What’s a healthy breakfast?

If you asked someone to list some typical regular weekday morning breakfast foods, they’d probably rattle off things like cereal, toast, bagels, muffins, pancakes, waffles, and maybe eggs and bacon.

But here’s the deal. Breakfast is how we break our overnight fast, and for many people, breaking fast doesn’t have to happen first thing in the morning. That’s right, folks: breakfast does NOT have to happen first thing in the morning. If you are not hungry when you wake up, that is normal, and you do not need to eat. That old myth about “revving up your metabolism” with food first thing was largely created by breakfast cereal manufacturers.

Overnight fasting: Good for weight control and easy to do

Evidence is growing in support of fasting for weight control, weight loss, and better metabolic health.

An overnight fast could look like this: You stop eating before nightfall, somewhere between 5 and 8 pm. (It’s a good idea to avoid eating anything in the two to three hours before sleep anyways.) Then, you do not eat until 16 hours later, somewhere between 9 am and 12 pm. Only liquids, like water, coffee and tea without sweeteners, seltzer, and even broth are allowed during the fast.

You’ve now completed a 16-hour fast, and you slept through most of it! Your meals occur only during an eight-hour period of the day, and you make these healthy meals, with lots of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats, legumes, and whole grains. This type of overnight fasting is called circadian rhythm intermittent fasting, and is linked to lower blood sugar and insulin levels, as well as healthy weight loss. Most people who try overnight fasting find this a pretty easy routine to maintain.

Some people (like growing children or people on certain medications) do not need to fast this long, and should have a healthy meal before their school or workday.

Break fast with low glycemic foods

Regardless of what time of day you break our overnight fast, scientific evidence shows that all humans have improved cognitive performance and more sustained energy from meals that don’t spike our blood sugars, so meals with a lower glycemic load. What does this mean?

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Nutrition Source breaks down the glycemic index and load of many foods.

Basically, the glycemic load gives us an idea of how much a certain food will cause our blood sugar to rise, and for breakfast, the lower, the better. A low glycemic load is under 10; medium, 11 to 19; and high is over 20. The best breakfast meal has a low glycemic load.

While it’s important to be aware of the glycemic load of the foods you eat, you don’t have to memorize the numbers. You can count on most plants (fruits and vegetables), legumes (like peas, beans, lentils), nuts and seeds, and whole grains to have a low glycemic load!

Foods that contain little or no carbohydrate, like eggs, nuts, and meats, have a glycemic index and load of close to zero. Does this mean that’s what we should eat? Not necessarily. See, they also have no fiber, nor any other important plant nutrients.

So what are some healthy breakfast choices? In a previous Harvard Health blog I told you what my family and I eat for breakfast. Here are some easy options to fuel you for your busy day:

plain yogurt, fruit, and nuts
oatmeal, fruit, nuts
whole wheat or rye toast with nut butter
black beans and tortilla (corn or whole wheat).

And if you enjoy eggs in the morning, you can try this Frying Pan Frittata. This recipe works very well with frozen veggies, and variations are commonly served as dinner at our house. For a breakfast, this can serve two to four people.

Frying Pan Frittata

And if you enjoy eggs in the morning, you can try this frittata on the stovetop. This recipe works very well with frozen veggies, and variations are commonly served as dinner at our house. For a breakfast, this can serve two to four people.

½ small onion, chopped
1 cup red and green peppers, sliced thin or chopped small
4 cups spinach and/or other leafy greens, torn or chopped (1 cup if using frozen)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano and/or basil (or two tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs)
4 eggs

Use a medium-sized frying pan over medium heat and heat oil until shiny.
Add the onion, stirring until just soft
Add the peppers.
Stir until the onions and peppers are very soft and just browning.
Add the spinach/greens to the pan and stir until wilted and hot.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk them up with a fork until they’re uniformly yellow and a little foamy.
Pour your eggs over all the veggies, turn the heat on low, and cover the pan.
Shake the pan a few times during cooking, which more evenly distributes the eggs and prevents sticking.
Check frittata after three to four minutes.
If the eggs look done, loosen it with a spatula to make sure there is no runniness. If there is, cook thirty seconds to a minute longer, covered.
Using a spatula, slide frittata gently onto a large plate and serve. We slice this up like a pizza.