Shape Up in 2011: Breakfasts

Good Morning Everyone,

So, we've all heard the saying before -'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'. This is sooo true. Breakfast literally means to break your fast and it's important to know that the first thing you put in your body after fasting should be nutritious and of course delicious. Studies have shown if you eat a filling, nutritious breakfast, you are less likely to binge through out the day. A filling breakfasts calms the hunger hormone ghrelin and keeps you satiated for a longer period of time.

It's best to make sure your breakfast is loaded with fiber and antioxidants. Here's a few of my favorite breakfasts, which are high in fiber, delicious and very easy to make, even if your on the go!

Oatmeal:

The possibilities are endless here. Keep your base as plain, unsweetened oats. You can even use the instant kind. To keep your oatmeal creamy, use unsweetened almond milk. My favorite oatmeal combo is oats mixed with cinnamon and raisins.

You can mix in any type of fruit or nuts. For example, chopped apple, with chopped almonds and cinnamon is delicious. Like I said, go ahead and buy the plain, instant oatmeal and add the mix ins!

Cereal:

Top cereal off with berries or a banana. Go for cereals that have at least 3 grams of fiber. Add some fruit and you could have a great 5 grams of fiber for breakfast! One of my most favorite combos for cereal is: cereal, peanut butter (1 tsp.) and chopped bananas. These days my cereal of choice is Cheerios (plain). Kashi also makes great tasting, fiber filled cereals.

Yogurt:

OK, so you can't go wrong with non fat Greek yogurt, topped with fresh berries and drizzled with honey! Not only do you get your fiber from the fruit, but you also get a great protein punch from the Greek yogurt! Just make sure you don't use too much honey. You can also mix in dry cereal for a crunchy, textured yogurt!

English Muffins:

If you are going to have an English Muffin in the morning, make sure it is made from 100% Whole Wheat flour or sprouted grains. My favorite English Muffin is by Ezekiel's. I love smearing a teaspoon or two of peanut butter and topping with sliced banana. Such a great fiber and protein filled breakfast.

I hope I was able to give you guys some quick and healthy breakfast options that you'll try. What did you have for breakfast today?

image: thedailygreen.com

Seriously Cereal...

Good Morning Everyone, I hope you all are doing well and trying to lead a healthy lifestyle. So, I decided to do a post comparing two cereals: Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat cereal and Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal. Let's start off with the stats for Kashi Heart to Heart: Cal: 120 Fat: 1.5g Fiber: 5g WW pts.: 2 Fiber One: Cal: 160 Fat: 1.5g Fiber: 13g WW pts.: 3 Yesterday, I decided to have the Fiber One for breakfast. My opinion, this really was not a great cereal. Sure, it's got 13 grams of fiber and no it did not taste card boardy, but it definitely had an after taste, that tasted like aspartame. That turned me off big time! Also, when looking at the ingredients, I see it does contain high fructose corn syrup, which I'm really not that hot about. The bran flakes also got soggy after being in milk for a couple of minutes. Would I have this cereal again? NO! Today, I opted for the Kashi and was extremely happy over this decision. There was no un natural after taste. A one cup serving only has 2.5 WW pts and to start the day off with 7 grams of fiber is not bad! Also, the oat clusters STAYED crunchy...yum! My opinion, go with the Kashi. It's lower in points and definitely more satisfying! What did you have for breakfast?

***New Find: Nature's Path Cereal***

This cereal is delicious!! Lightly sweetened with organic cane juice and cinnamon, with a handful of of blueberries in each serving, you really can't go wrong. Not only is it all organic, and reasonably priced but each 1 cup serving has 3 WW pts. Pair that with a half cup of skim milk and you have your self a delicious, filling 4 pt. breakfast! I highly recommend this cereal. Here are the deets:

Cal: 200

Fat: 3grams (from the Omega 3's)

Fiber: 7 grams

***B-Time***

Happy Morning Ppls, So, this morning for B-Time I had my cereal w/skim milk and a glass of skim milk. Quick, easy and simple.

• Cereal: 1 WW pt.
• 1/2 c. Skim Milk: 1 WW pt
• 1c Skim Milk: 2 WW pt.

Total points: 4 WW!!! What did you have for breakfast? PS: I'm buying berries today!!!

***B-Time***

Good Morning Ppls!! How was your B-Time? What did you guys have? This morning I woke up wanting cereal, so I had just that. See pic :-) The only thing I was missing from this cereal were my berries :-(. Ppls, this is why it is really important to go to the grocery store with a proper shopping list!! Anywho, here are the stats on my B-Time: Name of cereal: Heritage Heirloom Whole Grains Calories: 110 Fat: 1 gram Carbs: 23grams Fiber: 6grams WW pts.: 1 WWpts. for 1/2 c of skim milk: 1 Total WW points for B-Time: 2!!!!!! Go Me!! What did you guys have for breakfast?