Breakfast ideas

Hi Holly! Eggs are great because they have a lot of protein in them. I usually do 2 scrambled eggs with a piece of toast and avocado. Sometimes I will also make a green smoothie (usually fruit, greek yogurt/milk, and spinach or any other good leafy green) to also have for breakfast. There are a lot of great ideas out there. Oatmeal is great too, or overnight oats are even better (oats, greek yogurt, milk, and whatever fruit and spices you want to add!)

I find making breakfasts high in protein and fibre leave me feeling full for quite a while.

Some of my favourite breakfasts:
- Smoothie (1/4 cup of OJ, 1/2 banana, 40g spinach, 175g of plain Greek yogurt, 15g of chia seeds, 75g of berries, and top it up with enough water to blend)
- Fried egg(s) with half an avocado and cut up tomato slices (all salt and peppered), and maybe a piece of light rye bread if I'm wanting more carbs
- Plain Greek yogurt with, oh, you can top it with anything. Try granolas (but check the ingredients list - you want minimal added sugars), jams, canned pumpkin with cinnamon, a tablespoon of maple syrup and a few pecans - also works well on oatmeal), etc.
- Oatmeal with chopped apples, cinnamon and pecan/walnut pieces (I find I don't need any added sugar with the oatmeal like I prefer with the Greek yogurt)

Ultimately, you need to find what combo of macros keeps you feeling full longest, what foods you enjoy that fit into that, and what breakfasts you can stick to eating! My suggestions above in the portions I use all fall between 200 - 350 calories.

You also need to learn about when you're hungry during the day. I've found that I'm not that hungry first thing in the morning but want to eat ALL THE THINGS in the evening. To accommodate that, I try to eat my breakfast as late as possible (AKA when the hunger pangs actually show up, which is normally around 10:30), and then I just delay my other meals accordingly. May not work for everyone, but works for me!

Good luck!

holly23cali wrote: »

Kdav88 do you weigh your food?

I do, yes. Finally bit the bullet and bought a food scale (not sure why I avoided it for so long, they're really not expensive - perhaps I didn't want to know what I was eating that specifically!). It's actually made a really big difference for me in tracking accurately. There are a few foods where it's definitely like "...that's all I get to eat?!", but there are a number of others I was actually consistently underestimating (like cheese! and Greek yogurt!), so now I get to eat more for tracking the same!

I also like to bake bread, and baking by weight instead of volume measurements helps with getting consistent and intended results, so that's what I told myself I was originally getting the scale for.

Having now weighed things for a while, I'd find it hard to go back! Really lovely not having to get out the measuring cups all the time, too!

@holly23cali I bought this one back when the Canadian dollar wasn't horrible for $35: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005WLPVUG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00. Super happy with it, but there are many other scales available for between $10 - $20, particularly if you're in the US.

...On that note, it's currently on sale for $24 if you're in the US! http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Epicurean-Removable-Weighing-Platform/dp/B005WLPVUG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 ...C'mooooooon $CAD, you can bounce back any time...

Look for scales that have a "Tare" function (can zero out with a plate or something on it), and in weight measurements you're likely to use (mine does both g and oz, although I almost never use oz).

Here are some of my favorites:

Smashed Avocado on protein bread
Scrambled Eggs with tomato (cheese optional)- you can use one full egg and more egg whites to keep calories low
Green smoothies (spinach, water, banana, pineapple or some berries depending on your taste)
Oats with milk and crushed cooked berries with some cinnamon and agave syrup
Cottage Cheese with pineapple