"Breakfast Foods" are NOT a Thing: Shake that Mindset to Open up Possibilities in your Health

I've talked about it for much of my career with clients when discussing nutrition habits, that one habit that particularly LIMITS us is the concious or unconcious belief that breakfast "has to be particular foods". The issue with that in our modern world is that "breakfast foods" (or what are associated with breakfast) are typically highly processed (such as sugary cereals) and/or are an insulin spiking start to our day due to the "carb heavy" go-to's for breakfast. As we tend to do in this social-media, comparison ridden world we live in - we tend to OVERLOOK the FOUNDATIONS.

ANY foods can be "breakfast foods"

Foundation: ANY time we eat, NUTRIENT DENSE foods and VARIETY of food is a helpful practice.

Despite our wild ABUNDANCE of options in 2026 for food, we often reach for the CONVENIENT, FAMILIAR and FOODS WE LIKE. None of these three factors are "bad", but they are important to be aware of because it creates a habit of eating the same foods often, rather than promoting variety in our eating habits.

Eating a VARIETY of foods and choosing NUTRIENT DENSE foods is a foundational practice that opens up pathways to health and wellbeing. We're heavily focused on macronutrients (carbs, proteins and fats) - all of which are important - but we tend to overlook the key importance of MICROnutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Foods from nature such as meats, fruits, nuts and vegetables provide a nice variety of these important nutrients for us.

Foundation: Breakfast is ANOTHER meal time. Treat it as such. There is no such thing as "breakfast foods".

ANYTHING can be eaten for breakfast. YES, some foods may or may not be enticing to different people in the mornings. That's okay! However, the practice of shifting away from the marketed mindset of "breakfast foods" will be a HUGE positive shift toward your health and wellbeing. "Breakfast foods" are heavily marketed, often sugary, ultra-processed foods that create "extremes" in our body to START our day(s), as we SPIKE our insulin levels to manage the glucose levels to start our days. Yet, "breakfast food" is NOT a "rule". We CAN eat ANYTHING for breakfast!! This mindset alone OPENS plenty more options for variety and nutrients to kick off our days.

Foundation: Breakfast is a great time to set your "BALANCE" for the day.

We previously touched on that foods commonly viewed as "breakfast foods" are "carb heavy" / sugar-laddened"; breads, bagels, pastries, cereals, orange juice, pancakes/waffles, maple syrup etc...Remember, Carbohydrates are NOT "bad" nor do they need to be restricted. We NEED carbohydrates for our human physiology. However, today we USE our bodies in ways so contrary to what Mother Nature designed, plus we have such an ABUNDANCE of food options within a 5min walk or drive from us in most cases (or delivered right to our door) that we NEED to learn how to manage our food differently than ever before.*

Kicking off our day with a carb-heavy meal is going to drive our insulin levels UP to START our day. A SPIKE. Insulin is the hormone produced in the pancreas to help manage blood sugar. I won't dive into the physiology of insulin and other hormones in the insulin response for the purpose of this post. However what I will share is that carbohydrates cause this RAPID insulin spike, whereas ingesting proteins for example does not, and insulin levels remain more "balanced" (for lack of a better term).

*(The more I learn about nutrition and nutrition coaching in the latter years of my career, the more I learn that we CANNOT continue to use our ancestors as our guide of "how we 'should' live". We HAVE to RE-LEARN aspects of a healthy human life, while taking the knowledge that humans NOW have compared to our ancestors. One point in that regard, is that our "food environment" is one of ABUNDANCE, not SCARCITY (as Michael Easter points out in his books). Therefore, approaching our nutrition habits in the same way as our ancient ancestors (or even our grandparents) is NOT as helpful as even I once thought. We can take pieces of helpful information and foundations from it, but we NEED to LEARN to adapt to our MODERN way of living that is constantly evolving)

Let me share an example, using those THREE FOUNDATIONS we touched on here...

A common "breakfast food". Reminder - no foods are inherently "good" or "bad", even pancakes and maple syrup. However, if most of your days START with a breakfast along these lines, there is a good chance some of your symptoms you're experiencing are connected! Your body is telling you something. 😉

My breakfast on my mornings when I'm at home is usually different than studio mornings. That's okay. That alone provides opportunity for variety for me. This morning working from home, I was able to have an awesome, yummy breakfast utilizing some leftovers from last night - Salmon.

🐟Salmon (approx 1.5 palms - 1 palm = 1 serving of protein = approx 20-30g of protein. Circumference and thickness of YOUR palm)

🥚 3-eggs (sunny side up)

🥬 Micro greens (1 handful)

🧀 Cheese - Grated onto the eggs (approx 2 thumbs - 1 thumb = 1 serving. Size and circumference of YOUR thumb)

🥛 2% Milk (1 cup)

🥛 1 serving (3/4 cup) of Coconut Kefir

🍅 Salsa (approx 2 tbsp)

IMPORTANT factors to consider about this meal for ME....

1) Variety of nutrients (including fermented food with the kefir for healthy gut bacteria - variety in that regard is important as well)

2) Protein and fat oriented meal to start my day with a more balanced body chemistry (for me personally, if I get 2-palms of protein PER MEAL right now I'm good with that. This meal for example put me well over that without any need to "count" grams of protein, calories etc - Healthy nutrition habits don't have to be a math equation!)

3) I like it

4) I feel satisfied when I'm done

*I wish I had taken a picture - Sorry Instagram lovers! - It looked as good as it tasted.

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Our nutrition DOES NOT need to be remotely as complicated or stressful as we make it today. In fact, we can argue that we have more opportunity today (due to our nutrition knowledge and abundance of food options) that it can be EASIER than ever before!

That said, I believe that takes RE-LEARNING. We've been "programmed", raised and "cultured" in a way that has created RULES, RESTRICTIONS and FEAR surrounding our food. The WILLINGNESS to RE-LEARN helpful nutrition habits is a SOLID FOUNDATION to build from.

Nutrition Coaching offered at Zenergy Health & Wellness focuses on just that. BEFORE we dive into "carb counting", stressing about "grams of protein" or all the specifics that MOST of us aren't ready for (or EVEN NEED to be healthy, happy humans), we coach the FOUNDATIONS of HABIT and MINDSET surrounding nutrition to help you build from there. ONE meal at a time, ONE or TWO small focuses at a time... Not "do this" or "find a way to get this many grams of 'x' in per day". Our aim in helping others is to cultivate habits and mindsets that allow CHANGES to happen as the client is READY, WILLING and ABLE to BLEND them into their day.

It really DOES NOT need to be SCARY or STRESSFUL.

If you're looking for guidance and support in that way, connect with us here: https://www.zenergywellnessstudio.com/wellness-health-habits