Steve Hines Sports Nutritionist London shares his thoughts on healthy breakfasts. Eating breakfast is paramount for football players. A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2010 demonstrated that of over 4,000 UK secondary school children 32 percent did not eat breakfast and were more likely to be overweight and obese. The content of a healthy breakfast is debatable with the government, mass media and many sporting bodies promoting junk foods as healthy “sports nutrition”. The Nutrition for Football Conference held at FIFA House in Zurich in September 2005 included common breakfast foods such as cereal with milk, flavoured yoghurt and fruit smoothies in its list of nutrient-rich carbohydrate foods.
The Australian institute of Sport also recommends foods such as crumpets with jam or honey, flavoured milk, baked beans on toast and breakfast cereals as healthy pre training breakfasts and snacks. These foods are indeed carbohydrate rich, however what seems to be completely missed is these foods are high in processed sugar, contain gluten, dairy and other common food intolerances and are generally poor providers of essential fats, protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
I make no secret that I think breakfast cereal is junk food (except for a good muesli or gluten free porridge), and I have written extensively about what I think we should eat for breakfast (including what I eat on a daily basis) – meat and nuts. However I do appreciate that moving from corn flakes to steak and cashews can be too big a step to take for some people. So I’m going to share an except with you from my new book “The little book of nutrition tips” and give you seven ideas for breakfast that are certainly a lot better than breakfast cereals.
Sports Nutritionist London healthy breakfasts recipes
1. Standard porridge
• 8 to 10 tablespoons of oats
• 30g of whey protein (optional)
• 200ml of milk or hot water
• 1 tablespoon of xylitol
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ½ an apple
• 1-2 tablespoons of ground seed mix (flax, pumpkin and sunflower)
Mix the whey protein with a little cold water and whisk to make a frothy lump free liquid. Add hot water or milk to the oats, xylitol and cinnamon, mix together and bring to the boil. Add the whey protein and simmer for 30 seconds to a minute. Serve with sliced apple and sprinkled ground seeds.
2. Muesli
Search your health food shop for sugar free muesli, especially ones made with quinoa or amaranth. Alternatively try my recipe…
• 4-8 tablespoons of kallo puffed rice
• 2-4 tablespoon of quinoa flakes
• 1-2 tablespoons of raisins
• 1-2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut
• 2-3 tablespoons of mixed crushed nuts (almonds, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts
• 1-2 tablespoon of mixed whole or ground seeds
Simply serve this with some whole organic milk if you are not sensitive to dairy. You could try some goat’s or sheep’s milk or some quinoa or almond milk.
3. Pancakes
• 1 whole egg
• 30g whey protein powder or
• 300ml water or whole milk
• 1 tablespoon of xylitol
• 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds
• 50-100g gluten free pancake mix (buckwheat or rice flour)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg
Use milk or mix the whey protein with a little cold water and whisk to make a frothy lump free liquid. Add the gluten free pancake mix and xylitol and whisk together. Beat in an egg and add the cinnamon and nutmeg. Heat a frying pan and add a little butter. Add a ladle full of the pancake mix to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side. Serve with almond nut butter, lemon juice or desiccated coconut.
4. Plain organic yoghurt
Serve a few table spoons of plain organic yoghurt such as Rachel’s organic or Yeo Valley over half a sliced apple or a handful of blueberries or strawberries. Top with a ground mix of flax seeds, cinnamon and xylitol.
5. Avocado on toast
Get your self some whole grain organic gluten free bread and toast it. Mash up half an avocado and serve it on the toast with some sliced tomatoes.
6. Grill up
There is nothing wrong with a good quality grill up once a week or once a fortnight. Seek out good quality organic sausages that are preferably 100% meat (you can buy these in whole foods in Kensington or my favourite – Chadwick’s in Balham) or at least only have rice bran as a filler, cook and serve with organic bacon, steamed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and poached eggs.
7. Omelette
Eggs are a great source protein and fats, B vitamins and other nutrients such as vitamin A and vitamin D. Simply make a 2 egg omelette with a little bit of olive oil and put some spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes in the middle for a delicious breakfast.
Sports Nutritionist London healthy breakfasts video
Sports Nutritionist London healthy breakfasts
