3 favorite, energizing, fat-busting breakfasts

It’s been proven time and time again.

A solid, nutritious breakfast will:

• stabilize blood sugar through the day
• ward off overeating as the day goes on
• eliminate cravings for sweets
• for the above reasons, be a powerful part of a weight loss or fat loss plan

And for the same reasons, no discussion of anything to do with diet and nutrition is complete unless it includes breakfast.

What if you don’t like to eat breakfast?

Let me answer this question with a question.  Or two.

1)  Do you have a weight problem?

2)  Do you tend to eat more food late in the day and into the evening?

If you answered “Yes” to either of the above questions, then your habit of not eating breakfast may just be part of the problem.

Oftentimes women who say they don’t like to eat breakfast answer “yes” to question #2 – do you find yourself eating more later in the day and in the evening. I point out to them that they may well not like eating early in the day because they are still full or digesting from the night before.

This can set up a disastrous cascade of events.  It can result in you experiencing minimal or no hunger early in the day, a missed opportunity for a nutritious breakfast.  Then hunger emerges mid or late morning when it is less convenient for  you to get  your hands on quality foods for your first meal.

It can even show up as hunger later in the day never being quite satisfied.  You know the feeling?  I used to know it well in my days of “storing up calories” for the day to enjoy later. Resulting in multiple weight control challenges. Afternoon cravings.  Evening munchies.

Amazing that something as simple as a stabilizing breakfast can ward off so many of these difficulties!

Some of my favorite breakfasts

Here are 3 of my current favorite choices for breakfasts. They fuel me up, satisfy, provide a solid base for blood sugar stabilization throughout the day, and are just plain fun to eat (one of my rules of eating ;-))

Steel Cut Oats: Also known as Irish Oats, steel cut oats are actually oat groats chopped into two or three pieces.

Steel-cut oats are  full of nutritional value and are high in B-Vitamins, calcium, protein and fiber while  unsaturated fat.  Rolled oats are yum especially the old fashioned kind.  I’ve just been on a roll with the steel cut!

Steel cut oats before cooking

Brown Rice Cream Cereal: You can find this on the market, though I’ve been known to coarsely grind my own brown rice in a pinch to make a pot of this favorite.

All the benefits of brown rice – and you can use a gazillion different varieties – in a warm, sweet, comfy bowl of morning delight.  I like mine with a few raisens cooked in, a splash of almond milk, and other fruit I might have available.  You can also find commercial varieties from Erewhon, Arrowhead Mills (“Rice and Shine” – what an upper!). Bob’s Red Mill makes an Organic Brown Rice Farina Creamy Rice Hot Cereal and I just saw some of same last week in the bulk bins at Whole Foods Market.

Cinnamon-Raisen Brown Rice Mochi: gluten, wheat, and dairy-free, mochi is sweet brown rice that has pounded and formed into flat, heavy cakes.  Amazing that they puff up into such delightful, sweet and edible pillows!

These can be baked, pan puffed (they just puff up with heat, no fancy process needed), or added to soups, but my favorite preparation has been in my waffle iron.  I simply cut the mochi brick into  rectangles, slice into half thickness, plop them into the waffle iron (leave room between chunks as they puff and grow!) and in minutes, mochi waffles.

Crisp on the outside, sweet and chewy on the inside.  Don’t even need syrup, although of course they don’t complain much if you splash on a little something.

Talk about "fun" food! Try mochi

Not only that, but mochi comes in plain (great for dumplings), cashew date, and for those truly decadent Sunday mornings, chocolate brownie.

Not only that, but mochi comes in plain (great for dumplings), cashew date, and for those truly decadent Sunday mornings, chocolate brownie.

Grainassance mochi comes in neat little packages

Tagged as: blood sugar, control challenges, diet and nutrition, munchies, nutritious breakfast, quality foods