When professionals tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they aren't lying and I'll tell you why. Look at this picture:
This picture is showing you what an average adult's levels are like throughout the day. We are going to focus on the left side of the graph. Do you see that spot where at breakfast the glucose and insulin levels increase a lot. That is a good thing. You're brain runs on glucose, so in order to get you thinking, & functioning at your best, you need to eat breakfast.
Look at that picture again. Do you see how low the levels are right when you get up in the morning? If you do not eat until 11, noon, 1 o'clock, or whenever you eat lunch, your levels are going to keep dropping, and you are depriving your brain of food.This then leads your body to work extra hard to find food. Skipping meals also makes your metabolism slow down. Eating breakfast has proved to improve concentration, problem solving ability, mental performance, memory, and mood. Skipping meals can lead you to overeat throughout the rest of the day & eat larger meals. It would be more beneficial to you to eat more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day.
Even eating something small, like the granola bars below, would help give your brain a little boost!
Okay, that is my little tangent on why YOU should eat breakfast.
Now, to share a lovely little recipe with you that I was gifted by a wonderful college friend's mother. This recipe is great because you can make it ahead of time, freeze, or put in zip-lock bags the extras. They are great for those who do not like to sit down & eat a full breakfast.
GRANOLA BREAKFAST BARS
Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1/2 C to 1C flour is plenty
1 cup flax meal
1 cup finely chopped nuts and seeds (unsalted sunflower, pumpkin, sesame seeds; almonds, walnuts), optional
¾ C packed brown sugar
2 cups raisins (craisins or dried cherries also work well, or chocolate chips too :))
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (1 tsp or less is recommended if making with Chocolate Chips)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup honey or apple jelly
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup canola oil
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions:
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for convection oven). Generously grease a large cookie sheet.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, flax meal, seeds, nuts, brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (about 15-20 in convection oven) in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn slightly golden at the edges. Do not overbake if you want them to be chewy. Cool for at least 5 minutes, then cut into bars.
*This recipe is very flexible and forgiving, so experiment with the ingredients and amounts and have fun!
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