A Quick, Easy and Delicious Super Breakfast for You and the Kids

As I prepared for the nutritional seminar I presented at last week, I couldn’t help but think about how absolutely critical a nutritious breakfast is for overall health, performance and to wake you up before school/work... especially for the growing kids and teenagers!

Although there is nothing better than a veggie and meat omelet with a side of fruit (click here to read about some of the undeniable value of whole eggs), the next best option is a bit quicker and absolutely delicious… when prepared properly.

So, I will break down just how to make the ultimate bowl of Super Performance Oatmeal, show you how quick and simple it is, and why it is second only to eggs for your morning performance kick (but is also a great compliment to eggs). So let's get to how you can maximize your performance and the performance of your kids.

SUPER PERFORMANCE OATMEAL

1) Put 1 cup water into microwaveable bowl and nuke for 2 mins **CAUTION** the bowl will be hot and the water should be steaming when you remove the bowl so be careful. Note: the purpose of heating the water first is that the microwave actually destroys the nutritional content of food, but that is another topic for another day.

2) Upon removing the bowl from the microwave, add 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats (oatmeal) to the water. Note: if you are looking to lose some weight try a half-cup water and half-cup oats to start.

3) Add 1 scoop of whey protein to bowl and mix thoroughly.

4) Add a half-cup berries, cinnamon to taste, nutmeg to taste, honey to taste and mix in thoroughly.

5) Enjoy your Super Performance Oatmeal with a glass of milk or a Tbsp of peanut butter for some extra protein and healthy fat.

The nutritional breakdown is as follows and is approximately what you will get with the half-cup portion (add another 150 calories, 3 g Fat, 27 g Carbs, 4 g Fiber and 5 g Protein for another half-cup of oats)

Calories: 550   Fat: 9.2 g    Carbs: 85 g    Fiber:  7.2    Protein:  37 g

Tell me that doesn't look amazing!

There you have it. Quick, easy and full of nutritional value. Studies have suggested that the benefits of the ingredients of this awesomely delicious concoction include, but are not limited to:

1) Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: low calorie, high fiber, extra protein, gluten free, helps stabilize blood sugar, has shown to help protect against heart disease and cancers, contains anti-oxidants.

2) Berries: contain important vitamins and minerals as well as disease fighting anti-oxidants. Also tastes amazing, especially when fresh.

3) Whey Protein: Besides being an extremely convenient form of a complete protein (very important for muscular recovery, growth and performance) whey protein has also been linked to enhanced immune system function (which affects all levels of health from the common cold and wound healing to the prevention of heart disease, diabetes and cancer), increases satiety which helps to control overeating and weight management and more… the list goes on and on so pick up some whey protein!

4) Cinnamon: helps to control blood sugar levels (important in preventing and managing type II diabetes), has been shown to have an anti-clotting affect, lowers LDL (the bad) cholesterol, improves memory, decreases arthritic pain, and more.

5) Nutmeg: helps to improve heart health, helps kill cavity causing bacteria in the mouth, helps to improve memory, reduce anxiety, aid digestion and more.

6) Honey: contains health promoting anti-oxidants, fights infection and diseases, improves healing, tastes amazing and more.

So there you have it… A total performance kick to start your morning and the morning of your kids. It takes less than five minutes to prepare, tastes more like dessert than breakfast and brings you one step closer to fighting crime and flying around in blue tights with a red cape!

When paired with proper exericise and performance training (more on this in a future blog!), healthy nutrition, especially during breakfast will boost your and your kids' performance, productivity, health and overall life.