5 Tips To Stay Fit By Having A Healthy Breakfast.

Breakfast is a very important meal of the day. When you get up in the morning, you’ve gone a long stretch without eating. Even though you’ve been sleeping, your body has already tapped the stored nutrients for its internal functioning. If you don’t top off your tank in the morning, you’ll lack the mental and physical energy you need to get through your workout and your workday. Hence having a healthy breakfast is very important. On the other hand, people who skip breakfast consume more fat, cholesterol, calories, and sugar, fewer fruits and vegetables than those who routinely eat breakfast.

Breakfast is like fuel for our body and mind. Having a good sumptuous breakfast can keep you cheerful, energetic and attentive all day long. It can also help you manage your weight better, because breakfast kick-starts your metabolism the right way and avoids binging on calorie-laden snacks in the mid-morning. In short, breakfast makes you beautiful inside and out. So, what is it that we should include and exclude from our breakfast to make it healthier to stay fit and on our toe’s day long!!

So here are the golden tips:

Opting for Quick, nutritious and tasty options

• Palak Methi Muthia OR Cauliflower Greens and Besan Muthia
• Tasty and fluffy dhokla
• Besan Chilla
• Coriander and Chilli Paratha
• Jowar Upma or Multi flour Chilla
• French toast
• Eggs bhurji / fluffy omelette
• Brown Rice Poha
• Ragi Upma
• Matki

Tasty ideas

• Try using overnight leftover daal and green sabji the next day to make into a yummy nutritious paratha or puri. Leftover grilled chicken or baked pieces can be used in pasta and noodles.
• Use multi grain options for high fibre and complex carbohydrates.
• Use colourful fruits and veggies so that you feel excited to eat.
• Go green. Use green vegetables extensively but keeping in mind your own capacity and health factors. If you are buying greens in monsoon, the hygiene factor must be considered.
• Try to use organic and free range for eggs, meat, vegetables, fruits as far as possible. Eat seasonal vegetables.
• Use Ghee and Jaggery but not liberally.

Make-Ahead Breakfasts / Advance Meal preparations.

• Overnight oats,
• Idli / Dosa batter
• Smoothies
• Mumbai style – Whole wheat pav and bhaji – instead of Maida pav use Whole wheat bread.
• Muffins
• Baked dishes
• Hash browns
• Pancake
• Protein shakes wherein you can make protein powder at home.
• Fruit yoghurts
• Muesli
• Eggs

Snack ideas like raw veggies with dips, fruits, protein. Combine boild eggs, strawberries, crackers, broccoli and cucumbers OR combine trail mix of nuts and seeds, cherry tomatoes, crunchy cheese curls, grapes and salami bites OR blueberries with veg bagel sandwich, carrots, mozzarella cheese and cookies.

Homemade dates (seedless), nuts and seeds energy bars. A sugar free dessert which can be ideal snack after a workout, a fasting season like iftar or just to satisfy the hunger, as this recipe is made with dry fruits and nuts which can be easily modified as per your preference.

“On-the-go” options

• Whole wheat Sandwiches
• Wraps
• Fruit salad
• Dry or sprouts bhel
• Makhana
• Theplas / Bajra Khakhras
• Assorted Nuts and Seeds
• Date bars

Quick Indian Breakfast Recipes for Kids

• Instant Oats Dosa
• Paushtic Parathas
• Methi Thepla Wrap
• Poha Tikki
• Colourful Sandwich (using colourful vegetables)
• Moong Dal Dhokla
• Hung Curd Sandwich or tomato cucumber mayo sandwich
• Bread Pancakes
• Bread roll with Potato filling
• Broccoli Cheese Balls
• Hara Bhara Kabab
• Green Pea and Paneer Tikka
• Banana Walnut Muffins
• Anjeer and Mixed Nut Barfi
• Cold Cocoa Milkshake – best in Summer
• Halim Laddu
• Oats and Poha Sukkah Bhel
• Mini Nachni Pancake

Some roadblocks which you may need to overcome in eating Healthy Breakfast

• Time – Making excuses for not having time to eat or make.
• Not hungry – In midst of work, just to complete work, overcoming hunger.
• Not convenient – wanting convenience and not taking the extra efforts required to get the fresh or required ingredients. Not able to manage the pantry stock.
• Forgot – a big excuse though but not doable for long.
• Not sure what to eat – having confusion or lack of organization and planning what to make and eat.

Some more tips to help you to eat better in the morning, so you, too, can ‘shine all day.’

• Start small and light
• Include some protein
• Break your meal into small snacks
• Get up 15 minutes earlier
• Eat what appeals to you
• Don’t rely on just coffee and a muffin

Starting your day with a high-protein breakfast may be an effective weight loss tip whereas skipping breakfast has been associated with weight gain. High-protein breakfasts reduce calorie intake later in the day and also help you lose belly fat.

Examples of high-protein breakfasts that can make you fit and healthy and at the same time may help you lose weight:

• Scrambled eggs: with veggies, fried in coconut oil or olive oil.
• An omelette: with spinach, feta and mushroom (my personal favourite).
• Stir-fried tofu: with kale and dairy-free cheese.
• Greek yogurt: with trail of mixed healthy seeds and assorted berries.
• A shake: one scoop of whey protein or homemade protein, a banana, frozen berries and almond / nut milk.
• Protein pancakes are also a very popular breakfast food.

Eat fresh, healthy and unprocessed Food. Try preparing meals from unprocessed foods and you will for sure reap the health benefits. This means cooking with fresh and seasonal vegetables, lean meat, organic range of eggs and organic milk. Eating plenty of fruit, nuts and legumes.