By Nikita Mayuresh| Posted: September 25, 2018
One of the most common sayings that you might have come across is, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” But have you ever wondered what it might actually mean or how it affects our health? The word breakfast is actually composed of two words, break and fast. It means to break the fast of the night. It’s one of the most important meals of the day, and time and research have proven that breakfast is essential for good health and an important element of weight loss.
Why is breakfast important?
So why has so much importance been given to breakfast, and what is the connection between breakfast and weight loss? As mentioned earlier, breakfast is the first meal of the day, and enables you to “break your fast”, or replenish your body with energy to face the day ahead.
Food is the fuel of the body and the brain, and it is the best way to start up your bodily functions. It also helps to boost the brain, which in turn helps to improve concentration and memory. No wonder parents used to be after our backs when we were growing up to eat a hearty breakfast! Now, when we say a hearty breakfast, we mean to say that it should be a well-balanced meal that includes a mix of healthy fats, fiber, protein, and carbs.
Such a meal will keep you feeling full and satiated until lunchtime, and reduces your chances of snacking on unhealthy foods between meals.
5 reasons why breakfast is so important:
Breakfast acts fuel to energize the body throughout the day. It is one of the easiest ways to kick start your day feeling energized and good.
Breakfast helps to boost metabolism.
Breakfast also helps in elevating one’s mood, and aids in lowering stress levels which may arise particularly when one is hungry. It is a known fact that food has the ability to control our moods, and ensures that you feel great all day long and are able to work well.
A great breakfast also helps with extra weight. A filling breakfast helps to curb the need to binge on unhealthy snacks. Most snacks are filled with unhealthy fats, salts, and sugar to make you feel good temporarily. It’s better to pile on during breakfast than to make yourself vulnerable to unhealthy binging during the rest of the day.
If worse comes to worse, missing out on breakfast can also make you overeat during lunch and pile the calories into your body.
If breakfast is such an important meal, then why do so many people ignore it? Why do some prefer to skip it altogether?
Here are a few reasons why most people end up skipping their breakfast:
Running late for work, and ending up not eating anything in the morning.
Many people wake up without an appetite.
Many people believe that skipping breakfast helps in weight loss.
Many also don’t feel like eating early in the morning before heading out for work or to school.
Another extremely common reason is just not wanting to wake up and prepare breakfast in the morning.
Keeping all the above reasons in mind, we have come up with a list of easy, and more importantly quick recipes for breakfast, which will not only fill you up and energize you, but also help you achieve a healthy weight.
My top 7 healthy breakfast ideas:
1. Avocado toast
This is one of the easiest recipes to follow, as it only takes 5 minutes to make. The ingredients include whole grain bread, avocados, red chili flakes, chopped cilantro, salt, and pepper. Simply combine avocados with the rest of the ingredients and spread on top of freshly toasted whole grain bread.
Benefits
Avocado Toast is high in good fat and dietary fiber, which makes it excellent for healthy weight loss.
One Avocado Toast is only 242 calories!
2. Chickpea flour pancakes
Another easy recipe which takes less than 15 minutes to make, and includes the following ingredients:
Chickpea flour, Chopped Onion, Tomato, Cilantro, Salt, Pepper, Water, and Olive Oil.
Combine all the ingredients except for the oil, and then spoon the batter onto a hot skillet. Flip when the first side is cooked, and continue to cook until done.
Benefits:
Chickpea Flour Panca are only 178 calories per pancake, which is very low.
Has a good blend of nutrients, including iron, protein, vitamins A and C, healthy carbs, calcium, dietary fiber, and good fats.
This is a wholesome breakfast recipe that will keep you full for a long time, due to its low glycemic index.This will help you eat less and promote weight loss.
3. Hummus with crackers
Hummus with crackers is another easy weight loss recipe to follow, as it includes minimal ingredients:
Chickpeas, Garlic, Olive oil, Salt, Tahini and Lemon Juice. Blend all these ingredients in a mixer and use as toppings on store-bought crackers.
Benefits:
At only 64 calories a bowl, this recipe is a healthy and low-calorie breakfast.
Hummus is high in protein and has low glycemic index, which helps you lose weight.
This is also a great post-workout meal, as it replenishes your strength.
4. Scrambled cottage cheese sandwich
Here’s another great breakfast recipe that is quick and easy to make, and includes ingredients such as:
Bread, Cottage Cheese, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Onions, Olive oil, Salt, and Pepper.
Combine all ingredients except the bread and the oil, and cook it in olive oil. Once cooked, spread it as a topping on toasted whole grain bread.
Benefits:
This menu is a bit more in terms of calories, but is highly nutritious. At 264 calories per sandwich, this is a great meal for tougher days when you need a bit more sustenance.2. Apart from being delicious, this sandwich is high in macronutrients like protein, calcium, good fat,and vitamins A andC.
5. Roasted Brussels sprouts and cranberries with barley
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cranberries with Barley makes a fresh and tasty salad which includes the following ingredients:
Brussels sprouts, barley, arugula, onion, and cranberries.
Boil the barley and, once tender, drain it. Add cooked Brussels sprouts, chopped onions, salt, pepper, cranberries, and arugula.
Benefits:
This dishhas oy 279 calories per bowl and is extremely delicious.
Filled with goods fats, protein and carbs, and perfect for a wholesome, healthy breakfast.
6. Vegetable tortilla roll-ups
Another easy-to-make recipe with minimal ingredients:
Asparagus, Cream Cheese, Flour Tortillas, Bell Pepper, Salt, and Pepper.
Cook the asparagus in boiling water, and drain them. Spread cream cheese on each tortilla, and add a few asparagus spears and chopped bell pepper, then season with salt and pepper and make a roll out of it.
Benefits:
These roll-ups are super delicious and low calorie: only 22 calories per roll!
High in all macronutrients like Protein, Carbs and fats, this makes for a great post-workout snack.
You can add all sorts of healthy veggies of your choice to increase its nutritional value.
7. Simple breakfast quesadillas
Simple Breakfast Quesadillas includes the following ingredients:
Tortilla shells, Cheese, Green pepper, Salt, and Pepper. Top each tortilla with cheese. Heat a skillet, saute all other ingredients together until cooked, and toast the stuffed tortilla.
Benefits:
This recipe is super delicious and only 449 calories. It can serve as satiating breakfast on weekends, and it is also very easy to cook.
These quesadillas are rich in healthy carbs, fats and protein. They also contain desired amounts of calcium, iron, and dietary fiber.
Start your day with these healthy breakfast recipes while keeping your weight in check!
I also would encourage you to read Yoga’s Mindful Approach to Weight Management and Weight Loss through Yoga: How to Slim Down with Wisdom, Breath and Postures, and the Perfect Indian Diet Plan for Weight Loss and take a balanced approach towards your weight loss goals.
By Nikita Mayuresh - A software engineer turned blogger, passionate about healthy lifestyle, yoga, good food and loves to share her experiences and knowledge with everyone through her blog Health N Wellness Mantra.