The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies (91 page)

Chapter 16
:
Breakfast Recipes to Start Your Day Off Right

In This Chapter

Understanding the health benefits of eating breakfast

Discovering quick low-glycemic breakfast options for people on the go

Preparing delicious breakfast recipes in advance to be available for the week

Whipping up tasty breakfast recipes when you have more time

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reakfast is the meal of weight-loss champions, yet it's the meal most often skimped on or just plain skipped. People of all ages — adults, teens, and children — have different reasons for missing a healthy breakfast. Some feel they're simply too busy in the morning to grab something; others just don't feel hungry in the morning. Whatever the reason, they're missing out. Years of research show that a healthy breakfast each day benefits all age groups. However, the "healthy breakfast" part is what many of the people who
do
eat breakfast aren't getting quite right. Their morning meal may be so low in calories and protein that it doesn't do a sufficient job.

If you're a notorious breakfast-skipper, or if you're addicted to high-glycemic, sugary breakfasts, you may think throwing low-glycemic foods into the mix makes managing breakfast even more of a task. But I promise it's easier than you may expect. Use this chapter to come up with some new ideas and motivation for breakfast. Whether you want a grab-and-go granola bar or a hearty egg scramble, numerous low-glycemic breakfast options await you for each day of the week.

Understanding Why Breakfast Is So Important

What's all the fu
ss about breakfast? So much more than all that business about the importance of getting in three meals a day. Research is finding more and more health connections to breakfast, making it a meal that you don't want to skip. The next sections cover just exactly
why
breakfast is such an important meal (other than "because your mother told you so").

Reviewing the health benefits of breakfast

You probably give breakfast
little thought as you wake up in the morning, but did you know it can actually help you with your weight-loss efforts, boost your job or school performance, and just plain make you feel better? So many benefits from one simple meal!

Following are some of the specific ways breakfast makes a big difference in your well-being:

It refuels you for the day ahead.
Breakfast literally means to
break
a fast.
After eight to ten hours without food, your body needs to replenish its blood sugar supplies. Most importantly, your brain needs a fresh supply of blood sugar to use as its main energy source, because it doesn't have any storage capacity like your muscles do. That means it needs to refuel each morning so it has the energy for sustained mental work. Your muscles also need a fresh supply of blood sugar to help fuel your physical activity.

It improves your mood and attitude.
According to research, breakfast-skippers tend to feel tired, irritable, and restless in the morning compared to breakfast-eaters, who show better attitudes toward work and school and have better productivity throughout the day.

It strengthens your mental skills.
Research has also found that breakfast-eaters have improved memory as well as better concentration and problem-solving abilities. Don't believe it? Think of the studies of children who eat breakfast and have better concentration and do better on tests. Isn't it amazing how one simple meal can help you perform better on mental challenges and tasks?

It supplies you with ample nutrients.
Eating the recommended five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day can be tough when you try to fit all of those servings into just two meals. Breakfast-eaters tend to get in more of their daily recommended vitamins and minerals than non-breakfast-eaters.

It helps control your weight.
Yes, that's right. Eating breakfast can actually help you lose weight. Even though what you eat at breakfast still counts toward your total calories for the day, research shows that individuals who eat breakfast tend to feel more satisfied and eat fewer calories and fat throughout the day, making eating your breakfast each day an important weight-loss strategy. Eating a healthy breakfast also helps keep your metabolism running strong (flip to Chapter 8 for the full scoop on metabolism).