Holistic Nutrition Bytes--San Francisco Nutrition Consultation » breakfast

Eat THIS, not THAT for Breakfast

admin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:29:59 +0000

Part 1 in a 3 part series featuring Holistic Nutrition Byte’s guide to what to eat in 2009.

For breakfast, instead of:
-cereal with soy milk (and yes, even your organic Kashi Go Lean, which has soy protein isolate and processed grains. Soy milk is high in plant estrogens and can adversely affect hormone levels and thyroid function)
-bran muffins (high in sugar, calories, and fat, low in protein)
-coffee (makes the body acidic, leaches minerals from bones, spikes blood sugar, taxes adrenals)
-orange juice (high in sugar)
-waffles, pancakes (made with processed flours, sugar, low in protein)

try:
-a smoothie made with coconut milk, spirulina, flaxseeds, seasonal fruit, and whey or rice protein (contains antioxidants, good fats, minerals from the spirulina, and good protein source)
-chicken sausage stir-fried in coconut or olive oil with greens like kale or chard (protein + greens + healthy fats = the ultimate breakfast to stabilize blood sugar and give you energy)
-gluten-free hot cereals like quinoa flakes, buckwheat, or brown rice congee with cinnamon and stewed fruit (unrefined, non-gluten grains are good fiber sources to scrub your colon clean, and cinnamon has been shown to reduce blood sugar and cholesterol)
-dinner leftovers with cultured vegetables (krauts make a wonderful complement to meals and are high in probiotics, aiding in digestion).
-omelet scrambled with veggies and nitrate-free turkey bacon

Breakfast is the most important meal. I write a lot about it and clients are always asking me for suggestions. Our cultural norms are sweet comfort food breakfasts: coffee cake, french toast, muffins, pastries… with coffee. These high sugar, refined breakfasts are low in protein, antioxidants, and minerals, all of which your body needs in the morning to get you going for the day. Coffee and sugar = massive crash around noon to 3pm, causing fatigue, brain fog, worse sugar cravings. These foods are also acidic, and we want alkalinizing foods to maintain health.

Try breaking out of the breakfast rut and add protein to keep blood sugar stable and some fruit or greens for antioxidants. Remove the refined grains in the AMs and find yourself working and thinking and feeling better. Add a green food powder containing chlorella and spirulina for extra minerals and an added boost. Also try green tea for its superior health benefits.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts: What to have for lunch. And dinner!

Power breakfast recipe:
*Brown rice bread toast bread covered with 1 tbsp hummus
2 poached or soft-boiled organic eggs over the toast
sprinkle with sea salt (optional)
side of 1 cup steamed greens such as chard, spinach, kale, or mix (top with garlic, sesame or olive oil, spices)
green tea

Power Smoothie recipe:
1 part fresh fruit: banana, mango, pineapple, berries, pear, or citrus
1 part frozen fruit (berries work well)
protein powder: rice, whey, or hemp protein NOT soy
spirulina powder
ground flaxseeds or flax oil
coconut milk or unsweetened cranberry juice
Blend and enjoy. Sip throughout the morning.

What Did You Have for Dinner?

admin — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:58:34 +0000

Thanks to my brother and his girlfriend, last night I enjoyed the awesome jambalaya recipe that I posted a couple days ago. Boy is it tasty! I whipped up a mixed green salad with some avocado and a quick homemade balsamic vinaigrette: 1/2 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil to 1/2 cup balsamic, add salt and freshly ground pepper and minced garlic (optional) to taste. Shake well in a jar to combine.

Happy weekend, everyone! Now. What to have for breakfast…..

*45 minutes later*

After my green tea, I decided on eggs (organic, free range of course), softly scrambled in coconut oil with a pinch of sea salt, sliced avocado, an organic turkey slice, and some cultured vegetables to round it out. Those cultured veggies are a delicious accompaniment to meals and provide lots of probiotics, good for the gut! A great way to start the day.

