HANS participants Like so many of us hey a are busy and often don’t have time to eat properly or make sure they have breakfast. Asa result, quick, easy , and on the go foods are often easy to grab and eat during a busy day. These food aren’t always the healthiest and as part of the HANS KAI health school, the nutrition session includes how to prepare quick, easy healthy food. Breakfast foods in particular are a favourite topic for many HANS groups so we have included some tips and favourite recipes in this week’s blog from our Dietician Tammy Nasuti
Tips for a Healthy Breakfast
Include protein
What you eat for breakfast matters and research shows it should be including more protein. Adding protein-rich foods to breakfast (think Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, eggs, lentils, or lean meat or fish) has been shown to help reduce hunger and calories consumed throughout the day. Protein slows digestion and helps curb hunger because the body has to work harder to break it down. Aim for 20-25 grams of protein at breakfast
Go for whole grains
Including whole grain foods at breakfast helps increase your intake of fibre, along with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Foods such as whole grain cereals, whole grain breads and oatmeal are some easy examples to start with.
Be sure to read ingredient lists on cereals, and breads and choose products that list a whole grain first such as whole grain whole wheat flour or oats. Try to choose a breakfast cereal that provides 5 grams of fibre per serving and breads that have 2 to 3 grams per slice.
Limit refined sugars
Look for cold and hot breakfast cereals with less than 10 grams of sugar per serving (no more than 6 grams of sugar is an even better choice). Also watch out for flavored yogurts, choosing plain yogurts that say unsweetened or no sugar added are better choices. If plain yogurt
Get organized
To save time on busy mornings, organize for breakfast in advance:
- Get lunch items ready the night before, just after dinner is best
- Cut up fruit so it’s ready for a smoothie or to top cereal
- On the weekend prep ahead, make a batch of whole grain muffins or hard boil eggs for quick breakfasts during the week
- Stock easy to pack breakfast items like whole grain cereal bars, apples, oranges, bananas, whole grain breads, and yogurt tubes for mornings when you need to send kids to school with a quick breakfast to eat on the go
Take it to go
If mornings are still a struggle for time, have grab and go breakfast foods on head. Whole grain cereal bars, homemade frozen breakfast burritos, whole grain crackers, yogurts, part skim cheese strings, hard boiled eggs, and fresh fruit are all easy to take with you.
Adapted from: https://lesliebeck.com/articl
Here are a couple recipes to get you started with your breakfast success:
Freezer Breakfast Burritos
https://www.smartnutrition.ca/recipes/freezer-breakfast-burritos-vegetarian/
Description
Keep these breakfast burritos in the freezer for a quick, filling, and nutritious breakfast! 20g of protein in each burrito!
Ingredients
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 8 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 cup black beans
- 1 cup salsa *see note
- 8 slices cheese
- 8 whole grain wraps
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium frying pan.
- Peel and dice the onion. Remove the core from the red pepper and dice.
- Saute the onion and red pepper until soft.
- Remove to a bowl.
- Place the eggs, salt, and milk in a blender. Turn on low then slowly up to high.
- Blend for 30 seconds. Pour eggs in pan and scrambled fry until cooked.
- Place 1/4 cup egg mixture, 3 tbsp red pepper mixture, 2 tbsp black beans, 2 tbsp salsa, and 1 slice of cheese in each of the 8 wraps.
- Fold burrito style.
- Wrap each burrito in aluminum foil (if you plan on reheating in oven) or plastic wrap (if you plan on reheating in microwave).
- Place in a plastic zip bag and freeze.
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Helpful Tips
To make the burritos less “juicy” and drippy, strain some of the liquid from the salsa by placing it in a fine mesh colander. Then use the thickened salsa to fill the burritos.
Notes
To make the burritos less “juicy” and drippy, strain some of the liquid from the salsa by placing it in a fine mesh colander. Then use the thickened salsa to fill the burritos
CopyCat Egg McMuffins
Keep these healthy egg mcmuffin copycats in your freezer for a quick go-to meal that’s much faster and cheaper than pulling through the drive-thru!
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- provincial herb blend
- 12 English muffins, whole wheat or whole grain
- 12 slices turkey breast
- 12 slices cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Grease lightly.
- Crack four eggs into the pan (one in each “corner”).
- Using a flipper spatula, gently break the yolks.
- Sprinkle some provincial herbs on top.
- When the eggs are cooked enough to flip without falling apart, flip them! The eggs will probably have spread and are touching each other. Simply cut them with the spatula in order to flip.
- When they’re fully cooked, remove to a plate. Repeat with the remaining 8 eggs.
- While you are batch cooking the eggs, you can start to assemble the sandwiches.
- On the bottom half of an English muffin place an egg. You may need to fold it a bit for it to fit on the muffin without a lot of it hanging over.
- Fold the slice of turkey breast so that there isn’t much hanging over the sides.
- Do the same with the slice of cheddar cheese.
- Place the top half of the muffin on top.
- Using a panini press, grill until cheese is melted and the sandwich squishes down. If you don’t have a panini press, you can use a frying pan and press down with a pot.
- Allow the sandwiches to cool slightly. Wrap in tin foil or plastic wrap. Place in freezer.
- When it’s time to eat, remove the wrapping and re-wrap in a sheet of paper towel. Microwave at 30 second intervals, flipping each time, until your sandwich is nice and hot!
For some more recipe prep ideas visit https://www.smartnutrition.ca/recipes/prep-21-days-breakfast/
HANS KAI Health Project 