Breakfast

Weren't you told when you were young that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?  I think we were bombarded with that message growing up, and depending on how busy your life is, you've either adopted this message wholeheartedly or gone completely the other way, because you "don't have time".  I hear you, both ways.

Life is incredibly hectic in the morning for me, with three daughters all in school, all in need of my attention.  Typically they grab whatever they can in the 5 minutes they have and that's what they call breakfast.  Instant oatmeal, frozen waffles, pop tarts, toaster pastries, glass of OJ or milk, cereal, toast, maybe an apple or banana if I'm lucky.  That was my breakfast for the longest time, until I made my dietary and lifestyle changes.  My kids, unfortunately, still eat that way, it's something I need to help them gently with.

But what about most of America?  I was in Las Vegas this past week, and observed again.  Okay, so it's not fair that I'm sitting at a buffet with massive amounts of whatever you want, but I observed closely what people ate.  At the bacon station, there were stacks and stacks of bacon, and people were grabbing them by the 5's or even 10's.  Biscuits and gravy, french toast, pancakes, waffles, with lots of whipped cream and syrup.  Mounds of omelets with sausages, some cooked veggies, etc.  I looked at the people ordering and consuming all of this food, and man, it was just awful.  So many people, so overweight, eating so much.

For some people, breakfast is a cup of coffee, or nothing at all.  Work's so important, I have a meeting to go to, I need to prepare for this or that, I have no time.  And I honestly can't tell you which is worse, eating like you're at a buffet or drinking one cup of coffee and calling that breakfast.

In the morning, your body is just getting started.  Think of going for a run.  You want to warm up slowly, stretch out, start out very slowly, then pick it up as you warm up.  Same goes for your body in the morning.  Start slowly, something very easy to digest.  Like a piece of fresh fruit, an apple, banana, etc.  I do a green smoothie every morning (fruit juice, dark leafy greens, fresh and frozen fruit, ice).  It's a low calorie, high nutrient, easy to digest way to start my morning.  I have energy, nutrients, all unprocessed and done in literally 5 minutes.  Instead of a bowl of oatmeal or toast or something harder to digest and process, I choose something easy to digest, full of nutrients.  Sure, a few hours later, I'll have some oatmeal, some toast, half a bagel, a piece of fruit, or something like that when my body's more ready to deal with it.

For me, breakfast is extremely important.  Try to get something in that is easy on your body, full of nutrients, low in calories, quick to make, and most importantly, makes you feel great.

For my 'Nutty Green Smoothie Recipe" go here:

http://tonydjr.blogspot.com/2010/01/nutty-green-smoothie.html