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Top Breakfast Choices and Why you shouldn't eat Cereal

People commonly ask me what I eat. How do you stay so lean? Well it all starts with a good breakfast in my opinion. Unfortunately our society has made us think that cereals found in a box are healthy for you. Then someone will say "But I eat shredded wheat and it's fortified with all of these vitamins and minerals." The truth about dry breakfast cereals is they are ALL overly processed. No matter if you get them in a health food store or at your local market, I would never recommend anyone dry breakfast cereal. Read the article below to see exactly why. There was also an interesting experiment done with rats that should be read as well.

Here is a link to the article by Sally Fallon called "Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry." Everyone should give this a read.

Now what do I recommend for breakfast?

Here are my top favorite suggestions for breakfast. My first one is my Power Smoothie that is filled with high quality protein (very minimally processed), the most natural vitamins, minerals, and good healthy fats. This is a staple for me for most days of the week.

POWER SMOOTHIE

1 Scoop Fit 365 (Grass Fed Whey)
1 Tbs Quantum Whey (pesticide free)
1 tsp Quantum Greens Powder (all my vitamins from the most natural sources including wheat grass, noni, oat grass, etc..)
1 Tbs  Flaxseed Oil
1 cup Frozen Berries
1/2 banana (When Pregnant or have a hard workout ahead of me)
6-8oz Cold Filtered Water

Blend Together with a hand blender or regular blender. It's such an awesome breakfast that has everything you need. In addition i always add and recommend to everyone 1/2 teaspoon of Max Stress B Vitamins separately in a 1/4 cup of water. This should also be taken one time at lunch.

ORGANIC ROLLED OATS with ground nuts (if you have more time)

1/3 cup of Rolled Oats cooked over the stove on medium with 2/3 cup of water (try and get certified Gluten Free Oats if gluten intolerant)
10 Walnuts ground in a food processor sprinkled in the cooked Oats
Splash of Almond Milk
Dash of Stevia

My other favorite breakfast is a Veggie Omelette, which is more for the weekends.

3 Organic Free Range Eggs
Grilled Mushrooms, Onions, Tomatoes, and Asparagus.

Sometimes I add 1 or 2 corn tortillas and a small side of black beans if I'm really hungry. Other times I'll have 1 slice of Low Sodium Ezekiel Bread with a light spread of Earth Balance butter.

For the 2 breakfasts mentioned above I'll take 1 tsp of Cod Liver Oil and Max Stress B Vitamins that give you the natural energy your body needs. No need for coffee when taking this form of B. Since i need my Greens at some point I'll take them in capsule form since I don't have a shake to blend it in. I'll usually take about 3 or 4 Quantum Greens Mix capsules for breakfast.

I used to be the typical American that lived off cereals. I thought I was really healthy because I would eat grape nuts or shredded wheat. Which are the healthier ones out of the bunch. In any case, as soon as I took the processed cereals out of my diet I noticed changes in my health immediately. My allergies were gone! I wasn't bloated anymore after breakfast and my body started to get leaner. I had some of my clients take cereals out of the diet and in just weeks they were getting leaner and had more energy.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think it is interesting that you reject the cereals on the basis that they are processed yet the proteins and greens sources you consume are highly processed. I agree that cereal is not a good choice for a whole lot of reasons and I also think that good protein powders are a convenient way to get what seems to be fairly high quality nutrition but if, as a philosophy for health, I was into avoided highly processed foods I would have to get my protein from whole, natural foods and my greens from, well, greens. Just saying... I wanted to bring this up because I see this rhetoric all the time about how we should avoid processed foods and be all natural and in the same breath the magazine is talking up the wonders of protein powder. It is a bit of pet peeve of mine because we need to be honest and admit, as tasty and convenient as the stuff is, it is super processed stuff yo!
Lauren Brooks said…
Anonymous,

I agree with you partly, but if you do research comparing the process of cereals versus high quality Grass Fed Whey and the Low Temperature Hybrid Greens you will be very surprised with the drastic difference.

