What do I eat during a typical day?

(ABOVE: Me eating breakfast in L.A just before returning to Australia and feeling very very full!)

Hi all! So recently I have been asked, “What do I eat during a typical day?”

This is a bit of a tricky question to answer for my no. 1 motto is- “a little bit of everything, not too much of anything!”

This means that what I eat for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and snacks in between is constantly varied. But what I can do, is start off with BREAKFAST and show you exactly the types of things I eat to start my day. In following posts I’ll then move on to Lunch, Dinner and snacks in between.

As I have said before- PLEASE EAT YOUR BREAKFAST! I cannot stress enough how important it is to wake up your metabolism in the morning. Please see:

https://emilythomas44.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/please-eat-your-breakfast

So here is the range of things I choose to eat for Breakfast:

-ALWAYS start off with either a glass of water with lemon, plain or herbal tea, NEVER starting off with a piece of food. Drink comes first to revitalise your stomach that has been resting during the night. I know this doesn’t sound very technical but it is just what I do.

(picture above- fancy herbal tea I ordered one time!)

– Porridge in Winter. I eat about 1/4 cup of porridge that has been soaked in either water or skim milk overnight, this way it can actually be absorbed by your stomach! Over night the porridge will swell turning your 1/4 of a cup into the perfect size instead of eating too much of it non-soaked and it swelling in your stomach and making you overfull, bloated and in need of a LOT of water throughout the day to keep your system functioning smoothly (if you get my drift!) I heat the porridge with a bit of honey and toss in some pieces of fruit. My favourites are dried apricots or dates MM MMM!!! I then always top it off with a bit of skimmed yoghurt and some cinnamon, making it one yummy yummy breakfast treat!

When I have porridge, I make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day, even after it has been soaked.

–  Poached egg on Toast (If I am pretty hungry!)- This I find super filling but super delicious. Poaching an egg is one of the healthiest ways to cook eggs and they taste and look so good when they ooze out onto your piece of multigrain bread! I normally cut up some tomatoes also to put on my toast.

– The most typical breakfast for me is Cornflakes! (not the branded Cornflakes for they are high in sugar but a “no-name” brand that is literally just puffed corn) Sometimes I mix in a Wheetbix also- how weird am I? I tried to make this picture above look artistic and it turned out to be a MASSIVE bowl of cornflakes and weetbix- so try to eat maybe a smaller portion hehe!

– Low fat yoghurt with fruit

– I do not eat toast often for breakfast. Bread these days from supermarkets is incredibly highly processed and therefore hard to find a healthy selection! The white flour that we use is the basis of the problem, for that in itself is stripped of its goodness and bleached. It is then hard to find any other type of flour that is real and not tampered with, so this poorer quality of flour creeps into everything!  If I have home baked bread- FANTASTIC otherwise I’d stick to the whole grains of porridge.

The other thing is: Imagine you have toast for breakfast, a piece of cake for morning tea, a sandwich for lunch, some pasta for dinner and a biscuit with milk before bed…..every single piece of food you have put into your mouth would have involved refined grains!

Here’s a list of why refined grains stink:

• They will turn to sugar in your body in about 4 seconds (i.e. they have a ridiculously high Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load)
• They are stripped of just about all natural fiber
• Over half the vitamins B1, B2, B3, E, folic acid, zinc, copper, & iron are lost
• There are approximately 25 different chemicals added to refined grains during processing
• Refined grains are also often bleached
• Artificial colors & preservatives are added (many of which have been linked to cancer)
• Grains are fumigated and heavily sprayed when grown
• Grains in general are less nutrient dense than other whole foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, & healthy meats
• They also contain gluten (which can cause digestive issues and intolerances when over-consumed through refined grains)

Information courtesy of:

http://www.laurelofleaves.com/2011/03/is-bread-bad

– I do not drink flavoured milks- they have more sugar than fizzy drinks!

-I drink either just my herbal tea, or home brewed coffee, or black tea with milk. Always finish off with a glass of water!

– I try not to rush in the mornings! Yes, I would rather wake up 10 minutes earlier to have a longer time for breakfast!

– Sometimes I treat myself (especially when in Europe) to a croissant and a cup of coffee YUMO!

(photo below my croissant is on the floor yes, I normally eat at a table, but I was sitting together with friends 😀 )

Happy Breakfasting!!!

xem