Recently, The New York Times ran a piece titled “Sorry, There’s Nothing Magical about Breakfast,” in it the author debunked the notion that those who skip breakfast do so at the expense of their health. It argued that those who champion breakfast do so from a place of “misinterpreted research and biased studies.” In the realm of nutrition, it can be difficult to distinguish the biased from the unbiased studies, and those paid for as marketing tools versus those that provide real information about healthy practices. We set out to research our favorite options for your morning meal, which resulted in five healthy breakfast ideas to suit your specific needs.

As in all things health-related, biological individuality and lifestyle play a role in determining what is healthy. A doctor or a nutritionist can help you determine what is best for you. Our staff at Rebecca’s can help you negotiate some of the foods and products that may fit your needs. While the aforementioned Times piece argued that you’ll be just fine if you skip your morning, even newer research says you really shouldn’t, especially if you’re an athlete. It’s hard to take the findings of any one study as an all-encompassing answer to your breakfast queries!

Breakfast may no longer hold up as “the most important meal of the day,” but many prefer to start their day with a meal. Our morning routines are critical to our overall health, so we’ve taken a more holistic look at your morning in putting together this guide to five ways you can start your day. Read on for our five healthy breakfast ideas!

Try intermittent fasting

At Rebecca’s Natural Food, we’ve been big fans of Intermittent fasting for some time. Adding Bulletproof coffee makes it easier by adding an easy to use energy source without affecting the benefits of fasting. Bulletproof coffee combines organic Coffee with Grass Fed Butter or ghee and MCT’s. MCT (Medium-chain triglycerides) oil is a clean source of fuel for both the brain and body and converts to energy faster than carbohydrates. It also promotes Ketosis, one of the processes that the body uses for its energy needs. The butter or ghee provides short-chain fatty acids, a health-promoting compliment to the MCT. We recommend Grazier’s European style Grass Fed Butter, and Pure Indian Foods Cultured Ghee and Bulletproof brand coffee and MCT’s. Although the Bulletproof company and its founder Dave Asprey developed the idea as part of his overall bio-hacking strategy for weight loss and health, many other companies have come out with MCT products, including our favorite, Onnit’s coconut oil only derived MCT.

Eat something substantial if it works for you

Whether you’re an athlete or just someone who enjoys a classic, hearty breakfast, Rebecca’s carries many organic, healthy options. We suggest cooking with sustainable, ethically raised, antibiotic and hormone free proteins. Try Garrett Valley Paleo, Sugar-Free Bacon, Polyface Farms Pastured Pork Breakfast Sausage links, or Applegate Chicken and Maple Breakfast Sausage link. For a vegan option, we recommend Field Roast Vegan Breakfast Sausage. We carry local, truly pastured Eggs from Innisfree, as well as Pastured Soy Free Eggs from Funny Farm and others.

Cereals

Granola bowls are a delicious way to fuel up, both for breakfast and snack time. We suggest the Decadent Local Hudson Henry Granola combined with Hawthorne Valley Organic and Biodynamic Whole Milk Yogurt.

It’s unfortunate, but most cereals are packed with sugar. Even those advertised as healthy tend to contain more sugar than one meal should contain. We suggest One Degree’s line of Organic, Sprouted Grain cereals: Brown Rice Crisps, Purple Maize Corn Flakes and Oat O’s. These are delicious when paired with A2 whole milk, and provide an easy way to start the day.

Whether you eat light or prefer a protein-packed morning, there are many ways to start your day with healthy, organic options. As always, consider the activities you have planned and your specific nutritional needs. These healthy breakfast ideas are simply a roadmap. If you’d like to discuss your nutritional plans further, come see us at Rebecca’s Natural Food. 

Photo by Artem Bali on Unsplash