Eating Clean - Easy Breakfast Ideas

Eating clean and healthy foods for breakfast is not as difficult and time consuming as one would think. In fact, many healthy breakfasts can be prepared with common items out of your own pantry.

Since breakfast is the first meal of the day it only takes some common sense to realize that this meal sets the tone for the rest of the day. Assuming your last meal from the previous day was eaten somewhere in the evening then approximately 8 to 10 hours will have passed since your last bite of food.

It is important to remember that you need protein and some carbohydrates at breakfast. Protein is important in helping to build healthy muscle mass and carbohydrates are important because they give you sustainable energy until your next meal. The following is a list of some really healthy meal ideas:

1. Oatmeal with fruit. Add 1/2 cup of rolled oats to 1 cup of boiling water. Boil the water for 2 minutes in the microwave. Add the oats to it and cover with a plate to allow the heat to absorb the oats. In a couple of minutes your oatmeal is done. Add 1/2 cup of berries like strawberries, blueberries, or any other type of berry. If you cannot buy them fresh then buy them frozen. Add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon for a better flavor. I personally add 2 teaspoons of flaxseed (found in the health food store or health markets). Flaxseed is rich in omega-3 oils.

2. Egg Whites with fruit - You can make your egg whites by several methods. The easiest method is hard boiled. It's easiest to hard boil your eggs in advance of when you want to eat them. This method allows me to pull a few eggs out of the refrigerator in the morning. After I peel them I remove the yokes. I then add cut up fruit to the bowl. The eggs have the needed protein and the fruit has the carbs that are needed.

3. Grainy bread and peanut butter - There are many reasons why a peanut butter sandwich is a healthy breakfast option. But what's also important to know is that you should choose a healthy grain bread and natural peanut butter. The best bread is a very grainy wheat bread that does not contain high fructose corn syrup as one of it's ingredients. All natural peanut butter is the best nut butter to use. The peanut butter gives you the protein and the bread gives you the necessary carbs.

4. Protein Shake - Although I don't personally drink shakes as a meal replacement it doesn't mean you can't. In general shakes don't fill me up for 3 hours and I only end up feeling very hungry rather quickly. However, you may want to have a shake. The following is an idea for a healthy breakfast smoothie: 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup berries, 1 tbsp flaxseed, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt, 2 scoops protein powder, ice cubes. Puree it all together.

Another good tip to starting your day off clean and healthy is to drink at least one tall glass of water right when you wake up and drink another glass of water throughout your breakfast.

For other healthy breakfast ideas please visit my blog at http://www.themommyorganizer.com.

Low Fat Low Calorie Recipes Made Easy

With your effort to begin living your life wholesomely, you've decided to enjoy purely low calorie foods. Although reachable, it needs to be supported via the understanding of exactly what foods to enjoy then when to eat them. Generally, it's best for you to have fewer portioned servings which are spread out over five to six times each day. Most of all, ensure that the servings are prepared using low calorie meal tested recipes.

I've discussed the portion for the meals, but where specifically are you able to find a listing of quality recipes for these meals? Visit a nearby bookstore to get low calorie recipes or use the internet to find them.

Make yourself a list of recipes so you can have access to them for your low calorie breakfast, noon time meal, supper and treats. As a result you won't find yourself in trouble eating a similar meal over and over. Like they say, variety is considered the spice of life and it's always nice to put together several food varieties.

What you might want to do is maintain an adequate supply of food that's readily available when using your low calorie meal recipes. You will be able to plan and prepare them over the weekend and make enough servings to last for 7 days. It's certainly better whenever you can simply get hold of the lunch you have prepared instead of visiting a diner and eating unhealthy food. Simply by making the meals in your own home, appropriate food choices you have prepared are merely a reach away.

Among the advantages of planning meals ahead of time is that you will cease from giving into harmful urges. When working hard everyday the whole day, the very last thing you want to do immediately after getting home is stress about what to prepare and eat.

Good you can now adjust that routine of dialing the phone to buy pizza to pushing the reheat button on the microwave. There is absolutely no prep time, as it's all been completed in advance. You will have the meal ready in a minute or two.

