I always believed that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now I know that this is only true in certain instances. The popular belief that I subscribed to was that eating breakfast gets your metabolism started for the day. In his article “Does Skipping Breakfast Help With Weight Loss”, Chris Kresser, a functional medicine practitioner, addresses the issue of eating or skipping breakfast as related to weight loss, blood sugar, insulin resistance, and also examines the ancestral angle of breakfast. It is extremely enlightening. I highly recommend reading it! I will address more about breakfast timing at the end of the post.

Quality Counts When It Comes To Breakfast:

It shouldn’t be a shocker that starting your day with a donut or other tasty pastry is a recipe for a blood sugar rollercoaster. Most health conscious people now reserve that sort of extravagance for a special occasion or an emergency such as waking up late and becoming “hangry”. However, since becoming a traditional foodie about 5 year ago, I started to look at breakfast (and every meal) as an opportunity to get important vitamins and minerals as well as a balance of macronutrients (healthy fats, protein, and carbs. Yes, I really said carbs!) in my body so that I can get fueled up to accomplish my long list of to-dos every day. While I used to eat a bowl of cereal and think that was good enough, I now know a lot more about how that cereal was hurting my body and what my body needs to start the day. What may come as a shock though is that your “healthy” breakfast cereal is actually hurting you.


Why cold breakfast cereals are toxic:

  • Extruded Grains: If your cereal is pressed, puffed, or made into a shape, it is made with extruded grains. Extruded grains have been heated up so much that the oils in the grains become rancid. This means you are ingesting a bowlful of free radicals. Your body then needs to use its antioxidant supply to neutralize those free radicals (instead of doing something like repairing skin and organs). That is quite a load of work to put on your body at the start of the day! This article explains extruded grains more fully, even highlighting a very interesting study done with rats. The researchers fed one group of rats a diet of popular cereal that is made from flakes of corn and then fed the other group of rats the boxes that the cereal came in. All the rats died, but I bet you can’t guess which rats died first!! (Okay, maybe you can. It was the cereal-fed rats.)
  • Pesticide-laden processed grains: If your cereal is not organic, it is most likely laden with pesticides. Wheat is treated with Roundup just before harvest. It is used as a desiccant. (Think of those little packets that come shoes to absorb moisture.) The roundup is not washed from the harvested wheat. The wheat and Roundup are milled and then head straight to processing. 
  • Synthetic Vitamins: Many cereals are “fortified” or “enriched” with synthetic vitamins. Synthetic vitamins for the most part are not received by your body. Your body then has to use its detox pathways to eliminate these “vitamins” from your system. This keeps your body busy when it could be doing other more important repairs for you. This article and this article provide more in depth  explanations about why it is important to avoid synthetic vitamins (both in enriched foods and in the actual supplements that you purchase.)
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup (and other forms of sugar): Cereals are often loaded with corn syrup-even the “healthy” ones. Corn syrup is thought to be a major contributing factor to diabetes, heart disease, and many other of the ailments that are rapidly rising in our culture. Also, the corn in your corn syrup is a GMO!! Even if you escape the corn syrup, there is almost always sugar (and a lot of it) in you cold cereal. This article elaborates on the dangers of corn syrup, and this article elaborates on how sugar destroys your body. 
  • Processed vegetable oils such as soy or canola (technically the rape seed): These oils should be avoided like the plague that they are! This article and this article can take you through the many ways vegetable oils are taxing your body.  
  • Preservatives and other additives: Many cold cereals contain preservatives and most contain additives such as flavorings. Often these flavorings are listed as natural. What most people don’t realize, however, is that flavorings is an umbrella term that can hide up to 50 ingredients!! The requirements for a ‘natural” flavoring are vague at best. Here, Food Babe takes you more in depth on the dangers of natural flavors.

Timing Counts When It comes to Breakfast:

Ok, you get it. No cold cereal for breakfast! But should you even eat breakfast? I will let you read that article from Chris Kresser that I mentioned at the start of the post to determine if breakfast is right for you. For me, most of my life I have eaten breakfast the moment I wake up. This started as a child and continued because I believed it was the healthy way to start my day. Also, it is one of my favorite meals. I have 3 ;). Now, I still eat breakfast, but I push it back to about an hour and a half after I wake up. This is my intermittent fast (covered in the article by Chris). My family eats our dinner at 5 pm and although most days I get up at about 5:30 or 5:45 so that I can do yoga and meditate, I don’t actually eat my breakfast until about 7:30 with my kids. Fasting for 14 hours allows my digestive system to get a rest. This allows my body to focus on other things such as healing and repairing.  Also, I’ve noticed that intermittent fasting keeps my blood sugar much more stable throughout the day. I am not trying to lose weight, but if I were, I would extend that fast and push my breakfast back even further.

Intermittent fasting only works if you feed your body what it needs when you do eat. Also, it is not right for everyone! Read the article from Chris Kresser to see if it is right for you. Also, here is an article on the benefits of intermittent fasting. 

 

Start Your Day with a Superfood-Filled Smoothie!

 

How I get superfoods in my morning routine:

Once my kids wake up, I mix a kefir “shake” made with raw milk kefir, berries and organic maple syrup in the Vitamix. This is really just a smoothie, but they like to call it a shake. Here is my recipe for the kefir “shake”. Next, I give the kids each a cup of smoothie, and I leave two cups for myself in the Vitamix, add the following, and blend well. 

