds or macadamia nuts
If I am trying to gain weight, I chase that with 1 to 2 cups of whole milk.
Connie, what's your educated opinion on steel cut oats? I eat them almost every day for breakfast.
"3-block Moatmeal"
1 cup cooked steel cut oats
3 oz meat of some sort (uncured ham, sausage, etc.)
1 TB coconut oil
Supplement with 1-2 blocks of yogurt or milk if I'm Crossfitting regularly.