I agree with you that there are many horrible whey proteins out there and supplements that are highly heated with crappy proteins and made with chemicals. Fortunately after searching for years I was able to find 2 or 3 places that actually have very light processing methods that have the highest quality sources you can find without the chemicals.

Of course natural protein sources would be better, but unfortunately in our society we can hardly eat anything with the same nutrients we would have had many many years ago. In that case we are forced to have supplementation to make up for what we are not getting in our foods. Our fish is so tainted with mercury we can't even eat fish regularly like we should.

If you find high quality products such as the ones I recommended which are not made from synthetic crap, you give yourself a much higher chance for optimal health versus the overly highly heated, over pesticide laden cereals with almost no nutrition value.
christina said…
This is just what I need!! I struggle with breakfast. I have a hard time eating typical breakfast foods but I do eat eggs. Sometimes I make smoothies for breakfast but find they don't usually fill me up. I'll have to try yours though.

I too stay away from cereals except sometimes as a snack for the kids ever once in a while.
Anonymous said…
Lauren, I LOVE that Weston Article! and the low sodium ezekial bread is my fav kind of bread. :)
Lauren Brooks said…
Christina,

Smoothies are definitely not filling without flaxseed oil and the right type of proteins and carbs. I usually have a midmorning snack 2-3 hours later. Let me know what you think when you give it a try.
Lauren Brooks said…
Sara,

Yeah it's a pretty great article. It really breaks everything down. I couldn't resist but share it.
Low Sodium Ezekiel Bread does rock! I wouldn't say it tastes amazing, but for the healthiest bread I have ever found it sure does the trick.

Hope you have been doing well!
Jammison said…
Ha, yes, I find myself reaching for cereal daily for the first time since I was young (well, there are added challenges of being in a foreign country). Your suggestions sound awesome, but do you have any ideas for people who might not have access to these special health foods? Or maybe don{t have time to cook a proper morning meal? Thanks! You rock woman. :D
PS they are starting to love the bells in Peru.... :)
Lauren Brooks said…
Jaime,

Well do you have access to Oatmeal, Eggs, and Fruit? That would probably be a staple of mine if I didn't have any access to good protein shakes or quality Ezekiel Bread.

So stoked that you are spreading the kettlebell love in Peru! Say what's up to everyone for me. I can do an ichat this Sunday if you are around. I was in a wedding this weekend so had no time. Love and miss you too!
Jammison said…
Thanks for the tips, just found oats at the store last night and Im stoked to start making my granola again..I know, what a hippee. haha. I would love to talk Sunday. my mom will be here so let me email you as we get closer. What time would be good? Teaching my second k-bell class at an official Peruvian gym tomorrow! I love it!
How was the wedding? Rebecca's?
Love to you!
Anonymous said…
Funny that you mention that about cereal.

One quote from a friend I remember is that all cereal is are crackers drowned in milk!
Franz Snideman said…
I love the shake recipe!

Very tasty!

Looking forward to seeing you, Ben, Lyla and Lisa!
Lauren Brooks said…
Super trainer,

It can definitely be so true! Granted there are much better cereals out there than others, that's what it is. I was thinking more like cookies or puffed sugar in milk.
Lauren Brooks said…
Franz,

Yes the shake is awesome, isn't it? I know you guys have been drinking the Fit 365 for awhile. Even with all the other healthy stuff added it actually is still tasty which is very nice. I wouldn't be able to drink it if I couldn't stand the taste.

We are all looking forward to see you guys too! We'll call or text you when we finalize a place and time. 8-)
Unknown said…
Good information from everyone. I've been debating adding a protein powder to my diet because I'm not certain that I'm getting enough. I tried one years ago with little success; I believe it was soy based versus the recommended whey... I'd long given up on cereal because it wasn't filling (especially after exercising) and I can't always tolerate milk. I do like the egg substitutes and some of the vegetarian-based breakfast products, however.

Hope you are well, Lauren. I'm still enjoying your "Ultimate" workout!

--Anita in Birmingham, AL

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