 

 

Is your breakfast helping or hurting you? Recipe for My Superfood Smoothie #superfood #smoothie #breakfast #intermittent fasting #health #reclaimingvitality

 

 

To my kefir shake, I add:

  • 1 teaspoon Camu Camu powder: This is a whole food. The Camu Camu berries are loaded with vitamin C and bioflavonoids. Vitamin C is great for combating adrenal fatigue.
  • Maca Root Powder: This is also a whole food. Maca is known as an adaptogen. This means that it adapts to your bodies needs. It helps to regulate your thyroid, balance your reproductive hormones, and boost your energy (among many other things.)
  • 1 teaspoon Beet Powder: This is another whole food. Raw beets are great at boosting glutathione production. Glutathione is a potent detoxifier. Beet powder is also a great energy booster!
  • 2 tablespoons of raw, organic seeds to balance my hormones. In the beginning of my cycle, I take 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds and 1 tablespoon of flax seeds. In the second half of my cycle, I take 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds. Go here to learn more about balancing your reproductive hormones naturally with seed rotation. 
  • 1 tablespoon soaked chia seeds: These are a great source of calcium, Omega 3s, antioxidants and fiber! As long as you pre-soak these, they will keep your digestive system moving. I soak mine in a bit of water kefir for probiotics and flavor, but you can soak them in juice, milk kefir, or plain water. To learn Chia Seed Benefits, check out this post from Wellness Mama. 
  • Prebiotic powder: If you have read my posts on Resistant Starch and/or Protecting your Microbiome, you know that prebiotics are as important as probiotics. Unfortunately, it is hard to consume a lot of prebiotics. To be sure that I am getting enough, I add a powder to my smoothie.Not all prebiotic powders are created equal, of course. This powder from Hyperbiotics is made with Jerusalem Artichokes (aka sunchokes) and Acacia.  (Side benefits of taking prebiotics include more vivid dreams and more instances of lucid dreaming!)
  • Optional: 2 tablespoons grass-fed collagen. I add mine to my tea as you will see below, but if you don’t want to add it to your tea, you can put it in your smoothie. Collagen helps with skin, hair, joints, sleep quality, mood, bone health, cardiovascular system health. 

Directions for superfood smoothie:

Mix all ingredients in a high powered blender. If the consistency is too thick, thin the smoothie with water kefir, juice, plain water, coconut milk, or whatever strikes your fancy. Important: sit and enjoy your smoothie and hot beverage while relaxing before the craziness of the day starts.

How I supercharge my hot beverage:

I moved from coffee to tea a few years ago because I am sensitive to caffeine. I never really cared much for decaf coffee, so I moved to black tea. Whatever your hot beverage of choice is, you can supercharge it in a couple of ways. I generally just add the ingredients below, but on occasion I might add some healthy fats in the form of a teaspoon of extra virgin coconut oil and/or grass-fed butter to the mix and blend it up with my stick blender. This makes a latte-like beverage. I especially like it with chai tea. 

 

Is your breakfast helping or hurting you? Recipe for My Superfood Smoothie #superfood #smoothie #breakfast #intermittent fasting #health #reclaimingvitality

 

  • 2 tablespoons Grass-fed Collagen: This dissolves right into the tea. It is pretty much tasteless, but gives your beverage a bit more viscosity. The benefits of collagen are many!! It helps with skin, hair, joints, sleep quality, mood, bone health, and cardiovascular system health. See this post from Dr. Axe for a more in depth look at the effects of gelatin/collagen on health. 
  • MCT oil or raw grass-fed butter
  • Raw honey
  • Large cup of tea

Directions: Steep your tea. In a large pyrex 4 cup measuring cup, add tea, collagen, MCT oil and/or butter, raw honey (not too much!) and mix with a stick blender until frothy. 

 

 

Superfood Smoothie Ingredients

Superfood Smoothie

Chelsea
A delicious superfood smoothie filled with protein, probiotics, prebiotics, vitamins, minerals and fiber!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 teaspoon Cama Cama powder: This is a whole food. The Cama Cama berries are loaded with vitamin C and bioflavonoids. Vitamin C is great for combating adrenal fatigue.
  • Maca Root Powder: This is also a whole food. Maca is known as an adaptogen. This means that it adapts to your bodies needs. It helps to regulate your thyroid balance your reproductive hormones, and boost your energy (among many other things.)
  • 1 teaspoon Beet Powder: This is another whole food. Raw beets are great at boosting glutathione production. Glutathione is a potent detoxifier. Beet powder is also a great energy booster!
  • 2 tablespoons of raw organic seeds to balance my hormones. In the beginning of my cycle, I take 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds and 1 tablespoon of flax seeds. In the second half of my cycle, I take 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds. Go here to learn more about balancing your reproductive hormones naturally with seed rotation.
  • 1 tablespoon soaked chia seeds: These are a great source of Omega 3s and fiber! As long as you pre-soak these they will keep your digestive system moving.
  • Prebiotic powder: If you have read my posts on Resistant Starch and/or Protecting your Microbiome you know that prebiotics are as important as probiotics. Unfortunately, it is hard to consume a lot of prebiotics. To be sure that I am getting enough, I add a powder to my smoothie. Not all prebiotic powders are created equal, of course. This powder from Hyperbiotics is made with Jerusalem Artichokes (aka sunchokes) and Acacia. (Side benefits of taking prebiotics include more vivid dreams and more instances of lucid dreaming!)
  • Optional: 2 tablespoons grass-fed collagen. I add mine to my tea as I describe in the post but if you don't want to add it to your tea, you can put it in your smoothie. Collagen helps with skin, hair, joints, sleep quality, mood, bone health, cardiovascular system health.

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients in a high powered blender. If the consistency is too thick, thin with water kefir, juice, plain water, or coconut milk. Sit and enjoy your smoothie and hot beverage while relaxing before the craziness of the day starts.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
 
Is your breakfast helping or hurting you?