What is a healthy breakfast?

Lyre_Bird · 04-07-2015 12:00pm #1

Hi! What would a healthy breakfast be for someone who doesn't need to lose (or gain) weight? I'm trying to change my diet to be more healthy. Currently I'd eat a couple of slices of wholemeal toast with some full-fat kerrygold butter in the morning. Should the kerrygold be getting the boot or is it ok? I'm considering either (i) scrambled egg on wholemeal toast or (ii) weetabix/oatabix or (iii) wholemeal toast with cherry tomatoes - plus maybe some strawberries or grapes along with one of those three options. What do you think?

I'm a female in my 20s btw, and as I've said, just trying to be more healthy, not going for weight loss.

RB100 · 04-07-2015 12:33pm

All those options sound fine to me. As long as the bread is not white and your not using a lot of the Kerry gold, maybe switch to a less saturated fat butter. Porridge with some fruit is probably the healthiest breakfast you can have. Good for your digestive system and it keeps you full for longer

Just a little Samba · 04-07-2015 12:36pm

Three egg omelette cooked in real butter, a nice cup of tea and a banana would be my usual.

youtube! · 04-07-2015 12:38pm

I like a fry up myself but with no meat. I have mushrooms fried tomatoes and a fried egg, cooked in coconut oil. It's really filling and gives me lots of energy it's actually very healthy too.

Blacktie. · 04-07-2015 2:06pm

Bread is pretty nutritionally useless. Eggs is always a good choice. And smoothies. You want some form of protein for breakfast but really you don't have to think of certain breakfast foods. It's just another meal. Hell have a nice dinner for breakfast if you want. Just be sure to take that into count when having dinner :-D

Slydice · 04-07-2015 2:40pm

youtube! wrote: »

I like a fry up myself but with no meat. I have mushrooms fried tomatoes and a fried egg, cooked in coconut oil. It's really filling and gives me lots of energy it's actually very healthy too.

Coconut oil is nice... but... can raise cholestorol. One of those things to try and figure a balance for.

Blacktie. · 04-07-2015 3:54pm

Slydice wrote:

Coconut oil is nice... but... can raise cholestorol. One of those things to try and figure a balance for.

Dietary cholesterol has very little impact on cholesterol levels

CaptainAhab · 04-07-2015 6:42pm

Coconut oil and butter are both fantastic for health and a part of a satisfying breakfast. The saturated fat in them is now known to not be harmful to health and will raise your good cholesterol but not the bad part. So don't worry about eating butter, coconut oil or eggs!

strelok · 04-07-2015 7:03pm

bit of butter and coconut oil in your morning coffee

graaaaaaaaaand altogether

CaptainAhab · 04-07-2015 8:06pm

Prefer my coffee black but each to their own

YurOK2 · 04-07-2015 10:53pm

A decent cup of coffee with cream and 4 or 5 streaky rashers fried in butter with some Gourmet Burger Kitchen relish or Frank's Hot Sauce. Usually keeps me going until around midday.

myszak · 06-07-2015 1:17pm

Eggs are always great choice for breakfast so go with that and play with different options! You can make banana pancakes (just mash up a banana and 2 eggs, add 2 table spoons of coconut flour and fry on coconut oil), or scrambled eggs with avocado...with a dash of tabasco.
You can make your own granola and have it with fruit. I generally go for something with eggs. They keep you full for long.

Slydice · 07-07-2015 12:40am

Blacktie. wrote: »

Dietary cholesterol has very little impact on cholesterol levels

Yeah well, Coconut Oil has 0 dietary cholesterol but it raised my cholesterol and the leaflet the doctor gave me said Coconut Oil raises cholesterol.

A quick google gives this:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/coconut-oil-and-health?page=2

"But even though coconut oil is cholesterol-free, it is still a saturated fat that needs to be limited in the diet and if you are looking for real health benefits, switch from saturated fats to unsaturated fats by using vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn, or olive oil,"

ch750536 · 07-07-2015 6:44am

Coconut oil does not raise cholesterol. Saturated fat is dangerous if you have high cholesterol.

Typically doctors tell you to avoid foods with saturated fat if you have high cholesterol, together they are dangerous.

I know this because my wife had a 7.9 cholesterol reading, turned vegan, dropped to 5.1. Changed to coconut oil, stayed at 5.1. Did a zillion other things, stayed at 5.1. That is her natural level due to production in her body.

