This Insanely Filling, High Protein, Low Calorie Breakfast Might (Will?) Change Your Life
Oh, and it’s delicious. So.
by Audie Metcalf
Breakfast can be tricky for most of us.
We’re so busy that we “grab something on the way” which is, let’s face it, a horrific way to start our day. If it’s something grab-and-go from our fridge, it’s not balanced. If it’s purchased at some breakfasty establishment, we can all but guarantee it’s not healthy. If you are a woman, if you are over 40, and if you care about living a long time, we are writing the following words for you to really, really take in. Right now. Wherever you are in the world. Just take a minute to read this and feel it:
We have one life. And we have only one chance to honor this magnificent thing we call our body. It’s the one thing we truly own. The only thing. And there is no meeting, no appointment, no zoom, no phone call, that will ever, ever, ever be more important than giving yourself that extra five minutes in the morning to start your day with thoughtful, delicious, nourishing, life-elongating food.
We know that’s a little much. But is it? We recently realized our priorities around food were so backburnered, so rushed, so utterly not prioritized, and we wonder if it’s related to our self-worth. Don’t we deserve to take a few minutes to sit down to some lovingly prepared food to fuel ourselves? Don’t we owe ourselves that? Do we really feel like pouring goldfish into our mouths as we juggle 13 new emails while pounding Diet Coke is an acceptable way to create the longest, healthiest, richest life possible for ourselves? It’s not. It’s not at all acceptable. It is understandable given our broken economy where we all have to work ourselves to the bone in order to make ends meet, but our bodies and health should not be the first thing to be kicked off our priority list. Make it something else. We don’t care what.
And while breakfast is not the “most important meal of the day” (that was invented by Kellogg’s to get people to buy more cereal because brands are evil marketing machines and don’t you forget it) it is actually the best way to set ourselves up for higher brain function, more satiety to curb overeating, and to remind us all that taking a moment for ourselves in the morning is an act of self-esteem, which will hopefully be repeated throughout the day.
And so, to that end, I have created what I believe to be the ideal recipe that hits all of the key points we’re looking for in one’s perfect breakfast:
1. It must take almost no time.
2. It must be incredibly nutrient dense.
3. It must have a good amount of protein.
4. It must be filling.
5. It must be delicious.
Ladies and gents, I present to you, the Berry Breakfast Bowl:
First, the sheer beauty. Second, the almost embarrassing simplicity. Third, we’ve made a very attractive infographic showing you why all the individual ingredients are so incredibly important:
Protein from 2% Fage yogurt: this is the building block of fullness and muscle repair, and you should aim to be getting 100-150 grams per day. Which takes planning but we made it easy HERE. We use 1 cup.
Digestion from raspberries: quite simply, raspberries are an excellent way to have great poops. Read more about that in horrifying detail HERE. We use a 1/4 cup.
Heart health from flax: We use 2 tablespoons in this bowl, but aim to eat 4 tablespoons a day, per our cardiologist who said flax, fish oil, and weight lifting are the top 3 changes we can make right now to protect our heart and fend off heart disease. We like THIS brand.
Weight loss from wild blueberries: Feels like a scam, but it’s not. Read about it HERE. But they must be wild. We use frozen which makes it wildly easy. Do you see what I did there? Of course you do, I’m sorry. We use half a cup.
Fullness from chia seeds: A powerhouse of nutrients that are too ample to list here, but because they’re high in fiber, they keep us feeling full, which means we won’t be starving in an hour and get all snacky. We use one tablespoon. We like THIS brand.
Glowing skin from blackberries: We wrote a very passionate love letter to blackberries HERE. The benefits are endless, but it’s chock full of vitamin C which helps our skin, hair, fights free radicals, and lowers our risk of cancer. We use 1/4 cup.
Deliciousness from honey: If it’s something you dread, you just won’t do it. The honey brings all the flavors together and gives you that rich, unctuous mouth feel that makes things feel luscious. Honey also has a number of healthy benefits HERE. It’s best to buy local honey if at all possible.
Calories: 387
Protein: 30
Fiber: 16
Ok, so that’s clearly the world’s most gorgeous, nutritious, NO-COOK bowl that legitimately takes 1 minute to our together.
But what if you hate a cold breakfast?
Or what if you prefer more savory?
Well. Today’s your lucky day. I have an “alt” for you which is equally nutrient dense, equally delicious, and though it does have a whisper of cooking involved, it’s still about a 3-minute breakfast.
Enter:
I call this………scrambled eggs and toast? Fine it’s just scrambled eggs and toast. But it’s very specific and precise so let’s get into why:
Protein from egg whites: You know the drill about protein, but HERE it is anyway. We pour a 1/2 cup of egg whites into all our scrambled eggs. It is life-changing.
Hair/Nails from eggs: Lots of iron, zinc, and biotin makes for shiny, strong hair and nails. We use two eggs for this scramble.
Fullness from eggs: The healthy fats from the yolk is paramount to keeping us full when paired with fiber which it is…
Fiber from Ezekiel toast: Say it with us: carbs are not scary. In fact, each meal you eat should contain a fiber-filled carbohydrate which will keep you full. You know how you try “being good” by not eating any carbs and then you’re just ravenous in an hour. It’s not good. It makes you overeat. This bread has sprouted grains and tastes SUPERB, especially when toasted - we like sesame best. We use only one slice and just cut it in half so we can have a savory and a sweet slice. Genius? Maybe.
Glowing skin from cream cheese: We use whipped Philadelphia cream cheese which is a scant 50 cals for 2 tbsp (vs 100 for the brick), and is packed with vitamin A, which does great stuff for our skin.
Immunity and heart health from avocado: You probably know the endless rhapsody about how perfect the avocado is, and it’s all true. We use a 1/4 of an avo, and it’s all we need.
Deliciousness from jam: Yes, it’s sugary. Especially since THIS is the brand we love. But we use about a teaspoon, and it’s enough to do the job.
Calories: 388
Protein: 31
Fiber: 10
Yes, you can drink a protein shake. Or scarf down a yogurt cup. Or just drink coffee. You can. But we’re begging you to try one of these breakfasts and tell us you don’t feel better, have more energy, feel more set up to make gorgoeusly healthy choices for your body throughout the day, and just generally feel like an unstoppable beast who can achieve anything.
Because you can.
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
We have to eat.
