Now, let's be honest here...I did not get FAT because I did not like to eat. I love food and I enjoy cooking. Over the years, it has been a learning process for me and it still is as I continue to discover more and more NOW as I dig a little deeper into nutrition.
When I lost weight, I did it by eating clean foods. It was a gradual shift and I learned a lot while I was pregnant. I started questioning why certain foods were "not safe" while pregnant but ok to eat when not. I wanted to give my growing baby the best shot at health that I could. I tried my best to eat as healthfully as possible. That's not saying that I did not indulge in Blizzards from Dairy Queen (my weakness!) but I started eating better overall and getting more nutrient dense and clean foods into my diet. It was a matter of the more I knew, the more I wanted to do right and learn more. I was opting for whole, real foods vs. processed foods.
One HUGE difference was I started eating breakfast. I used to skip breakfast and have several cups of coffee loaded with cream and sugar (pre-pregnancy, of course!!) and maybe mid-morning grab a snack from the break-room at work. I worked in a medical facility and we could usually count on donuts or other pastry products almost daily from the drug reps.
These days, I still have coffee (not as much and certainly not loaded with cream and sugar) and I do not eliminate this from my diet like some athletes. I enjoy coffee waaaay too much. I, do, however try to drink a large glass of water before anything else when I get up and then I am eating something that 30-45 minute window of time.
Some mornings, I am teaching boot camp followed by a spin class and other days I get right to my training for the day so it is really important to get good quality calories in to fuel those workouts.
I am not an RD or a nutritionist. I am only sharing what I eat, how I lost weight and how I try to keep it healthy. Also, the brands mentioned in the blog post are just the brands I like and use. This is not a sponsored post and all opinions are simply my own. That being said, here is a sampling of things I eat for breakfast. I keep things simple and usually eat the same things over and over with the occasional diversion from the norm just to mix things up.
My standby is OATMEAL. I love oatmeal. An easy swap here is ditch the pre-packaged, sugar-laden oatmeal for the real stuff. Old Fashioned oats in that big round tub or opt for steel cut oats.
I prefer Steel Cut Oats and they are actually pretty easy to make.
There are crock pot versions. Like this one and this one
I make a huge crock pot full on Sunday and it feeds us for many days.
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I always have Coach's Oats on hand too-they are toasted, cracked steel cut oats that cook up just as quickly as the processed oatmeal. Easy to make on the stop top or in the micro and they are delish!! Just as good as the traditional SCO's but the bonus to these little gems are you can also cook with them as well. Check out their website for all kinds of recipe ideas!
Then there is regular style oatmeal "old fashioned oats" that is baked oatmeal with berries
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Another staple of mine is a breakfast wrap. I love the Josephs Flax and Oat wrap with PB, raisins, apple slices, honey and cinnamon.
Another option is a smashed banana and PB.
Easy and portable for on the go mornings.
Next up: flour free pancakes!
add one whole egg
one egg white
a dash of cinnamon
and a scoop of chia seeds
let sit for a few mins and cook in a skillet (I used a tad of coconut oil in the pan).
No cooking required: Powerbar protein bars. I always have a stash with me. NO EXCUSES I can eat one on the drive to teach 5am boot camp or for an early morning swim and I don't have to worry about having a too full belly.
I actually prefer savory to sweet and most of the time, I'll be eating eggs of some sort.
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Here is a simple one-one whole egg, two egg whites scrambled with some jalapenos
top with baby spinach and sriarcha
on a flax seed flat
I'll have this with a piece of fruit like an apple or orange-lately I'm addicted to blood oranges.
So, as you can see, breakfast does not have to be complicated or time consuming.
Do YOU eat breakfast?
What are some of your favorites?
Want to have YOUR favorite recipe featured on a future blog post? I'm looking for YOUR favorite easy and yummy dishes that are relatively "clean" and healthy! Email me or leave a comment!