This also throws a curveball at the theory that digested cholesterol has little impact.

myszak · 07-07-2015 8:44am

ch750536 wrote: »

Coconut oil does not raise cholesterol. Saturated fat is dangerous if you have high cholesterol.

Typically doctors tell you to avoid foods with saturated fat if you have high cholesterol, together they are dangerous.

I know this because my wife had a 7.9 cholesterol reading, turned vegan, dropped to 5.1. Changed to coconut oil, stayed at 5.1. Did a zillion other things, stayed at 5.1. That is her natural level due to production in her body.

This also throws a curveball at the theory that digested cholesterol has little impact.

It's also interesting when you loose weight your fat is breaking down from the cells and going to your blood stream, hence it may cause higher cholesterol for the short period of time. This may be misleading and you may think it is because of the coconut oil, where in fact, coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use in your diet and it doesn't raise cholesterol level.

Lux23 · 07-07-2015 9:17am

Are smoothies really all that healthy? I have been making my own for the last couple of weeks as I am a terrible fruit eater but I am not convinced they are all that healthy.

Blacktie. · 07-07-2015 10:52am

Lux23 wrote: »

Are smoothies really all that healthy? I have been making my own for the last couple of weeks as I am a terrible fruit eater but I am not convinced they are all that healthy.

Depends on the rest of your diet but how would they not be all that healthy? For the general persons diet the addition of fruit brings in some much needed nutrients. They're no magic bullet but it's a good step in the right direction.

GiftofGab · 07-07-2015 3:28pm

Porridge with some honey, 2 slices of wholegrain toast with some peanut butter and a protein shake.

Slydice · 07-07-2015 8:47pm

Here's the Irish Heart Foundation leaflet I was given:
http://www.irishheart.ie/media/pub/informationleaflets/new_donation_cholesterol.pdf

Page 7 has the bit on Coconut Oil:

Saturated fats
Saturated fats are found in foods like butter, hard
margarine, lard, cream, cheese, fatty meat, cakes, biscuits
and chocolates. Vegetable oils such as coconut oil and
palm oil are also high in saturated fat. Check the food
labels on processed and ready-made meals for the
amount of saturated fats.
What effect do they have?
Saturated fats can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol and
increase your chances of heart disease or having a
stroke.

papu · 07-07-2015 9:01pm

Slydice wrote: »

Here's the Irish Heart Foundation leaflet I was given:
http://www.irishheart.ie/media/pub/informationleaflets/new_donation_cholesterol.pdf

Page 7 has the bit on Coconut Oil:

Well here's the actual scientific study..

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract

A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.

Slydice · 07-07-2015 9:24pm

papu wrote: »

Well here's the actual scientific study..

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2014/03/19/dietary-fat-and-heart-disease-study-is-seriously-misleading/
Dietary fat and heart disease study is seriously misleading
Mar 19 2014

However, Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, warns that the conclusions are seriously misleading, as the analysis contains major errors and omissions.

This paper is bound to cause confusion. A central issue is what replaces saturated fat if someone reduces the amount of saturated fat in their diet. If it is replaced with refined starch or sugar, which are the largest sources of calories in the U.S. diet, then the risk of heart disease remains the same. However, if saturated fat is replaced with polyunsaturated fat or monounsaturated fat in the form of olive oil, nuts and probably other plant oils, we have much evidence that risk will be reduced.

Dr. Willett emphasized that because this meta-analysis contains multiple serious errors and omissions, the study conclusions are misleading and should be disregarded.

Alf Veedersane · 07-07-2015 9:34pm

Baaaaaaaaconnn. Eggz.

Or Greek yoghurt (or non-Greek but with similar decent macros) + whey + cinnamon.

Lux23 · 08-07-2015 3:49pm

Blacktie. wrote: »

Depends on the rest of your diet but how would they not be all that healthy? For the general persons diet the addition of fruit brings in some much needed nutrients. They're no magic bullet but it's a good step in the right direction.

All the fructose? They say fruit juices are as unhealthy as fizzy drinks so why would a smoothie be any different.

-=al=- · 08-07-2015 4:02pm

Lux23 wrote: »

All the fructose? They say fruit juices are as unhealthy as fizzy drinks so why would a smoothie be any different.

I'm curious about that myself!

I usually can't eat much in the mornings but I always make a smoothie. I usually have orange juice, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries (a mix of frozen berries) sunflower and pumpkin seeds, goji berries, chia and hemp seeds, grapes, banana, spinach, coconut milk with rice, low fat natural yogurt and a handful of oats thrown in too.

