All New Breakfast--Higher in Protein & No Refined Grains

Is "Eat a GOOD breakfast!" your New Year's Resolution?  Over 50% of US adults skip breakfast entirely, and the majority of the rest of us are slamming a quick bowl of cereal or an energy bar before heading out the door.  Others are stopping somewhere on the way to pick something up.  This is not your best food-foot forward.These "meals", if you can call them that, are high in carbs from refined grains and sugar, and low in protein, healthy fats and antioxidants, which sets you up for hunger, fatigue, poor concentration and mood swings.  Including protein, healthy fats, fiber and antioxidants at breakfast has demonstrated benefits compared to high carbohydrate meals.A higher protein breakfast has been associated with:

• Better brain function resulting in sustained mental energy, improved mood and enhanced focus and concentration.
• Reduced hunger and improved appetite control resulting in lower body weight and successful weight management.

If your breakfast in non-existant or runs high in refined grains (cereal and bread), high in sugar (cereal, jam) and low in positive nutrition from fiber and antioxidants, listen up.Here is a week of high protein breakfast ideas for you to try.  These also limit flour and sugar, and are high in antioxidants and other healthful compounds to further benefit your brain health and waistline.  See something new? Give it a try--it may become a new favorite!

1. Omega 3 enriched whole eggs scrambled or cubed organic firm tofu scrambled with canola oil, cilantro and black beans, topped with salsa. Tip: Whole eggs have a bad reputation. Yes, eggs are high in dietary cholesterol, but they are low in animal fats, which means that they do not have a negative impact on your blood cholesterol levels. Eat the whole egg if you want!
2. Organic cottage cheese with sliced organic peaches, pecans, sliced banana and cinnamon.
3. Old-fashioned oatmeal cooked with water and topped with natural peanut or almond butter, ground flaxseeds and sliced apple.  Instead of natural nut butters you can mix in organic cottage cheese for extra protein and a super creamy oatmeal.
4. A bowl full of colorful organic berries and 1/2 chopped organic pear, topped with Greek yogurt, cinnamon and almonds.
5. Veggie frittata made with whole omega 3 enriched eggs, organic spinach, mushrooms, organic tomatoes and carrots.
6. Smoothie made with frozen organic fruit, organic silken tofu, and water.  Experiment with different types of fruits.  If you don't use frozen fruit, use fresh fruit with ice cubes.  Frozen bananas give awesome texture.  And try thinning it down with unsweetened almond, organic soy or rice milk.
7. Hot quinoa cereal made with quinoa, organic apples, walnuts and cinnamon.

Mix up the flavor combinations, while keeping omega-3 eggs, organic cottage cheese and plain yogurt, organic tofu and natural nut butters your new breakfast staples.These are favorites in our house!Hot quinoa cereal cooked with apples, walnuts, pumpkin pie spice and butternut squash puree (I had some leftover from these delicious Gluten Free Goddess Butternut Pecan Scones that I made for Christmas morning)To save time in the morning, I put all the smoothie fixings in the blender the night before and then set the canister in the fridge.  If I use frozen fruit I'll just add that in the morning and then blend.There's Sara with her scrambled eggs, apples slices, hot quinoa cereal and tofu-almond milk-banana-mixed berry smoothie.  Delicious! Little bits of all these yummy breakfast foods.   Diced apples and pears with walnuts, raisins, plain yogurt and cinnamon.  Someday we'll get Sara to use utensils!Cottage cheese with sliced banana, frozen peaches and pecans.  Here's another time saver--put in a glass container ahead of time and it's ready for breakfast, or a snack.  This was actually my snack on Tuesday, put together on Monday afternoon.