The Benefits of Eating (The Right Kind of) Breakfast

Mums, are your kids skipping breakfast? Does the stress of the morning rush revolve around getting yourself and your kids ready—sometimes even coming down to choosing between drying your hair or putting a little more love into the family’s breakfast? But the thing is, there are so many benefits of eating breakfast.

Finding the time to make the right kind of breakfast can sometimes be a challenge, but here’s why you should put in a little extra effort into preparing the first meal of the day for your family (we promise, it’s worth it!)

Here, mums, are reasons why breakfast is important and shouldn’t be skipped:

Breakfast also helps to:

• Improve our overall mood
• Boost energy in the morning
• Maintain a healthy weight

So yes, breakfast is king, but before you make a feast out of it, wait. The heaps of benefits don’t give you license to serve just about anything on the table.

What constitutes a healthy breakfast?

While breakfast favourites such as Black Pan Fried Carrot Cake (566 calories per plate) or Nasi Lemak (635 calories per plate) are definitely delicious, their everyday consumption should be restricted because of their high calorie, fat and sodium count as well as low amounts of  vitamins, minerals and fibre.

So how do you know if the breakfast you’re serving your family is healthy and nutritious?

The rule of thumb is that breakfast should be balanced.

Familiarizing yourself with the food groups will help make meal preparation a breeze. These categories serve as a great guide to identifying what a meal may be lacking or having too much of.

Serving food from just one group over and over again, even though that item is deemed to be healthy itself, fails to give the body the complete nutrition it needs.

For a healthy and balanced breakfast, always check if your family is having at least one item from each of the four food groups. This gives the body a balanced start to the day — one that is packed with energy-boosters and essential nutrients.

The four food groups

Experts all agree that a healthy and balanced breakfast should include the four food groups, meaning: fruits or vegetables, dairy, meat and its alternatives (e.g. tofu, nuts, quinoa), and grains, particularly whole grains for added nutrition.

Grains are the main energy source in diets yet are rarely perceived as the most interesting part of a meal.

It’s definitely something to get excited about, mums, as whole grains in particular, pack quite a nutritional punch!

Why whole grains are better

Whole grain consumption helps reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases,  and type 2 diabetes. It is also a source of fibre that improves digestion and overall health.

With all these benefits, it’s easy to see why adding whole grains to your family’s daily diet is an act of pure love! It’s easy to incorporate, too. No need for additional hours slaving away in the kitchen.

Simply stock up your kitchen with ready-to-eat, whole grain foods — breads and cereals that are labelled as such. Having these on hand gives your family the energy and nutrition they need, while allowing you a little more time to get yourself ready for the busy day ahead.

Go on, mum, try balancing your family’s breakfast and include whole grains as part of the meal. You’ll find that rushing to prepare breakfast would soon be a thing of the past and that a healthy breakfast for the whole family is as easy as remembering 1, 2, 3… 4 food groups!

Here’s to happy, healthy mornings, mums!

If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the benefits of eating breakfast, please share them in our Comment box below.