Easy and Delicious Breakfasts for Health and Weight Loss

In this article:

• Eating a healthy breakfast can increase your chances of maintaining a healthy weight, achieve daily recommendations for vitamins and minerals, and improve health.
• A healthy breakfast may include protein, fiber, and nutrient-rich foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and reduced-fat dairy products.
• Explore a list of ideas including breakfasts that meet various needs and preferences. You can find inspiration for quick, make-ahead, sweet, savory, low-carb, gluten-free, and more breakfasts.
• Lark can help you manage weight with or without GLP-1s as you log food, get tips for eating healthier, and make small changes that can turn into healthy habits.

Take a look at the first thing you eat in a day if you’re trying to lose weight or improve your health. Is your breakfast supporting your goals? Or are your morning food choices getting in the way of achieving your goals?

A healthy breakfast may have benefits. Learn why breakfast gets a lot of attention and how to design a healthy breakfast that fits your taste, preferences, and lifestyle.

Benefits of Breakfast

There has been a lot of research on the effects of eating breakfast. Here are some links between eating breakfast and health and weight effects, according to a review article in the journal Nutrients.

• Lower chance of being overweight
• Higher chance of achieving daily recommendations for vitamins and minerals
• Improved insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar
• Improved cardiovascular health

It’s also possible that eating breakfast can help with short-term memory and attention.

What If I Hate Breakfast?

It’s okay! You can still lose weight and support your health goals without eating a traditional breakfast. Here are some tips.

• Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full
• Stick to a consistent schedule. If you’re not on one, work towards creating a schedule by selecting one meal each day that you can have at a consistent time
• Select nutritious foods for meals and snacks
• If you like breakfast foods but don’t like eating early in the morning, have “breakfast” at another time of day
• If you don’t like breakfast foods but want to eat early in the morning, have non-traditional breakfast foods that are healthy and appealing to you

What’s a Healthy Breakfast?

A healthy breakfast is filling, fits into your calorie budget, has nutrients like protein and fiber, and includes nutrient-dense foods with antioxidants.

A “healthy” breakfast might include 3-5 of the following items.

• Fruit like bananas, oranges, or berries
• Vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, or onions
• Reduced-fat dairy products like low-fat cottage cheese or non-fat yogurt
• Whole grain like whole-wheat toast, oatmeal, or cold cereal made from brown rice, whole-grain corn, bran flakes, or toasted oats
• Healthy fats like peanut butter or avocado
• Lean protein like egg white or black beans

Healthy Breakfasts for Any Mood or Occasion

Make-Ahead Breakfast: Quinoa Salad

Mix together cooked quinoa, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, chopped tomatoes, chopped parsley, chopped mint, diced red onion, chopped bell peppers, lemon juice, olive oil, and oregano. Feel free to add chopped apple or pear for a sweet touch. Refrigerate it overnight and serve for breakfast.

A Healthy Treat Breakfast: Homemade Pancake Mix

Mix together whole-wheat flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add a dash of sweetener if desired. When you’re ready to make pancakes, use 1 cup of dry mix, 1 egg and 2 tablespoons of milk or Greek yogurt, and cook in a skillet with cooking spray. Serve with fruit and cottage cheese or peanut butter.

Batch Breakfast: Egg Muffin Cups

Mix cooked or thawed frozen vegetables like spinach, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, or bell peppers with spices and herbs like onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, or paprika. Pour beaten egg whites over the vegetables and distribute the mixture into sprayed muffin cups. Add low-fat cheese like cheddar, parmesan, or feta, and bake until the eggs are set. Serve, refrigerate, or freeze.

On-the-Go: Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich

Spread 2 tablespoons of hummus on a slice of whole-grain bread. Add a mixture of sprouts or chopped lettuce, chopped tomatoes and cucumber, and 2 ounces of low-fat feta cheese as a filling for your sandwich.

Leftovers: Mashed Potato Pancakes

Puree cooked sweet potato or potato, and mix it with whole-wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and your choice of grated or mashed cooked or raw vegetables like zucchini, carrots, and onions. Add egg and thin the batter with milk. Then cook the pancakes and serve them with low-fat cottage cheese, cheese, or egg.

Last-Minute: Cereal and Milk

Choose unsweetened or lightly sweetened whole-grain cereal like toasted oat O’s, plain shredded wheat, puffed brown rice, puffed amaranth, or bran flakes. Eat your cereal with milk, cottage cheese, or plain fat-free regular or Greek yogurt. Add ½ sliced banana or ¾ cup fresh or thawed frozen peach slices or berries.

Fast Food Swap: Pancake Sandwich

Place a cooked egg and slice of low-fat cheese between two frozen whole-grain pancakes. You can eat your sandwich immediately or freeze the sandwich for later. Eat it with a piece of fresh fruit.

Low-Carb Meal: Eggs and a Cottage Cheese Parfait

Layer cottage cheese with seeds and berries to create a parfait. Serve your parfait with a cooked egg for extra protein.

Whole-Grain: Apple Cobbler Oatmeal

Grate half an apple and add it to oatmeal made with unsweetened almond milk or skim milk. Add cinnamon to taste, and optional walnuts or peanuts. For extra protein, stir ¼-½ cup of low-fat cottage cheese into your oatmeal.

Gluten-Free Whole-Grain: Breakfast Fried Rice

Heat cooking spray in a skillet, then add ½-1 cup of chopped vegetables like onion, zucchini, or bell peppers and cook. Canned tomatoes are an easy alternative. Add spices like cumin and paprika, 1 egg or 2-4 egg whites, and ½ cup of cooked brown rice or quinoa. Heat until the egg is cooked. Serve with your choice of low-fat cheese or fresh fruit.

Savory: Breakfast Burrito

Use leftover cooked chicken or ground turkey or low-sodium canned black or pinto beans for your burritos. Place the protein on a high-fiber or whole-grain tortilla and add low-fat shredded cheese and grilled peppers or chopped lettuce and tomato.

Grain-Free: Southwest Breakfast Hash

Cook 1 cup of chopped vegetables in a pan with cooking spray. Add ½ cup of corn, ½ cup of black or pinto beans, herbs, and chopped cilantro, cumin, and chili powder. Stir in lemon or lime juice. Serve with avocado slices or low-fat cheese.

Best Surprise: Avocado Oatmeal

Cook instant, rolled, or steel-cut oats with low-sodium vegetable broth. Serve them with avocado, sliced tomatoes, and a cooked egg or low-fat cottage cheese.

How Lark Can Help

Weight management and health are about healthy choices every day, and a healthy breakfast can put you on the right path every day. Your Lark coach can make healthy choices easier, and Lark is available 24/7 for nutrition and physical activity coaching and tracking. Lark can help you establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications.

Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!

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