Take a look at this breakfast makeover for some inspiration
Breakfast is often cited as the most important meal of the day, but what in fact should we be eating?
I took part in a breakfast makeover scheme noting down what I ate and drank for breakfast each morning for seven days and then was to have it analysed by a nutritionist advising on what was good and what I should change.
Here’s how I got on.
Breakfast Diary Report for Taryn from Female First
Monday – Water, strawberries, Mullerlight vanilla yogurt and tangerine
Tuesday – Water, strawberries, Mullerlight strawberry yogurt
Wednesday – Water, banana, tangerine
Thursday – Water, Mullerlight vanilla yogurt, banana, nectarine
Friday – Cup of tea made with semi-skimmed milk, 2 egg omelette made with spinach and mushrooms, side of tomatoes.
Saturday – Cup of tea made with semi-skimmed milk, 2 Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk.
Sunday – Cup of tea made with semi-skimmed milk, strawberries and Mullerlight strawberry yogurt
Juliette Kellow, nutritionist’s verdict:
Fruit and yogurt is a good choice for breakfast. Having one or two portions of fruit at breakfast time means Taryn will find it easier to reach the recommended 5-a-day for fruit and veg and is likely to easily meet her daily needs for vitamin C. Plus fruit provides potassium, a nutrient that helps to maintain normal blood pressure. It’s also great to see that Taryn opts for whole fruit rather than fruit juice – fruit juices are lacking in fibre, which means they don’t fill us up as much as whole fruits. Added to this, the sugars in fruit juice, although naturally occurring, are squeezed out of the fruit cells during the juicing process and so are more likely to damage teeth if they’re frequently consumed. Meanwhile, yogurt provides a range of nutrients including protein, important for the growth and maintenance of muscle, plus calcium, important for the maintenance of normal bones and teeth. Taryn is already choosing a yogurt that includes sweeteners, which helps to keep her sugar intakes down. An alternative would be to opt for natural yogurt (which contains no added sugar) or to have reduced-fat milk, perhaps poured over cereal or made into a skinny latte or cappuccino.
While Taryn’s usual breakfast of fruit and yogurt provides some nutrients, it’s lacking in iron and certain B vitamins, and with the exception of one morning, fails to contain any wholegrains. Experts recommend we eat at least three servings of wholegrains a day for good health and breakfast is the ideal time to get at least one of these servings. However, Taryn had just one serving in the whole week, with her bowl of cereal on Saturday morning! Wholegrains contain all the parts of the grain and provide a range of vitamins, minerals, fibre, starch and other nutrients. An easy win for Taryn would be to add a daily serving of wholegrain cereal to her fruit and yogurt. All Nestlé Cereals such as Shredded Wheat (which is made from just 100% wholegrain wheat and is free from added sugar and salt), Shreddies and Cheerios contain wholegrains and so are great choices. These also provide fibre and the latter two are fortified with B vitamins and iron, helping to boost intakes of these nutrients, which are currently lacking in Taryn’s breakfast.
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