Aside from maintaining a healthy diet make use of low calorie meal directions. Consider setting aside time for daily workouts so that you can drop some weight quicker.

Do both of these together regularly, then having that healthful slender body is simply just a matter of time.

Jim Valicenti, is an online marketer and fat burner addict. Visit his site to learn more about weight loss and how to burn off that stubborn belly fat that never seems to go away http://fatburnertips.net

Delicious Smoothies - The Almost Instant Breakfast

These days when we are all trying to cram more and more into twenty-four hours, multi-tasking, generally doing at least two things at once, it is still hard to find time to sit down and eat a healthy breakfast. Smoothies could be your answer, they are quite a thick drink and they do fill you up, which is a bonus as they are also low in calories which is probably pretty important to you if you are watching your weight. If you can add some oatmeal and/or nuts, the smoothie will make you feel full for even longer.

Why are smoothies better than a glass of fruit juice, you may ask? Fruit juice is good for you - period. But it will only ever be the juice of the fruit, you miss out on the 'whole fruit goodness' that you get from a smoothie. The fruit pulp contains the soluble and insoluble fiber which are both so vital for our digestive health and which protect us from health problems in later life such as bowel and colon cancer. A smoothie is also packed full of vitamins vital for the health of our immune systems, chiefly vitamins A, B6 and E plus minerals such as calcium, magnesium and zinc which also play a vital role in fighting off infection.

All these nutrients are presented blended into a form which is more easily digestible, especially if you include probiotic yogurt in your smoothie blend which is also brilliant for digestive health and supporting the immune system.

You do not even have to have lots of fresh fruit to hand to make your smoothie. All fruits except for citrus can be frozen and adding frozen fruit to a smoothie will make your drink extra creamy. So it could not be easier to peel a few bananas, chop them into chunks and pop them in the freezer to be ready for a smoothie any time you want. Berries such as blackcurrants, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries all freeze well for smoothies - strawberries are fine too as although they are rather 'mushy' for a dessert once thawed, popping them frozen into a smoothie, they taste as good as fresh.

If you have a smoothie maker and about three minutes, you can whiz up a delicious healthy smoothie and pop your smoothie into a flask to drink on your way to work if you are too rushed to drink it before you go. If you choose a smoothie maker with dishwasher safe parts, taking care of it could not be easier or quicker, no fiddly bits to wash by hand, nothing time-consuming at all. So absolutely no excuse to neglect yourself and not eat a healthy breakfast every morning!

Alison Graham I have a website which explains how to choose the right Smoothie Maker for your requirements and how to make healthy and delicious smoothies which are not only good for our immune systems but also good for our digestive systems because of all the soluble and insoluble fiber they contain. I write on healthy food topics and gardening.

Breakfast Makes Me Hungry and I'm Trying to Lose Weight

I hear this complaint all of the time from clients who are trying to lose weight: "Whenever I eat breakfast, it makes me more hungry, even before lunch. I'm better off not eating at all until later in the day." This, however, is a really bad idea. You don't realize it, but you more than make up for those calories later in the day. Your body knows how many calories it wants and it will have you eat them, even without you consciously noticing; piling on second helpings, snacking before dinner and late at night. Then you try to justify that you can use those extra calories because you skipped breakfast!

There are two main reasons that eating breakfast can lead to hunger later in the morning: One is the adaptive function of our body to conserve energy when we do not eat. It goes back to the caveman days: if there wasn't food around, our metabolism would slow down to conserve energy. Our bodies work the same way today: if we don't eat breakfast, our metabolism slows down and we are less hungry as a result. Some people don't get hungry till late in the afternoon if they don't eat breakfast--they skip lunch as well! But, as I mentioned, they almost always make up for it later in the day. If we eat breakfast, our metabolism starts running: "we have plenty of energy to use," our body says, "so let's start using it!" If we don't keep eating we get hungry in a few hours. It's okay to eat again then--just be sure to have a snack that's not too high in calories, such as a handful of nuts or a few crackers with peanut butter. Then you won't be starving at lunch time!

The other factor that causes people to be hungry a few hours after breakfast is the drop in blood sugar. Often at breakfast we eat foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in fat and protein, such as a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice, or toast with jam. Our blood sugar spikes high in an hour or so, and drops quickly in another hour, leaving us dizzy and weak by mid-morning--way before lunch time.

