The Ideal Breakfast: 16 Whole Ingredients, 2 Minutes Prep Time, 1 Fine Culinary Experience
And all the protein and healthy fats a good breakfast needs
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. — Adelle Davis
Despite all the noise on the internet, science suggests that breakfast remains the most important meal of the day (1, 2, 3, 4). But, like most things in life, it’s not quite that simple. If you’re the kind of king who enjoys pastries or sugary breakfast cereals a little too much, following Adelle’s famous advice will cut your reign painfully short.
Yes, breakfast should be even healthier than it is large. And that’s not all. It should also be tasty, highly practical, and reasonably priced.
Does such a zero-compromise breakfast really exist? Read on, and see for yourself 🙂
Ingredients
Here is the impressive list of 16 whole food ingredients:
Preparation and Practicality
The trick is to have your seed, nut, and berry mixes readily available so that they can be combined in under two minutes. Getting hold of a convenient and affordable seed mixture is the biggest challenge, so let’s start there.
Practical seed management
If you’re lucky enough to have a supermarket or local health food store that stocks a good selection of seeds at reasonable prices, feel free to skip this section.
Everyone else, don’t despair! There is a great alternative solution: Buy your seeds in bulk online. Seeds have a long shelf life, and bulk purchases are generally about 3x cheaper than the small packets sold in local stores. This saving is particularly useful for more expensive seeds like hemp and chia.
So, jump on the internet and check out the health food suppliers in your region. There’s a good chance you’ll find some suppliers who can deliver right to your doorstep. Just make sure to look at the sell-by date to give yourself enough time to enjoy your purchase.
When your bulk seeds arrive, mix them in a large container in roughly equal ratios. Then distribute the mixture in food-grade plastic bags and press out as much air as possible. In my experience, vacuum packing is not necessary if you make sure you store these bags in a cool and dark place.
Finally, get a convenient plastic container that can hold enough seeds for a week or two. When it gets empty, simply refill straight from one of the plastic bags with your stored seed mixture.
I’ll admit, setting up this sophisticated seed management system is a bit of a mission. But, once it’s up and running, it will cost you a mere 20 seconds per meal and save you lots of money through bulk purchases. And as a bonus, you can have some good laughs showing off your “seed bank” to friends and family 🙂
Other ingredients
Convenient nut mixtures are commonly available in supermarkets at reasonable prices. You could save some money by setting up a similar bulk purchase system for nuts, but not as much as with seeds. I also find nut mixtures a little bit too tempting as a snack, so sticking to the limited weekly portion from the supermarket works best for me.
Most supermarkets also have frozen berry mixes available. These products are highly convenient and circumvent the seasonality of berries. If you cannot find a ready mix, buying two or three different packs of frozen berries to add to your breakfast is almost just as convenient.
Greek yogurt and All-Bran flakes are easily accessible. The only little pro tip I have here is to get a relatively big breakfast bowl, which makes it easier to blend the thick Greek yogurt into the mixture without making a mess.
Health profile
Nuts, seeds, berries, wheat bran, and plain Greek yogurt all boast glowing health credentials. Even raisins and dried papaya bring something to the table. When mixed as described above, this combo amounts to nothing less than the perfect nutritional start to the day.
For breakfast purposes, the high protein and unsaturated fat content is a big bonus. These macronutrients are broken down gradually to supply your body with a reliable energy supply throughout the morning. It also helps to keep you feeling full to avoid the pre-lunch munchies.
A snapshot of the nutritional profile of this breakfast is shown below, as given by the nutritionvalue.org calculator.
When looking at the % Daily Value column, the high content of protein and healthy (unsaturated) fat is clearly visible. On the other hand, the amount of carbohydrates is relatively low, with a disproportionate representation of gut-healthy dietary fiber.
The micronutrient profile is strong too, supplying 40–80% of the daily requirement of vitamins A, C & K, and several B-vitamins. This breakfast is also a great source of all important minerals, except for sodium (which most people get too much of anyway).
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a breakfast with a better nutritional profile.
Culinary experience
Perhaps most important of all, this breakfast mix is a pure joy to eat! It just gets the day started on a lovely note — no sugar required 🙂
The wide range of flavors combines surprisingly well, and each bite is unique, both in taste and texture. It also comes with a satisfying crunch that makes it easy to eat more slowly and naturally respect the recommended amount of chewing.
Variations on the theme
Even the ideal breakfast can become a bit much if eaten every day. Thus, we need a variant or two to keep things interesting.
The simplest way to vary the experience is to add some fresh fruit and/or berries. You will need a bit more time to chop the fresh produce into bite-sized pieces, making this a good option for a relaxed weekend breakfast experience. Those extra ingredients make each bite even more of an adventure!
As a special treat, try substituting the All-Bran with a muesli mix containing plenty of dried fruit. But be warned: This mix can get so tasty that overeating becomes all too tempting. Luckily, as far as weekend indulgences go, this is about as healthy as it gets.
For some weekday variation, my favorite alternative combo consists of the following:
- A generous helping of 3 types of seeds: chia, flax, and hemp
- All-Bran flakes
- Almond milk
- Fresh blueberries
This one can be enjoyed either hot or cold. For the cold version, mix the seeds, All-Bran, and almond milk in a bowl and let it stand for a minute or two while you wash the blueberries. This gives the chia seeds some time to soak up the milk, creating a delightful texture.
For the hot version, simply heat the mixture in the microwave while you wash the blueberries. The heat transforms the texture from crunchy to smooth, completely changing the experience. See which one you like best! I like both, so I eat the cold version on hot days and the hot version on cold days.
If fresh blueberries are not available at a reasonable price, try substituting with frozen raspberries, crushed into smaller pieces. I find these crushed raspberries a more enjoyable substitute than frozen blueberries.
Enjoy!
The way you spend your morning echos throughout the day. When it comes to getting a good start, an ideal breakfast is a perfect companion to a handcrafted and choreographed morning routine.
In fact, this breakfast can tilt the scales even further in your favor by managing your energy and cravings and optimizing your long-term health.
But above all, it’s simply delicious 🙂 I hope you enjoy it as much as me!