The Healthy Breakfast Challenge!

We’re moving into the season of constant food…and most of it isn’t good for you!

As winter falls upon us (well, at least it is here in Calgary!) and Christmas draws ever closer (egg nog lattes are in Starbucks now! Along with the red Christmas cups!) and our neighbours to the south are approaching their Thanksgiving holiday also, it is hard to stay on track with your eating every day.

Rather than battling all the temptations that come your way, try one thing in these coming months:

Eat a healthy breakfast.

(For any bloggers out there, feel free to add this button to your blog to show your support! Here’s the HTML code for it:

Why?

When you start your day off well, in my experience, your body wants to keep eating nourishing food throughout the day. It’s like starting off your day with a workout – you find you have more energy that lasts you throughout the day. So maybe you’ll end up better equipped to resist the temptations when your body is fuelled and nourished with a delicious and satisfying breakfast.

Also, even if you do give into temptation later on, feel better about it by knowing that it is balanced out by your morning nourishment. You have done something good for your body already that day, so at least you’re not only fuelling up on junk food.

What?

So I put this challenge out to you. Take part in one of three ways:

1. Tweet what you had for breakfast each morning @AnnaWootton – include a picture if you like! Hashtag it: #healthybreakfastchallenge
2. Post on The Guiltless Life Facebook page a picture or description of your healthy breakfast.
3. Email me at theguiltlesslife@gmail.com with an image or description of your breakfast and I will include it in an upcoming post!

How?

To get you started, check out some of my favourite healthy breakfast ideas from my blog and the blog world at large:

• Banana Bread Protein Breakfast Pudding

Banana bread pudding for breakfast? Healthy? Um, yes! With this recipe, you’ll enjoy total comfort food for breakfast, that will keep you full all day long. having dessert for breakfast is a surefire way of making you feel you’ve had enough treats for the day that you can turn down those Christmas cookies in the office!

• Packed Pumpkin Porridge

‘Tis the season for pumpkin – so pump up your morning oats with a good dose of Vitamin A and beta-carotene and a few chocolate chips to make sure you feel treated! (Replace with cacao nibs if you really want to healthify up your morning meal!)

• Pumpkin Protein Pancakes (vegan version here)

Protein pancakes make you feel like it’s Sunday morning every morning, while keeping you full and – with this recipe – avoiding any simple sugars. In keeping with the seasonal feel, these are pumpkin pancakes, though a range of other flavours of protein pancakes can be found here. Enjoy the regular version or the vegan version and top with delicious pumpkin protein frosting.

• Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

Whether you’re gluten-free or not, quinoa is undoubtedly one of the best grains out there. However, if it’s not your favourite or you don’t have it on hand, replace the quinoa in this recipe with oats or buckwheat groats or whatever you prefer. Make this into a parfait and you’ll feel like you’re breakfasting at the Ritz!

• Baked Apple

Try a delicious baked apple for one of the simplest whole food breakfasts around. Stuffed with tahini, almonds, cinnamon and vanilla, this is full of flavour and nutrients.

• Smoothie

For an array of smoothie recipes, including my favourite green smoothie (pictured above), check out this post. You’ll be surprised how satisfying a liquid breakfast can be when you load it up with filling fibre, protein and healthy fats!

• Healthy Peanut Butter Honey Granola

If you’re a granola fan and have had it drilled into you that granola is bad for you, remember that if you make something at home, you can always healthify it. That’s what I did with this recipe – gone are the sugar-laden high-fat commercial granola products – just whip this up at home and enjoy the natural sweetness of honey, the healthy fats and protein of peanut butter in a good-for-you granola that will keep for a couple of weeks stored in an airtight container.

LINKS:

Some of my favourite healthy breakfasts from the blog world:

• The Fitnessista’s breakfast cookie (I have this at least 3 times a week) or cookie dough cereal
• Chocolate Covered Katie’s pumpkin baked French toast
• The Diva Dish’s pesto-egg breakfast burritos (you can make them in advance and freeze them!)
• Oh She Glows’ cookie dough glazed steel-cut oatmeal

PS. I am linking this post up to Healthy Diva Eats – check out her Marvelous in my Monday link party here!