The solution to this is either having some high-protein food that also has a little fat in it, like an egg, cheese, cottage cheese, or peanut butter; or otherwise go with the mid-morning snack idea!

I know it sounds contrary to eat extra meals and snacks, particularly when one is trying to lose weight, but there are many studies that prove eating frequent small meals during the day results in weight loss. In the meantime, try keeping a food diary for a few weeks to see what works for you. Which breakfast foods leave you satisfied until later in the morning? Does your weight really fluctuate if you eat a 300 calorie breakfast and a 200 calorie mid-morning snack (as opposed to nothing until lunch time and then catching up on calories the rest of the day)? People have to prove it to themselves to believe it works. Try having a small and healthy breakfast, followed by a high-fiber, low-calorie mid-morning snack, and see if you don't find yourself continuing this healthy eating pattern throughout the rest of the day.

Laurie Beebe, The Diet Coach, is a registered dietitian certified in adult weight management. Coaching helps dramatically by allowing people to set their own goals and design their own action plans. Please visit Laurie's website for more tips on having a healthy breakfast and healthy snacks at http://www.mycoachlaurie.com/products and you can sign up for a free monthly newsletter! Visit http://lifedietbalance.blogspot.com for more great diet tips that can lead you to a healthier diet and permanent weight loss! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laurie_Beebe

Not Eating Breakfast Leaves Your Brain Craving High Calorie Foods

You may have already heard that not eating breakfast, often called the most important meal of the day, isn't a good idea if you're trying to lose weight. But in the rush to get out the door in the morning, many of us just don't have the time, even though studies have shown those who eat breakfast stay slimmer and consume fewer calories during the course of a day.

Now new research has hit upon the explanation.

The work involved 20 healthy, non-obese subjects who skipped breakfast before a fMRI scan.

During the test, the subjects looked at photos of both high and low calorie foods. High calorie choices included pizza, chocolate and cake. The low calorie foods were things like veggies, salad and fish.

Using scans known as function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that help doctors look at blood flow in the brain and how it increases in response to brain activity, the researchers were able to compare how breakfast eating vs. breakfast skipping affected the reward center of the brain.

The reward center is known to be a part of the brain involved in keeping track of the pleasure and reward that comes from food, as well as igniting the motivation to eat. The taste, smell and sight of food also serve to activate these reward centers.

What the team found was that the reward center of the brain of the breakfast skippers lit up more vividly when these subjects saw a high calorie food as opposed when they were looking at a healthier alternative.

High calorie foods also were on top of the list of favorites the breakfast skipping subjects listed when asked to rank foods they found most appealing.

Just the opposite was true when it came to the subjects who ate breakfast first, then had the fMRI 90 minutes later.

This time, the reward center of the brain didn't show any greater activity at the sight of the high calorie foods as when looking at the low calorie ones. What's more, the subjects didn't rate the higher calorie foods any more appealing than the lower calorie ones.

"Our results support the advice for eating a healthy breakfast as part of the dietary prevention and treatment of obesity," says Tony Goldstone, MD, PhD, a consultant endocrinologist with the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College, London.

"When people skip meals, especially breakfast, changes in brain activity in response to food may hinder weight loss and even promote weight gain."

Skipping breakfast causes your metabolic rate to slow down while your blood sugar also drops.

This brings on feelings of hunger that set you up for impulse eating later on in the morning, at lunch or dinner.

Eating breakfast at the start of your day gives the body the fuel it needs to feel satisfied, so that you're less likely to overeat, or eat on impulse for the rest of the day.

Here are some quick-to-make, healthy breakfast suggestions to try:

- Milk and whole-grain cereal
- Instant oatmeal topped with raisins and milk
- Whole-grain granola topped with fruit and yogurt
- Peanut butter on whole-wheat toast or a bagel
- Fruit smoothie made with yogurt
- Cheese and whole-grain crackers
- Energy bars so long as you read the labels - some of these have little fiber and as many calories as a candy bar.

Future studies in this area might even uncover ways to prevent the activation of the brain's reward center so that high calorie choices don't seem so appealing.

