It is a feeling that we can all relate to, your eyes are bleary, your brain feels foggy and getting out of bed seems, an act of courage. If you have felt like this day after day, you are probably more than ready to give your body a new lease on life. Could your diet, especially your substantial breakfast, be responsible for the energy drain?
Wait a minute! Isn’t a big breakfast consisting of wholesome complex carbohydrates and satiating protein the most important meal of the day? After all it is supposed to speed up your metabolism and help you consume fewer calories the rest of the day. New research and thinking suggest otherwise.
A 2011 study published in Nutrition Journal reports that eating a big breakfast increases the chances of consuming more calories during the day. Kimberley Snyder, nutrition advisor to Drew Barrymore and other celebrities says, “A breakfast full of heavy animal protein, like an egg white omelet, will rest like a brick in your stomach right at the beginning of the day.”
Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet argues that a heavy breakfast will, “shut down your body’s energy producing system…your morning meal will trigger an antagonistic part of the automatic nervous system…which makes you sleepy, slow and less resilient to fatigue and stress.” While some nutritionists advice skipping breakfasts altogether, others suggest making them lighter. Snyder recommends a green smoothie in lieu of a heavy breakfast. A smoothie made with two of nature’s most gorgeous foods; fruits and raw leafy greens!
It isn’t just celebrities or people in the health and wellness industry, but entrepreneurs and busy executives are jumping on the bandwagon too. I’m a green smoothie convert also, have been for a year now, though I don’t skip my coffee in the mornings. Some of the immediate benefits I noticed were greater energy, lesser brain fog and an increase in focus to complete tasks on hand. All you need is a blender, fruit and lots of green leafy vegetables. The smoothie I make most often is a slightly tweaked version of Kimberley Snyder’s Glowing Green Smoothie.
Ingredients:
1 organic apple, 1 organic pear, 1 organic banana, 1-2 sticks of celery, 3 large handfuls of baby greens (spinach or kale), ½ of a head of cilantro, juice of ½ a lemon and a small piece of ginger.
Method:
Blend the above ingredients with 2-3 cups of water and serve in tall glasses.
Instead of baby spinach and kale, try switching things up by using other greens such as watercress, dandelion greens, collard greens and Swiss chard.
If you are keen on eliminating processed junk from your diet and want feel energized through the day, give green smoothies a try. These nourishing drinks will satisfy your hunger without bogging you down or triggering cravings for unhealthy foods. High in nutrients, they will flood every deserving cell in your body with vitamins, minerals and those mighty phytochemicals, all before 9 AM in the morning!
Sources:
• Nutrition Journal; Impact of breakfast on daily energy intake – an analysis of absolute versus relative breakfast calories. (Accessed February 9, 13)
• Kimberley Snyder; The Science Behind Eating Light to Heavy. (Accessed, February 5, 13)
• Forbes; Green Smoothies: Hope for Old, Fat, Busy Executives. (Accessed February 10, 13)
• Yahoo; “Diet Warrior” Says Breakfast is Not the Most Important Meal of the Day. (Accessed February 5, 13)
Image Credit; Gameanna; freedigitalimages.net
I used three generous handfulls from a bag of shredded greens for salad from Costco (kale, Brussels, broccoli, spinach, chicory, etc Its called the sweet kale vegetable salad kit), skipped the pear and ginger since I didn’t have those at home, but added a little more frozen berries (the triple berry mix from Costco) and an apple and lemon juice and a little water to help the mix/ grind in my cherished VitaMix.
This was surprisingly tasty! With a serving of cottage cheese, it wad also a surprisingly filling meal. I’m trying to follow the “full plate diet”, and this is an easy way to increase my fiber intake. http://fullplateliving.org/blog/how-eat-more-food-and-fewer-calories
But more importantly, it was fast to make and fast to cleanup. I’m usually preparing lunch for one and this is a way to escape the trap of eating convenient junk foods because I don’t want to be bothered with the work that goes into slicing/dicing/sautéing veggie rich meals when it is just for me.
Oh, and I did add a banana as well. Gave the smoothie a silky texture and a sweet finish :-) Nice recipe…simple :-)
Thanks Tara for the read and the comments!