Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day and deserves the right attention to help us start the day having that extra oomph after the overnight fast. The body uses a lot of energy stores for growth and repair through the night. According to the latest evidence, we should all be aiming to consume around 15–25% of our daily energy intake at breakfast which helps us provide fuel for the body and for the mind.
What should the perfect breakfast look like? In this first blog post, I’d like to share with you some useful tips to make your breakfast healthy, varied and interesting:
- the perfect breakfast is based on complex carbohydrates, which slowly release energy over the course of the morning and protect against sugar crash and sudden hunger pangs. A respectworthy breakfast should always include bread, preferably wholemeal, flaked or puffed cereals and some preparations made from wholemeal flours (cakes, biscuits, etc., possibly low in sugar).
- never forget to drink a glass of water or any other drinks such as tea, plant-based drinks or fruit juices (about 200-250 ml) within two hours after waking up to replenish the liquids lost during the night fast.
- another good breakfast habit is to eat a handful of dried fruit, which increases the sense of satiety and slows down the premature ageing of cells. You can enjoy it on its own or mix it in your bowl with porridge, granola or yoghurt.
- for the coffee lovers, one piece of advice is to avoid drinking it on an empty stomach if you suffer from stomach burning. A good substitute is barley coffee, also suitable for children because it does not contain the tannins of coffee which inhibit mineral absorption.
- a proper breakfast should also include fruit, fresh or dried, preferably organic, with the same fibre content as juices and centrifuges getting the advantage of being fuller by lunchtime.
- for those who opt for a savoury breakfast, you can occasionally choose avocado, rich in fat, fibre and nutrients: you can simply spread it on bread with a drop of lemon on it.
- many people often make the mistake of thinking that skipping breakfast helps them lose weight. On the contrary, if the brain does not receive the right nourishment early in the morning, it will remain unsatisfied and the hunger pangs return faster. Another common misconception is that you should have breakfast as soon as you wake up; instead, you should find some time to supply energy to your body within a couple of hours.
- If you haven’t got much time in the morning to have a leisurely breakfast on your kitchen table or you’re more used to having a cappuccino and a croissant at the coffeeshop/bar (very common here in Italy), you can easily replace cow's milk with a high-protein plant-based drink, my favourite one is almond drink, but soya and oat drinks are also good alternatives. A plant-based cappuccino, if done properly, it’s a thing! Talking about croissants the choice should fell, when possible, on fresh artisanal ones rather than frozen ones, asking every time about the ingredients. With the knowledge that vegan doesn’t always mean healthy.