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Breakfast, Dr. Nicholas Araza, Healthy Breakfast, Nutrition, paleo diet, Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic, Wellness
NOT THIS!!!
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Remember, You Are What You Eat!
Why is the most important meal of YOUR day the most often skipped, or the most poisonous!? The above would be listed as “part of a complete breakfast” if the respective industries lobbied just a bit harder. Okay, maybe I’m a bit cynical, but I’m not far from the truth when you look at the absurd health claims on some of the ”breakfast foods” out there! With the amount of high-calorie, minuscule-nutrient, simple, fiber-less and sugary options (that’s right – even Total doesn’t have much valuable fiber), we’re basically taking a donkey kick to the pancreas in terms of insulin (obesity, diabetes, cancer, stress) production. It really is ridiculous. I just checked on the cereal Cocoa Puffs, and “GROW UP STRONG” is plastered across the web page! Since when does consuming cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and Attention Deficit Disorder in a bowl equal growing up strong?? Why are all of the “breakfast foods” advertised so danged poisonous? Well, it comes down to chemicals to trick your tongue, subsidized grains to keep these foods cheap, and the American fast-paced lifestyle with “no time for a healthy breakfast.”
Below is the information to change – changing our beliefs and owning the consequences is the only way we can hold behavior changes. These are focused on children, but children are just small adults, and what’s good food for one is good food for the other…
NOW THAT WE’VE ADDRESSED BELIEFS, HERE ARE SOME IDEAS:
MY TOP 6 HEALTHY BREAKFAST FAVORITES
(AND ALL ARE BETWEEN 1-15 MINUTES IN PREP TIME):
My go to breakfasts (lunches and dinners, too (I, not time, dictate what foods I eat):
#1 ) THE SMOOTHIE – it’s been getting a lot of press lately, and everybody is always looking for some great recipes. Trade secret (I consider myself in the “Trade” even though I haven’t started selling them because in the past 7 years I have made and consumed in the neighborhood of 1,500 smoothies): make sure you have a banana.
Now here is the basic format of any of my smoothies: 1 part banana, 1 part frozen fruit, 1 part veggie, 1 part healthy fat, 1 part liquid (you can add whey protein supplement (there are rules to types) or healthy fresh raw eggs for protein).
The Original:
1 cup mixed frozen berries
1-2 cups veggies (raw spinach or squash is the easiest to start with in terms of taste)
1 BANANA – key ingredient for texture and taste (will even cover THE taste of broccoli…mostly)
2 Tablespoons fat (fish, flax, coconut or olive oil, or 1/2 of an avocado)
1.5 cups liquid (almond milk, water or combo)
1 probiotic capsule (split apart and pour in the good bacteria)
EXPERIMENT & ENJOY
Find your own balance – more fruit makes it taste better, and more veggies make it better for you.
#2) EGGS – Let’s be clear. As long as they come from healthy chickens, EGGS ARE GOOD FOR YOU!!! Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods are good stores to find decent eggs. Eat them scrambled with veggies and avocado, poached, boiled, fried, or even raw in a smoothie (as long as they’re fresh and healthy). If you are going to cook them, (which is especially recommended when unsure of health of egg, andor if you’re serving them to the very young or very old) remember the slower you cook foods, the less denaturing (damaging of food and nutrient quality) that takes place. KEEP IT SLOW. I even occasionally throw in a slice of buttered Ezekial toast (or some bread with less than 5 readable ingredients).
#3) PALEO-CEREAL – A tasty treat! Fresh fruit, nuts and chunks of coconut butter with ice cold almond or coconut milk poured on top…check out the video!
#5) GROUND FLAX SEEDS, ALMOND BUTTER AND BANANA – Spoon it up straight.
#6) LEFTOVERS – Pull out of fridge and eat…1 min prep!! Any food I made in the last 7 days is fair game in the morning… I think of life in terms of HGS (hunter gather style) and they would have eaten whatever whenever – so I try to live by that as well. I eat them cold, but feel free to heat it up slow ( however, microwaves destroy nutrients). What I’ve found is that GFB (grass-fed beef) and steamed veggies are as good at 5:30a.m. as they are at 5:30 p.m.
By eating these breakfasts regularly and varying them up, you will notice your health and energy increase as you become lighter as well!
Eat Paleo 4 Health,
Dr. Nicholas Araza DC CCWP
Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic
The Blog of Santa Barbara Family Chiropractic 
I always have hard boiled eggs in the fridge in case I’m running behind (which I usually am :)) so I can just grab a couple eat them and then grab a kiwi and some almonds and boom healthy breakfast. If I have more time I’ll usually scramble up some eggs with onions, spinach, tomatoes or whatever vegetables happen to be in my fridge at the time.
I also will eat what I had for dinner the night before. Super easy just grab and eat like you said above!! Who says you have to eat “breakfast foods” in the morning…have steak for breakfast and eggs for dinner so I and http://www.whole9life.com say 🙂
Happy Healthy Eating!!
❤
Jude
Awesome ideas Jude, we do a few of those ourselves! Keep em coming.
-Dr. N
Thanks for this post. After I read this Mom’s Guide (http://www.1dental.com/moms-guide/), I started taking inventory of what I feed my 4 year old son for breakfast – it was all sugar and processed food: a pop-tart and juice. Then for lunch I had given him peanut butter & jelly. It’s time to make some healthy changes for our family. I am realizing healthy food takes more time and prep but it seems to be more than worth it.
So true Joy! It does require a bit more in energy investment, but the dividends it pays in the health of your family are ENORMOUS! Proud of you for taking the initiative.
-Dr. N