Add Peanut Butter and Banana to Your Breakfast

It’s important to start your day with a healthy, nutritious breakfast.  Aim for balance, including muscle-building protein and high-fiber.

Adding peanut butter to your breakfast is an easy way to ensure that you incorporate protein into your morning meal, with minimal time-consuming preparation.

Nutrition guru Amanda Carlson-Phillips suggests the following breakfast ideas:

A peanut butter and banana sandwich can be prepared in only 5 minutes and requires three ingredients: 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, and 1 banana.  This sandwich delivers 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, and 290 calories.

Peanut butter and banana oatmeal takes only a few more minutes to prepare.  You’ll need 1 cup of oatmeal (prepared according to package instructions), 1 sliced banana, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, and a handful of nuts (your choice).  This recipe yields 21 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber, and 530 calories.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Should You Skip Breakfast?

In the interest of balance, I thought I would share a recent article from Healthy Living titled, 5 Reasons to Skip Breakfast.  Obviously, I’ve extolled the virtues of breakfast in this blog — as well as in my personal and professional life — repeatedly.

This is the type of conflicting information that can make it confusing for people to make sound, educated choices regarding diet and nutrition.  Clearly, this article is more of an editorial than evidence-based research.

The article also lacks balance, as it only addresses a high-carb breakfast, and not the benefits of incorporating lean protein into your morning meal or snack.  There is a voluminous (and growing) body of research that supports eating something — anything — within 90 minutes of waking, especially for athletes.

A balanced, nutritious breakfast — along with smaller, more frequent meals and snacks throughout the day — can improve energy level and cognition, and help you reach your fitness, weight-loss, and/or performance goals.

Please see related article, Eat Breakfast!

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

The Worst Breakfast is No Breakfast

I always enjoy traveling to different schools and organizations to discuss Strength & Conditioning, Speed & Agility, and Nutrition.  Invariably, when discussing nutrition, we touch upon the importance of breakfast.  When I tell the audience that any breakfast is better than no breakfast, I usually get a few sarcastic responses like, “what about donuts?” or some other sweets or junk food.  Although I differentiate between a healthy, nutritious breakfast and a less sensible option, the point is this:  Eat something — anything — within 30-90 minutes of waking.  It will set the tone for the rest of your day.  It’s not that the quality of what you eat is unimportant, but the benefits of eating breakfast are indisputable:

• Improves physical and mental health
• Improves behavior and performance
• Kick-starts your metabolism
• Improves your mood
• Boosts your energy level
• Helps to minimize daytime hunger

Like any other meal or snack, the key is to aim for balance: clean carbohydrates (whole grains, high-fiber), lean protein, and healthy (unsaturated) fats.  Protein for breakfast is a must.  Eating a protein-rich breakfast can energize you, reduce food cravings, and prevent overeating later, according to research from the University of Missouri.

Don’t get hung up on eating “breakfast” food for breakfast… eat whatever you want.  Just keep it sensible, nutritious, and balanced.  Leftovers from last night’s dinner?  Eat ’em.

Get STRONGER Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Add Peanut Butter and Banana to Your Breakfast

It’s important to start your day with a healthy, nutritious breakfast.  Aim for balance, including muscle-building protein and high-fiber.

Adding peanut butter to your breakfast is an easy way to ensure that you incorporate protein into your morning meal, with minimal time-consuming preparation.

Nutrition guru Amanda Carlson-Phillips suggests the following breakfast ideas:

A peanut butter banana sandwich can be prepared in only 5 minutes and requires three ingredients: 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, and 1 banana.  This sandwich delivers 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, and 290 calories.

Peanut butter and banana oatmeal takes only a few more minutes to prepare.  You’ll need 1 cup of oatmeal (prepared according to package instructions), 1 sliced banana, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, and a handful of nuts (your choice).  This recipe yields 21 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber, and 530 calories.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Should You Skip Breakfast?

In the interest of balance, I thought I would share a recent article from Healthy Living titled, 5 Reasons to Skip Breakfast.  Obviously, I’ve extolled the virtues of breakfast in this blog — as well as in my personal and professional life — repeatedly.

This is the type of conflicting information that can make it confusing for people to make sound, educated choices regarding diet and nutrition.  Clearly, this article is more of an editorial than evidence-based research.

The article also lacks balance, as it only addresses a high-carb breakfast, and not the benefits of incorporating lean protein into your morning meal or snack.  There is a voluminous (and growing) body of research that supports eating something — anything — within 90 minutes of waking, especially for athletes.

A balanced, nutritious breakfast — along with smaller, more frequent meals and snacks throughout the day — can improve energy level and cognition, and help you reach your fitness, weight-loss, and/or performance goals.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

The Worst Breakfast is No Breakfast

I always enjoy traveling to different schools and organizations to discuss Strength & Conditioning, Speed & Agility, and Nutrition.  Invariably, when discussing nutrition, we touch upon the importance of breakfast.  When I tell the audience that any breakfast is better than no breakfast, I usually get a few sarcastic responses like, “what about donuts,” or some other sweets or junk food.  Although I differentiate between a healthy, nutritious breakfast and a less sensible option, the point is this:  Eat something — anything — within 30-90 minutes of waking.  It will set the tone for the rest of your day.  It’s not that the quality of what you eat is unimportant, but the benefits of eating breakfast are indisputable:

• Improves physical and mental health
• Improves behavior and performance
• Kick-starts your metabolism
• Improves your mood
• Boosts your energy level
• Helps to minimize daytime hunger

Like any other meal or snack, the key is to aim for balance: clean carbohydrates (whole grains, high-fiber), lean protein, and healthy (unsaturated) fats.  Protein for breakfast is a must.  Eating a protein-rich breakfast can energize you, reduce food cravings, and prevent overeating later, according to research from the University of Missouri.

Don’t get hung up on eating “breakfast” food for breakfast… eat whatever you want.  Just keep it sensible, nutritious, and balanced.  Leftovers from last night’s dinner?  Eat ’em.

Get STRONGER Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?