Breakfast of champions!

We have all heard that breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day and I can honestly attest that it is true! Back in the day I used to skip breakfast to "save" on calories but would end up so hungry & sluggish that I would over-eat at lunch and dinner. I was reading an article about some good breakfast ideas and I am using some of their ideas as well as some of my own breakfast ideas that I use to help jump start breakfast the healthy way! So here are 8 really great meals to start your day with a nutritious meal. I find it so much easier to eat healthy the whole day if you start it out eating healthy (:

Oatmeal with fruit. To me, this is the perfect breakfast. Oatmeal is probably the healthier choice, but if you are in a hurry, the instant kind will do fine (it doesn’t have as much fiber, but the other ingredients make up for that). After microwaving the oatmeal, add ground flaxseed (can get from a health food store or even the health food section of the grocery store) add some frozen blueberries, sliced almonds. You can add a little cinnamon and honey (not a lot) if you’re using the non-instant oatmeal. That’s four power foods, full of fiber and nutrients and protein and good fats, with only a couple of minutes of prep time. And very tasty!

Kashi Go-lean crunch Actually, any whole-grain, high-fiber cereal is a good choice, but I mention this particular one because it’s a favorite of mine. It has a high amount of protein and fiber, low sugar. Addskim milk (which has 1/3 the saturated fat of 1% milk), perhaps even some berries if you like.

Scrambled egg whites on a slice of whole wheat toast. By eliminating the yolks you get rid of about 80 calories per egg. Add some onions, green peppers or other veggies, some light soy sauce or tamari, maybe some garlic powder, and black pepper, stir-fry with a little olive oil. Eat with whole-grain toast. Fast and delicious.

Fresh berries, yogurt, granola. Get LIGHT yogurt, cut up some berries or other fruits, add some healthy cereal. I actually use the Kashi Golean Crunch instead of granola, as many brands of granola have way too much fat and/or sugar.

Grapefruit with whole-wheat toast & almond butter. Add a little splenda on top of the grapefruit, and it’s actually pretty good. The almond butter is healthier than peanut-butter, with lots of good protein to fill you up. At Smith's you can even grind up your own almond butter so there is NO preservatives or additives-- really yummy!

Fresh fruit salad. Cut up some apples, melons, berries, oranges, pears, bananas, grapes … any or all or whatever your favorite fruits are. Add a little bit of lime or lemon juice. Perfect.

Protein shake with extras. I use soy protein powder, but whey works well too. Blend up with skim milk, some frozen blueberries, and perhaps some almond butter or oatmeal. That may sound weird, but it’s actually pretty good, and pretty filling. A little ground flax seed works well too.

Cottage cheese and fruit. Get low-fat cottage cheese. Add any kind of fruit. Apples, citrus, berries.