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Everyone has heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That is true, but even more important is having a healthy breakfast every day. Eating foods filled with sugar and artificial colors is not going to do anything to get your body off to a good start and get your metabolism going for the day.

What is a healthy breakfast?

Right back to the standby  ~ protein and produce.  A great breakfast will include each of these, and may include a serving of healthy whole grains, but if you don’t have time, just grab some protein and produce.

Here are some great breakfast protein options:

Nuts
Eggs
Protein Shake
Tofu
Bacon
Ham
Cheese
Peanut Butter

Here are some options for produce:

apple
orange
banana
pears
or any other kind of fruit
broccoli
cauliflower
spinach
any other kind of vegetable

Let’s put it all together!

If you have time to sit down and eat, go ahead and scramble up  a couple eggs, add some veggies and cheese. You could also scramble a couple of eggs, add some cheese and slice an apple/orange on the side.

If you are on the run, why not throw it all in the blender. You can throw in frozen fruits, even veggies like spinach (don’t worry the fruit will cover up the flavor, you won’t even know it’s there ~ other than the color) then add some whey protein and blend it all up. If you don’t use frozen fruit add some ice to give it a nice texture. Pour it in a go cup and be on your way!

You could also just grab a cheese stick and an apple and eat it on the way!

There are so many options for a healthy breakfast, it’s really helpful to know what your options are and to keep healthy breakfast foods in the house. Have both kinds of food available, those you can eat sitting down, and on the run. That way you will always have some options.

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With all the different diet crazes around it’s sometimes hard to figure out what healthy meals consist of.  Do you eat carbs, no carbs, low cal, low fat? It’s all so confusing! Well I have found a very simple way to put together healthy meals. It’s as simple as remembering protein and produce.

When you are trying to put together healthy meals that will keep you healthy and aid you in losing belly fat ~ or any other kind of fat for that matter, you have to have both protein and produce.

The protein will give your body what it needs to hold on to and create muscle.  Without protein you will find you lose weight, but some if not a lot of your weight loss will be lean muscle weight.  Now I’m not talking about going over the top and eating an all protein diet. I am talking about making sure you have a small portion of protein at each meal.  It can be a small piece of chicken or fish, some nuts, a piece of cheese, even a tablespoon of peanut butter. However you do it, you have to have some protein with your meal.

Now on to the produce. This is simple enough, just a small portion of fruits or vegetables. Anything that comes in the fresh food aisle is fair game for this part. You can use frozen or canned produce, but it is absolutely best to use fresh fruits and vegetables as often as you possibly can.

You may have noticed the healthy meal equation does not include a starch. Now this threw me for a loop. I was raised to have meat, and something green (produce) and something yellow (starch) on your plate for every meal.  It’s taken me a bit to get over this one, but I realize I am feeling so much better and losing weight with the protein produce equation.

You will have more than enough carbohydrates in your fruits and vegetables, you really don’t need an extra starch on your plate.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you CAN’T eat all those yummy foods. You can, choose wisely, choose whole grain alternatives.   What I am saying is if you are in a pinch, just remember all you need is protein and produce.

It can be something as simple as a turkey sandwich and an apple for lunch. You could have a roasted chicken breast and some broccoli for dinner.

This works out especially well if you are following the concept of eating 6 small meals throughout the day. I had trouble making these meals small. I was having a full meal 6 times a day!  Whew, glad I figured that one out! Now snacks consist of a hard boiled egg and a piece of fruit or some nuts and fruit. Small meals through out the day will definitely add to your weight loss, and you will never feel hungry!

So if you are trying to find ways to put together healthy meals, remember two little words, protein and produce!