In the meantime, if you're trying to lose weight or just keep your weight under control not eating breakfast is not an option, as a healthy breakfast including natural sources of protein will help you feel fuller, longer.

Next just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information why not eating breakfast and skipping meals is bad for your overall health. Plus get 5 free fantastic health reports.

The Top 4 Breakfast Foods to Lose Weight

Are you dieting to lose weight? The most important thing you have got to bear in mind then is to see to it that your breakfast is the richest and the heaviest meal for the day. Often people tend to skip breakfast, in an attempt to aid weight loss; but sadly they are all mistaken. Breakfast is highly important, if skipped can have serious consequences on your weight. This does not mean to gobble some of the sinful food, keep the calorie count low. If you are still wondering what I am talking about, check out the top 5 diet breakfast options -

1. Muesli: A wholesome meal, muesli is said to have great benefits if eaten with milk or yogurt every morning. It contains nothing but nuts, dried fruits, oats, berries, etc which is not just delicious and tasty but is a good dose of all the essential nutrients you need to be geared up for the rest of the day. Muesli tops the list of top 5 breakfast options to lose weight.
2. Granola: This is yet another incredible idea for breakfast. Known to be highly versatile, it not just satisfies your taste buds but also pumps in sufficient carbohydrate, fiber, protein and other essential nutrients. Consumed with low fat milk or curd, this is another great option for breakfast; easy to make and best to lose weight.
3. Berries: To just start your day with a bowl of berries is also a great idea. Berries have all that necessary anti-oxidants to kick start your day with all that energy. A scrumptious meal. I must say, if you like some blueberries, strawberries, etc, try this for breakfast.
4. Healthy drink: You can also choose to sip on some fruit smoothie or even some green tea to go with your food. A drink in the morning totally refreshes you.

Of course apart from all this, you can also try out the all time favorite, pancakes. You can also purchase the best pancake griddle or even the electric pancake griddle and make the most delicious pancakes.

Start Your Day With Low Carb Breakfast and Low Fat Breakfast Recipes

Do you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? You need to have a healthy breakfast to start off the day. Here are a couple of low-carb breakfast and low-fat breakfast recipes that you could easily make for your family and kids.

Yogurt with Toasted Almonds and Jam
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes

Exchanges/choices
1 fat free milk
1 Carbohydrate
1 fat

Calories 195
Total Fat 4.5g
Cholesterol 15mg
Sodium 160mg
Total Carbohydrate 26g
Protein 14g

Ingredients:
4 cups fat-free plain yogurt
1/4 cup Splenda
4 Tbsp low sugar raspberry jam
4 Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted

Cooking methods:
In a medium bowl, combine yogurt and Splenda. Divide evenly among three small serving bowls. Dollop each bowl of yogurt with 1 Tbsp jam and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp toasted almonds.

Nutrition Tips:
This simple delicious breakfast is a great source of calcium, which is needed for bone health and the prevention of osteoporosis.

Egg Sandwich with bacon and cheese
Serve 4
Prep time: 10 minutes

2 Starch
2 Lean Meat

Calories 245
Total Fat 3.5g
Cholesterol 20mg
Sodium 1150mg
Total Carbohydrate 31g
Protein 24g

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 slices Canadian bacon
1 cup egg substitute
1/8 tsp ground-black pepper
4 whole-wheat English muffins, split and toasted
4 (1-oz) slices fat-free American cheese

Cooking Method:
Coat a medium skillet with cooking spray. Add Canadian bacon. Cook over medium heat 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.

In a medium bowl, beat egg substitute and black pepper with a wire whisk until well blended, pour into skillet. Cook until egg substitute is almost set, draw a spatula across the pan to form large curds. Cook an additional 4-5 minutes, or until eggs are firm but still moist, stirring occasionally.

Spoon about 1/4 of egg mixture over one English muffin half, top with 1 slice Canadian bacon, 1 slice cheese and other English muffin half. Repeat for remaining three sandwiches.

Cooking Tip:
These sandwiches are great on the go, when you don't have time to sit down for breakfast.

Looking for even more creative and healthy low carb breakfast for your family? Check them out here for a large collection of healthy low carb and low fat breakfast recipes.