Enough with the Bacon. Here’s How to Eat Breakfast Like a Fitness Pro.
In one of Phantom Thread’s best scenes, Daniel-Day Lewis’s character flirts with his future wife by placing a ridiculously lengthy, high-fat, low-fibre breakfast order that combines everything from scones to sausages to Welsh rarebit (cheese-covered toast, for the uninitiated). No wonder your co-worker told you that the latest word from the scientific community is that breakfast may, in fact, not be the most important meal of the day — if we’re eating it at all, we’re probably eating it poorly. But don’t write it off just yet.
“Is breakfast necessary for every guy? It depends,” says dietitian Gordon Ly. “People who skip it do tend to make poorer food choices or overeat later in the day.” For cues on how to do the meal justice, look to the new breakfast movement preaching a balance of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs. It might call to mind Los Angeles fitness instructors, but you don’t need to be an Instagramming yoga guru to feel the all-day benefits of starting your morning off with simple fruits, nuts, and, yes, chia seeds. “They will keep you satisfied and full over a long period, plus provide energy gradually, rather than in an intense spike,” notes Ly. With that in mind, here are four easy weekday meals to pair with your morning cup of coffee. On Friday, you have our permission to indulge in Welsh rarebit — a fine “some- times option,” in Ly’s view.
When You’re on the Run
Power Pudding
Chia seeds soaked in soy milk and stirred with nut butter
Nature’s McFlurry
Greek yogourt blended into a smoothie with ax and berries
When You Have Some Prep Time
Sunny Side Up
Two eggs atop roasted yams, sprinkled with pumpkin seeds
Dinner for Breakfast
Leftover chicken (*) mixed into a grain salad
(*) Yes, chicken. “Don’t be afraid to bring dinner foods into breakfast,” says Ly. “All around the world, other countries are less rigid about when certain foods can be eaten — eating miso soup in Japan at 9 am, for example.”
