Breakfast of Champions

We have all heard the saying "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" but how many of us really stay committed to eating a hearty meal on our way out the door to work, school, the gym or wherever your day may take you. I used to be that girl. I used to have coffee in the morning, eat a skimpy meal around 2 pm, and eat another wimpy meal for what I called dinner. Who was I kidding?! What was I telling my body, that in order to reach my goals I needed to eat less? This kind of thinking is more common than y'all might think. You restrict eating throughout the day but when 4 pm rolls around, you feel like you could eat everything in sight, including the package it came in. Not only do you rob your body of the nutrients needed for health, but you may also lack the energy to get through a grueling day. In order to fuel your body and metabolism properly, you must commit to eating clean, eating often, and eating breakfast gosh darn it! Here are just some of the reasons why "breakfast is for champions."

• Break Fast- that's exactly what breakfast does! It breaks the fast that your body has been on over the last 6+ hours since your last meal and while you were asleep. In order to get your metabolism going, you must feed it to fuel it! 
• Smarter choices- Research shows that if you fuel your body with a balanced breakfast, you tend to make healthier choices throughout the day. Your blood sugar levels remain stable throughout the day and that late afternoon craving to eat the chocolate bar from the vending machine may be subdued. 
• Cognitive thinking- Your brain needs glucose from food – especially good carbohydrates – in order to work well. Your brain only uses glucose for fuel, so if you have ever tried a very low carb diet, you may have experienced a 'foggy' feeling or that it is harder to concentrate. 

I have only shared a few benefits of eating breakfast, for there are way to many to list. Whats even better... The numerous options of food items you can incorporate for your first meal of the day! My absolute favorite breakfast that is high in protein, contains good clean carbohydrates, is easy to make, and best of all is kid friendly happens to be Protein Pancakes. They are very simple to make and can be made a head of time and stored in the fridge or freezer. Add-ins such as chopped apples, bananas, chocolate protein powder (or flavor of your choice), or chia seeds can also be incorporated into the mixture before cooking. I usually add cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice or a sprinkle of stevia to the top of my pancakes. Additional topping ideas include: 

• 2 TBSP PB2 (powdered peanut butter) with 1 TBSP sugar-free jam
• 2 TBSP 0% Greek yogurt (flavor of your choice) 
• Sugar-free Maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup blueberries (or berries of your choice)
• 2 TBSP sugar-free cool whip with 1 TBSP mini chocolate chips

My hope is that you get as excited as I do about eating breakfast! 

Take care of you!

xoxo,

J