When I was growing up, I used to hear that "breakfast was the most important meal of the day." Commercials would talk about it, teachers would talk about it, and many of our parents did as well. Somewhere between busy and "healthy," it seems as though we've lost the art of breakfast. Around 2015, talk of intermittent fasting became all the rage, inspiring many to skip breakfast in the name of health. Of course, some people continued to eat breakfast, but for the most part, it seems as if there became a drastic divide between two groups: the breakfast-skippers and those who chose a breakfast that was primarily comprised of carbohydrates.
To build a nourishing breakfast, a few main elements are needed: proper macronutrient ratios, fiber, minerals, and anti-oxidants. In part one, we are covering the macronutrients.
Choose your protein. Eggs, chicken sausage, yogurt, or cottage cheese are common choices for breakfast, but any animal protein can be a great choice, even bone broth, if you need something lighter for your digestion.
For an easy measurement reference, your protein should be around the size of your palm in terms of thickness and width if you are eating meat or eggs. If you're having yogurt or cottage cheese, half a cup to a cup is a good range, and if you choose broth, 2 cups is an ideal range for most.
If you track macronutrients, aim for around 25-40 grams of protein for breakfast, depending on your needs.
Add complex and simple carbs: a combination of complex and simple carbs will be a great addition to your breakfast. This can often look like having starch, like oats, rice cereal, or a Japanese sweet potato, paired alongside a fruit, such as a mango, kiwi, blueberries, an apple, a banana and so on.
Your carbs should at least be equal to or slightly over the grams of protein you are eating - and as your carb tolerance improves, you will probably notice an even greater need for carbs. The most carbs any individual should truly have at once compared to protein is 3x the amount of protein. (This is typically for larger meals, like dinner, where you might have a larger portion containing 40 grams of protein and 120 grams of carbs. While this ratio is not one I would suggest often, it has its place depending on an individual's health situation.)
A quick tip: remember that you can pair your food together in a way that sounds good to YOU. While you can have scrambled eggs with oats and a sliced banana on the side, you can combine all ingredients to make protein banana pancakes. While recipes are helpful, sometimes it's very freeing to try to piece food together on your own.
My advice is to be mindful of how much fat your animal protein contains as far as fat goes. Often, animal protein will have enough fat, and if you add cream to your coffee, you will usually get a reasonable amount of fat already.
(Part 2 is coming this week, stay tuned!)