It tastes pretty good but I'm always curious as too how good it actually is for me... Would there that much fructose involved!?

If I do eat something it would usually be porridge or salmon on homemade wholemeal brown bread or eggs. I don't know too much about the ins and out of what I'm eating but I think I'm on the right track! Quite curious about the sugar in smoothies though.

Chemical Byrne · 08-07-2015 4:38pm

I used to drink fruit juices but I was worried about the sugar content and as an aside, the are too damn expensive. The healthiest drink by far and away is water.

I drink 4 or 5 cups of green tea every day too for hydration and the antioxidants.

Macha · 08-07-2015 4:53pm

Lux23 wrote: »

Are smoothies really all that healthy? I have been making my own for the last couple of weeks as I am a terrible fruit eater but I am not convinced they are all that healthy.

I think they can be if they're a good mix of veggies, fruit and fats. I find this a good guide: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/super-shake-creation-infographic

Blacktie. · 08-07-2015 5:17pm

Lux23 wrote: »

All the fructose? They say fruit juices are as unhealthy as fizzy drinks so why would a smoothie be any different.

Better than a bowl full of sugar otherwise know as cereal. And when they say fruit juices they're referring to the junk you but in stores. Home made smoothies are very different.

Chemical Byrne · 08-07-2015 5:29pm

^+1

What really grinds my gears is these things call "fruit juice drinks". They're marketed so as to have one believe their fruit juice but sure we all know they're basically just sugary water with a token shot of some fruit by-product derived substance thrown in.

Dtp1979 · 09-07-2015 6:23pm

-=al=- wrote: »

I'm curious about that myself!

I usually can't eat much in the mornings but I always make a smoothie. I usually have orange juice, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries (a mix of frozen berries) sunflower and pumpkin seeds, goji berries, chia and hemp seeds, grapes, banana, spinach, coconut milk with rice, low fat natural yogurt and a handful of oats thrown in too.

You could make that a lot healthier by removing some fruit and replacing it with veg

myszak · 10-07-2015 9:27am

-=al=- wrote: »

I'm curious about that myself!

I usually can't eat much in the mornings but I always make a smoothie. I usually have orange juice, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries (a mix of frozen berries) sunflower and pumpkin seeds, goji berries, chia and hemp seeds, grapes, banana, spinach, coconut milk with rice, low fat natural yogurt and a handful of oats thrown in too.

It tastes pretty good but I'm always curious as too how good it actually is for me... Would there that much fructose involved!?

Well... unfortunately it looks like a whole lot of sugar there! Fructose goes straight to your liver....so...it is better to eat a whole fruit rather than make a juice or smoothie out of it. But you can also argue that smoothie is better than a biscuit... :-)

Blacktie. · 10-07-2015 12:15pm

myszak wrote: »

Well... unfortunately it looks like a whole lot of sugar there! Fructose goes straight to your liver....so...it is better to eat a whole fruit rather than make a juice or smoothie out of it. But you can also argue that smoothie is better than a biscuit... :-)

Juices and smoothies are different. Smoothie keeps the fibre lowering the insulin spike.

myszak · 13-07-2015 8:28am

Blacktie. wrote: »

Juices and smoothies are different. Smoothie keeps the fibre lowering the insulin spike.

Yes, smoothies would be better than juices as they do have fibre. We just cannot forget that this is still lots of sugar and don't treat it like every day breakfast. At least this is my opinion. It is very individual thing how much sugar your body will tolerate without side effects. I can speak for myself that 1-2 pieces of fruit a day is absolute max I can have.

Tar.Aldarion · 14-07-2015 10:11am

Lux23 wrote: »

Are smoothies really all that healthy? I have been making my own for the last couple of weeks as I am a terrible fruit eater but I am not convinced they are all that healthy.

Yeah depends what is in them of course, don;'t have tonnes of fruit. I have a protein one for breakfast. Pea protein, banana, peanut butter, soy milk, cocoa/cocao powder. Tastes amazing, keeps you filled for ages and is quite healthy. I eat that around 9-9:30 and only want lunch around 3-3:30.

CaptainAhab · 14-07-2015 10:59am

I follow a low carb high fat way of eating so breakfast is typically 5 eggs scrambled with cream and butter alongside 4 strips of bacon. I may mix this up on occasion with avocado or sausage, or frying the eggs instead. I won't eat again until dinner at about 6ish. I only eat breakfast if I am hungry in the morning and as a result I find that approximately 2 days per week I will not be hungry and will not eat anything until my dinner.

What is a healthy breakfast?

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