Nutrition tidbits #9: 11 higher protein breakfast ideas (updated)
Thank you for sticking with me in the last few weeks, and my apologies for the lack of posts. I hope to get back into the swing of things now!
I wrote this original post about a year ago, and thought I would update it with some new ideas and thoughts. I talk about protein and breakfast, both together and separately, more than anything else in my practice. Both are essential for a lot of things: satiety, maintenance of muscle mass and muscle building, healing after surgery, curbing cravings and late night hunger, efficient metabolism, etc. For women in their 30s, 40s and beyond, protein is that much more important for us to maintain the muscle mass we have (or else we will loose it!). A very general ballpark of estimated protein needs for someone in a normal weight range is about 0.8-0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight, and that’s nearly impossible to achieve when breakfast (or any meal) is consistently skipped.
Getting enough protein doesn’t have to be a full-time job
Maybe you’ve seen the memes out there making jokes about eating enough protein being a full time job, and I disagree with this. If you’re eating three meals, plus a snack or two each day, it’s not that hard to meet your protein goals! Eating the right foods is of course very helpful, and that’s what I’m here to help with. Spreading protein intake throughout the day is much more beneficial then having huge amounts at one time, as the body can only absorb so much in a sitting.
If you’re having three meals per day and a snack, breakfast should account for almost 1/3 of your protein intake for the day, if not a little more. Let’s take me as an example: my protein needs are about 90-100g per day, meaning I’d want to take in about 25-30 grams of protein in for breakfast. Ideally this would be from mostly whole foods, — they have so many other nutrients we need, are better absorbed by the body and have less junky ingredients — but there is definitely space for protein powder and the like when in a pinch. Here are some of my favorite examples of late:
Oatmeal with a scoop of collagen, topped with raspberries, chia seeds, peanut butter and Greek yogurt
Sourdough toast (this kind is delicious) with cottage cheese and either fruit or tomato, cucumber and microgreens
Greek yogurt (2%, whole milk, whatever you prefer) with blueberries, granola, hemp seeds and honey
Whole grain toast with mashed avocado and three eggs (or a combination of whole eggs and whites) on top
Flour tortilla with scrambled eggs (3), cheese, spinach and salsa
These cottage cheese banana oatmeal protein pancakes (yum!)
Protein waffles (these look great) topped with Greek yogurt, chia seeds, strawberries and cinnamon
Whole grain bagel (love these) with cream cheese and lox
Cottage cheese with peaches, walnuts and honey
Smoothie with frozen berries, Greek yogurt and peanut butter or two scoops of protein powder
Three egg (or combination of whole eggs and whites) omelet with peppers, onions, greens and goat cheese with toast or potatoes
Making the time
The real key is making time to eat if you tend to have busy mornings. This could mean waking up a little earlier or prepping something (like overnight oats or breakfast burritos) the night before so it’s good to go before you run out the door. I consider these acts a really important component of self care, and (I promise!) totally worth the minor tradeoffs.
Take good care,
Kelly