What Did You Have for Breakfast?

admin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:04:26 +0000

Let me guess: nothing?

Coffee and a donut?

Cereal with skim milk?

A smoothie with berries, protein powder, and spirulina? (GOOD FOR YOU!)

All the hype about breakfast is true. You are quite literally breaking the fast after presumably 12 or more hours, and you need this meal to stabilize blood sugar for the morning and to give you brain power and energy. Skip the first meal of the day and you set yourself up for a cascade of blood sugar irregularities, leading to irritability, mood swings, anxiety, and binge eating. Once you begin eating breakfast regularly, and you’ve established a regular mealtime schedule (which includes not eating after 8pm), your inner hunger thermostat will begin to regulate.

The possibilities for a breakfast menu are limitless. Be creative! You can choose traditional fare, such as 2-3 eggs with organic, nitrate-free bacon, turkey sausage, or chicken breast. You can try warm cereal such as oatmeal or quinoa with stewed fruit and cinnamon, or set the crock pot at night to make a congee. Whip up a smoothie with protein powder (NOT SOY). Or you can have salmon lox with spinach and capers. The rule of thumb is to make sure you are getting protein, complex, unrefined carbs (not white flour pastries!), and healthy fats. Get at least 15-20 grams of protein at breakfast. This will provide you with energy, keep you full, and will set the foundation for a day of balanced blood sugar. 15-20 grams of protein is 2 eggs with a link or 2 of turkey sausage; a scoop of protein powder; or 3 oz of salmon or chicken. Steer clear of processed cereals, muffins, baked goods or fruit juices, which contain gluten and too much concentrated sugar. Eat a piece of fruit instead!

Yummy, but NO GOOD! Too much sugar and white flour spikes blood sugar. Not enough protein.

Much better. Protein and vegetables.

Forget about skipping breakfast if you’re trying to lose weight: you’ll sabotage your efforts off the bat and are more likely to gain weight. You’re far more likely to binge later in the day or at night, when you should be consuming less. The body needs less fuel as the day progresses. Think about it: you don’t need a huge meal providing a full caloric energy load before retiring. Your largest meal should be breakfast or lunch followed a light dinner. You need calories and fuel during the active parts of the day!

Skip breakfast in favor of coffee, which delays hunger further, and you’ve destroyed your good mood foundation for the day. Coffee raises blood sugar and stimulates the adrenals to release adrenaline, preparing you to flight or fight. This is why you feel a lift, or a buzz, but this recurrent response taxes the adrenals, contributes to chronic stress and leads to a later crash and long-term fatigue. Blood sugar plummets, and you’re left moody, exhausted and often starving. This repeated blood sugar spike and drop taxes not only the adrenals, but also the pancreas. Coffee raises blood pressure and cholesterol (in some individuals). Coffee is also a diuretic, resulting in dehydration, and causing the body to flush easily depleted B vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and calcium. Coffee is also one of the most pesticide-laden substances you can ingest. If you choose to drink it, always go for organic.

Here are some less than ideal choices:
Pancakes or french toast with syrup, pastries, toast with jelly, or donuts. All have white flour and sugar and no protein, fruit, or veggies. Get ready for a blood sugar spike and crash. Cereal with skim milk. Cereals usually contain lots of sugar, gluten, and other refined foods, and skim milk is not a whole food! Your body needs the fat to absorb the fat soluble vitamins (like D), and pasteurized and homogenized add insult to injury. Heating milk kills the enzymes needed for your body to digest milk properly. Many fare much better with raw milk. Can you get it in your area? It’s illegal in many states (not California, where it’s available at Whole Foods and certain farms.) You can also purchase raw milk and make your own yogurt and sour cream.

Eating breakfast is a crucial step in starting off on the right foot. It provides the body with necessary energy and nutrients to fuel a busy day, and it sets the foundation for an even, solid mood.
(some excerpts taken from Julia Ross’s The Mood Cure)