Food: It's what's for breakfast

I want to talk about breakfast this week. I’d like to think that most of you are actually eating some while you’re reading this, but according to the USDA, only 44 percent of you are. The USDA also says that 93 percent of us think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

So why aren’t we eating it? And those of us who do, are we eating real food or do Nutrigrain bars and blueberry yogurt count? How about the 80 percent of children who start their mornings with sweetened cereals?

Let’s look at breakfast like the foundation for our day. What do we want that foundation to be built on? The answer, in case you hadn’t guessed yet, is “Real Food.” Real food is nutrient dense and provides you with a spread of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and the vitamins your body needs to do everything you’re going to ask it to do in the next several hours.

In my nutrition practice, “What do I eat for breakfast?” has to be one of the most common questions. Usually because I just told someone that Pop Tarts are off the menu. I’m not sure when we adopted the habit of having sugar for breakfast, but it has not served the nation well, and it doesn’t serve you well either.

Starting your day with sugar is inviting a blood sugar crash into your morning coffee break. Which usually involves a Danish for recovery. It begins a roller-coaster of blood sugar ups and downs that your body tries to manage with insulin surges and you try to manage with more simple carbohydrates. This pattern is what causes insulin resistance and Type II Diabetes (and a host of other issues). All because you skipped breakfast or poured a fruit smoothie down your gullet.

(Fruit smoothies have more sugar in them than Pop Tarts, people. I don’t care how many spinach leaves and chia seeds you stick in there.)

So what’s a nutrient dense breakfast look like? Bacon and eggs. Okay, not just bacon and eggs, but they’re a good start. Here are some of my favorite breakfast recommendations:

• Kale and Egg Scramble: Chop up some kale, fry it in a little bacon grease and garlic, toss in a couple of eggs. Top with: Salsa, guacamole, bacon.

• Coconut Walnut Muesli: Throw 1/4 cup coconut shavings, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup blueberries in a bowl, top with coconut milk (the delightfully thick one from a can) and cinnamon.

• Sausage and Sauerkraut: For the advanced breakfaster, raw sauerkraut is a digestively superior way to start your day. Toss a sausage in the pan, throw an egg in there for good measure, top with Germany’s best culinary contribution to the world, and enjoy.

• Leftover Anything: One of my favorite foodie tips is saving a little of dinner to create breakfast. A little leftover salmon and asparagus? A few steak slices and roasted beets? It might sound a little savory for recent converts, but dinner is usually packed with some of the best breakfast nutrition you could hope for.

Whatever it is you eat for breakfast, just remind yourself it is the primer for your day. Eat a nutritious meal of real food. Get on with your day feeling real good. It’s that simple.

Ammi Midstokke, breakfast vigilante, eats more eggs for breakfast than socially acceptable. To find more recipes or justification for a bacon habit, visit www.twobirdsnutrition.com.