Let Her Eat Clean

I love breakfast. Without getting all deep and philosophical here, my body really needs and appreciates it. Heck, it’s been 8 hours+ since I last fed it anything so hardly surprising really – especially when I try to make my dinner the lightest meal of the day.

When I went to the King’s College Feed Your Mind seminars I was mortified to hear (yet deep down, not surprised) that the vast majority of the population eat the same thing for breakfast every single day and that kids get nearly all their daily vitamins from their morning bowl of cereal. What on earth are they eating the rest of the time?!? Anyways… More discussion on that another time.

For now I wanted to share what my breakfast looked like today and make some suggestions for thinking out of the cereal box.

What?

In the mug: Coffee. I love it. Always organic and often with a dash of coconut milk. Take it from me, getting your first caffeine hit of the day from a massive mug with your initial on it always makes you feel like da boss!

In the glass: Surprisingly not a G&T I’m afraid. Sparkling water, ice, fresh limejuice.

In the bowl just creeping out of the picture: mixed leaves – today I think they’re a delightful combination of rocket, watercress and spinach.

In the jar: Almond butter. One teaspoon. No more. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about how divine and immense this stuff is. Repeat after me “One teaspoon. No more”…

In the central bowl: Eggs scrambled with butter and chives. B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l.

Why?

Coffee – Uh, because it’s awesome? And it’s also good for you.  I always choose organic coffee because it’s one of the most heavily sprayed crops and you don’t want to be starting your day by piling a ton of nasties into your body, right? The coconut milk is a great way to get a splash of good fats into your steaming cup of Joe – and is a dairy free alternative.

The water – Your body may not like something fizzy so beware of bloating but I find this super refreshing and I’m convinced the bubbles perk me up a bit. The lime is alkalising. What that means is, to function properly, your blood and other bodily fluids need to maintain the right acid-alkaline balance. Some foods (coffee for example, are acidic) others are alkaline (like lime) hence what you eat is helping your body to achieve that balance.

Leaves – A green plate is a happy plate and I literally try and have one portion of something green with every single thing I eat. I find it helps with my digestion, adds a crunch to a meal and generally makes me feel somewhat virtuous.

Almond butter – This is my way of showing my blood sugar I mean business. One teaspoon of almond butter is an edible message sent to my insulin levels saying “Dudes, don’t you even THINK about spiking at any point today”.  Nuts are really smart, healthy fats that seriously help stabilise blood sugar. I am however rubbish at portion control when it comes to nuts, hence why I like this one teaspoon hit to start the day.

Eggs – The most economical form of organic protein you’ll ever find. Study after study points to high protein breakfasts doing wonders for both energy and productivity levels. That, and in line with coffee, I blinkin’ love scrambled eggs.

How?

I know both from experience and talking to so many people that the hardest thing quite often about cleaning up your diet is breakfast. We’ve been a prisoner to our box of cereal for all too long and anything else seems a) just weird and b) too much hassle. Here’s some suggestions to help get you started

• Work up to it gently – if you can’t stomach anything savoury initially think about organic greek yogurt with flaxseed and berries; there are tonnes of recipes out there for ‘Faux-meal’ or even some simple high quality gluten free oats with almond or coconut milk

• Go steady on the eggs – they’re a lifeline but you don’t want to get bored of them or intolerant. There’s an excellent piece here on how to stay on good terms with eggs

• NO to sausage and bacon everyday –  they are protein (of sorts), yes. Of the high quality variety? No. Processed meat is out and out linked to cancer and you don’t want to be increasing your chances of anything nasty like that. For a weekend treat of course snaffle some brilliant bangers from the butcher but otherwise steer clear on a regular basis

• Love a leftover – this will take time to transition to but there’s nothing easier than having a portion of dinner left overs for breakfast. Zero preparation time and hugely delicious and satisfying. I’m a firm believer a dish always tastes better when it’s had time to soak up more of its own flavours over night

• Be prepared  – yes, it takes longer to make something than it does to shake a cereal box but it’s worth it. Think about what you’ll have the night before. Prep anything you can (you may even want to think about making some homemade burgers or an egg loaf for the week / to freeze in individual portions, for example)

• No one lived longer from straightening their hair – I’ve been there. I’ve wasted an extra 30 mins a morning on my mane. Don’t do it. Put the time to better use to fire up your body in a way it deserves

So, what’s been on the menu for your breakfast this week?