Why does everyone say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? A common comparison is that you can't start driving a car without any fuel in the gas tank. This somewhat makes sense, until you think about all your friends that don't eat breakfast and they get up and go to work and start their day just fine. So some people can function without breakfast, while others cannot. I personally must eat something within 45 minutes of being awake or I will feel like I am starving. Others do not feeling hungry until noon. Why is that? It all has to do with metabolism. Your metabolism tells your body how many calories to burn per day. There are many things that can slow your metabolism, including skipping out on breakfast. If you don't consume calories, your body will start to burn fewer calories.
Ok there's my lecture about the importance of breakfast, but the point of this post is to emphasize that what you eat is also important. A good breakfast should fill you up and keep you full. A glass of orange juice is not a good breakfast because it will never keep you full. Things that keep you full all morning are protein and fiber. You can get protein from eggs, nuts, meats, dairy. You can get fiber from whole grains, fruits, vegetables. But who really eats vegetables in the morning? The only breakfast food I eat vegetables in are omelets; and who has time to make omelets in the morning? So here are some super easy ways to get some veggies in the morning, without having to make an omelet.
What you'll need:
- 1/4 cup chipped zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 3 tbsp skim milk
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- small bread loaf, cut in half length-wise
What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the bread.
2. Keeping all the sides intact and bottom intact, remove bread from the inside of the loaf. Bake the loaf for ~ 5 - 8 minutes until toasted.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the bread loaf, careful not to spill over the sides. Return to oven and bake for ~15 - 18 minutes, or until the egg is set. Recipe makes 2 servings. Enjoy with a side of fruit or yogurt. For best results, reheat in the oven.
What you'll need:
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp skim milk
- 1 tbsp chopped red pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped green pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped onion
- 1 tsp paprika
- a pinch of salt and pepper
What to do:
Mix everything together in a coffee mug. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes until egg is cooked all the way through. The egg will puff up; don't worry that is normal. Enjoy with a side of fruit. Recipe makes 1 serving.
Nutrition Notes:
I can feel the questions about eggs coming, so I'll try to go ahead and answer them now. Why do eggs have a bad reputation? Early research on heart disease correlated the amount of dietary cholesterol in a person's diet to the amount of cholesterol in the blood stream. Eggs have a fair amount of cholesterol in them, but studies are showing it is less compared to 20 years ago. Research in the past decade has also been showing that the cholesterol in your blood stream is linked to the amount of saturated fat in your diet, not the amount of dietary cholesterol. Egg yolks have 5 - 6grams of total fat (depending on the size of eggs); of that only 2grams are saturated. Egg whites have 0grams of fat. Most people need no more than 15grams of saturated fat per day. So having 1 egg or less per day will not add a significant amount of saturated fat to your diet. However, if you are topping it with cheese, or having a side of bacon and/or sausage, that is another story.
Ok there's my lecture about the importance of breakfast, but the point of this post is to emphasize that what you eat is also important. A good breakfast should fill you up and keep you full. A glass of orange juice is not a good breakfast because it will never keep you full. Things that keep you full all morning are protein and fiber. You can get protein from eggs, nuts, meats, dairy. You can get fiber from whole grains, fruits, vegetables. But who really eats vegetables in the morning? The only breakfast food I eat vegetables in are omelets; and who has time to make omelets in the morning? So here are some super easy ways to get some veggies in the morning, without having to make an omelet.
Baked Egg-Stuffed Bread
What you'll need:
- 1/4 cup chipped zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 3 tbsp skim milk
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- small bread loaf, cut in half length-wise
What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the bread.
2. Keeping all the sides intact and bottom intact, remove bread from the inside of the loaf. Bake the loaf for ~ 5 - 8 minutes until toasted.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the bread loaf, careful not to spill over the sides. Return to oven and bake for ~15 - 18 minutes, or until the egg is set. Recipe makes 2 servings. Enjoy with a side of fruit or yogurt. For best results, reheat in the oven.
Coffee Mug Scrambled Eggs
What you'll need:
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp skim milk
- 1 tbsp chopped red pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped green pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped onion
- 1 tsp paprika
- a pinch of salt and pepper
What to do:
Mix everything together in a coffee mug. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes until egg is cooked all the way through. The egg will puff up; don't worry that is normal. Enjoy with a side of fruit. Recipe makes 1 serving.
Nutrition Notes:
I can feel the questions about eggs coming, so I'll try to go ahead and answer them now. Why do eggs have a bad reputation? Early research on heart disease correlated the amount of dietary cholesterol in a person's diet to the amount of cholesterol in the blood stream. Eggs have a fair amount of cholesterol in them, but studies are showing it is less compared to 20 years ago. Research in the past decade has also been showing that the cholesterol in your blood stream is linked to the amount of saturated fat in your diet, not the amount of dietary cholesterol. Egg yolks have 5 - 6grams of total fat (depending on the size of eggs); of that only 2grams are saturated. Egg whites have 0grams of fat. Most people need no more than 15grams of saturated fat per day. So having 1 egg or less per day will not add a significant amount of saturated fat to your diet. However, if you are topping it with cheese, or having a side of bacon and/or sausage, that is another story.
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