Well, that's one thing I know I have well and truly 'in the bag!' Breakfast is my ABSOLUTE favourite meal of the day! I pine for my breakfast if I don't get it, if I wake up late I still make sure I have my breakfast, even if it's lunch time! I must admit, I rarely get to wake up at lunch time, but even as a student my breakfast was always essential.
I think my love of breakfast stems from my Dad. Every morning without fail he'll have a big bowl of cereal topped with granola. I've grown up watching this behaviour and thus have developed a love of this most special meal of the day! I wake every morning yearning for my breakfast fix!
I do have my favourites though, which I tend to stick to until I get sick of them, then I'll pick something else to have every morning and so on. I've gone back to porridge after a brief spell of not eating it. Here's a selection of some of my favs;
Porridge (oatmeal) is a regular of mine, I try to switch it up by having different toppings;
Porridge (3PP) & Semi skimmed milk 142ml (2PP) = 5 ProPoints
Banana = 0 ProPoints
Blueberries = 0 ProPoints
Apple = 0 ProPoints
1 Tbsp Raisins = 2 ProPoints
I've started eating a Quark pancake regularly which consists of; 1 Tbsp Quark, 1 Tbsp oatbran and 1 egg white. This can be topped with banana, blueberries, apple, yogurt, honey - here's a few I've had in the past;
Quark pancake = 3 ProPoints
Banana = 0 ProPoints
Blueberries = 0 ProPoints
Apple = 0 ProPoints
On the rare occasion that I don't fancy either of the above, I like to have cereal with a variety of toppings;
30g Branflakes (3PP) & 142ml semi skimmed milk (2PP) = 5 ProPoints
2 x Weetabix (4PP) & 142ml semi skimmed milk (2PP) = 6 ProPoints
30g Cheerios (3PP) & 142ml semi skimmed milk (2PP) = 5 ProPoints
1 Tbsp Raisins = 2 ProPoints
Whenever I visit America I love to visit Denny's because they serve breakfast ALL DAY! If it were socially acceptable I'd have breakfast for every meal of the day (wow, I really do love my breakkie!)
Here's a few of the treats that I like to have occasionally;
Scrambled Eggs (4PP) & Wholemeal Bread (2PP) & Butter (1PP) & Diet Fanta (0PP) = 7 ProPoints
Weight Watchers Bagel (4PP) & 30g Wafer thin Ham (1PP) & Butter (1pp) = 6 ProPoints
1 x Toasted Teacakes (5PP) & lots of Butter (2PP) = 7 ProPoints
Wholemeal Bread (2PP) & Butter (1PP), 2 x Bacon (2PP) & 1 x scrambled egg (2PP) = 7 ProPoints
On the even more odd occasion that I wake up with a hangover, the pictures below illustrate some of the breakfasts that have (in my mind) pulled me through!
Generally hangovers cause you (me) to crave "stodge" to soak up the alcohol as it were! I know full well it isn't but that's how the saying goes! Bacon & sausages generally find their way onto my suffering plate!
There are huge benefits to starting your day with a healthy breakfast. For one you're kick starting your metabolism! You can't run a car without petrol, just like you need a healthy breakfast to get your body running on energy and burning calories. By getting a decent breakfast in you're also less likely to pick at calorie laden food later on in the day. Without breakfast, suddenly a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar mid afternoon look very appealing!
Breakfast doesn't need to take a long time to prepare, there are many ways to speed up the process for the morning. If your favourite breakky is porridge, you can buy a box of individual porridge sachets (reducing the need to measure). Another thing I do if I know I'll be in a hurry in the morning is to measure out my porridge in a bowl, add water/milk and leave it covered until the morning. The porridge oats soak up the liquid and bulk out, so all you have to do is warm it in the microwave or in a pan.
If you're preparing your lunch the night before, why not prepare your breakfast too so you can grab them both and run? Don't think you have time in the morning for breakfast? Another thing you can do is set your alarm a little earlier (you could go to bed a little earlier also). Even if you just grab a banana it's better than nothing!
Research shows us that we make 200 food decisions on a daily basis. However we're only conscious of around 15-20 of them! So when you're walking past Starbucks, Costa, Pret, McDonald's, KFC and the office vending machine on your way to work, unconsciously you're rejecting the foods these places represent in your mind.
Consciously however you may be aware of the decision to choose a ham salad sandwich for lunch over a plate of fish & chips in the office canteen.
It's when you feel a hunger pang and hear your tummy rumble that you may not have the willpower to reject the offer of a homemade cupcake. With breakfast in your tummy you may fair better when faced with temptation.
The new face of Weight Watchers online & app include a tool called 'routines'. There is a routine that you can select as part of your week for having breakfast. For everyday that you succeed in doing so, you tick the routine to say that you've done it. Why not challenge yourself to have breakfast every morning for a week? After 7 days you may get into the swing of it and you never know, it could become your newest routine!
I hope I've inspired some non-breakfast eaters to give it a go! You know come the morning, I'll be munching on my brekky!
Lots of love,
Francesca. x
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