I
t’s no news that breakfast is the
most important meal of the day.
Yet, why do so many of us fall into
a habit of skipping it? Some of
us are short for time; others are strapped
for cash and would rather hold off until
lunch, and the rest of us? Well, maybe we’ve
just managed to crawl out of bed let alone
awoken our appetites.
However, when looking into a recent
study carried out by the American
Heart Association, we discovered some
information that will no doubt make you
want to swap the snooze button for a
10-minute morning session in the kitchen
instead.
Researchers from Columbia University
said that both the time and frequency of
meals are linked to risk factors for a variety
of conditions including heart disease,
strokes, high blood pressure, blood
glucose levels, obesity, and reduced insulin
sensitivity. In simpler terms, the time we eat
our meal is equally as important as what we
eat.
Those who eat breakfast daily are less
likely to have high cholesterol and blood
pressure, while those who skip fuelling first
thing and snack throughout the day instead,
are more likely to be obese, have poor
nutrition, or be diagnosed with diabetes.
It’s time to start waking up and nourishing
your body and brain with healthy and
wholesome foods. And don’t worry, if the
idea of breakfast daunts you because you
are stuck for inspiration; we’ve exploredplenty of oats, grains, cereals and something
slightly unusual to encourage you to kick
start your day.ANCIENT GRAINS
Whilst there is no official identity of ancient
grains, a lot of those that are classified
within this bracket are grains that
have not undergone any
significant change over
the last several hundred
years, or so.Sorghum: This
ancient grain is high
in fibre, protein, and
B-complex vitamins.
A good way to try out
sorghum at breakfast
time is to replace flour
in a pancake recipe with
it. By making the swap, the
pancakes become gluten-free and
a good source of slow releasing energy to
fuel energy levels until lunchtime.Te ff : Free of gluten and originally sourced
in Ethiopia and Eritrea, teff is a tiny grain
regularly used to create a porridge base if
you fancy something different to traditional
oats. There is 120mg of calcium in 100g
serving of teff as well as plenty of vitamin
C, iron, protein, fibre and resistant starch.
Occasionally swapping oats for this ancient
grain every morning will enhance your
morning nutrition.Millet: If you ever wake up in a bad mood
we suggest you try whipping up something
with millet. As an alkaline, complex
carbohydrate and prebiotic grain, millet
contains the happy hormone known as
serotonin. The ancient grain is also a good
option if you want a high protein breakfast,
or antioxidants to nourish the gut
(both known to aid weight
loss). Sprinkle millet in your
porridge, add to some
shredded sweet potato
for some homemade
hash browns or use
it to thicken your
smoothie.Quinoa: Pronounced
“keen-wah”, you’ve
probably already used
this grain at another
mealtime. However, having
developed itself as a superfood
it would be silly not to reap the benefits
of quinoa’s manganese, magnesium,
phosphorus, folate, copper, protein and fibre
first thing. Boil 150g of the grain in 200ml
coconut milk with 2 tablespoons of raw
cacao for 20 minutes, for a nutritious and
chocolatey quinoa breakfast bowl.Buckwheat: Known to improve heart health
by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure,
buckwheat is a nutty flavoured grain that
tastes best after being soaked in a nut
milk overnight (similar to overnight oats).Your ultimate healthy and
wholesome grain breakfast guideNut Milks and
toppings
Nut milks are a great way to add
extra protein into your morning
fuel. Also, if you are opting for
some sort of porridge, overnight
oats, smoothie or pancakes don’t
hesitate to add superfoods, vegan
protein powders, or nuts, seeds
and fruit. You want to get as much
goodness into your body possible
to prepare your body
for the day.