Diet & Fitness 

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Breakfast makeover

Breakfast is, without question, the most important meal of the day. It helps energise and prepare us for the hours ahead. But does what we eat for breakfast really matter, or is a bowl of Bran Flakes just as nutritionally sound as a bagel with cream cheese?

Take a look at the typical breakfast choices listed below. Then check out our recommendations for transforming a boring breakfast into a powerhouse meal that fuels your brain and muscles.

• Breakfast blunder: Eating café-style
  If your typical breakfast is a croissant and cappuccino picked up on the way to work, you might want to rethink your strategy. An average-size croissant contains 118 calories and seven grams of fat and your standard cappuccino has around 150 calories and three grams of fat. Not only does this breakfast tip the scales in calories and fat, but it also doesn't provide the significant amounts of vitamins and minerals you need.

  Solution: If you prefer to drink your breakfast, try whipping up a smoothie at home. To save time, put everything into the blender the night before and store in the fridge. Then, in the morning, blend for one minute and pour. Try one of the delicious recipes below, which are great sources of calcium, vitamins A, C and D, folic acid and potassium.

  Breakfast smoothie

  • 1 banana
  • 100g crushed pineapple
  • 50g mango pieces
  • 1 diced peach
  • 1 glass skimmed milk

  (320 calories, 11g of protein, four grams of fibre and 1 fat gram)

  Strawberry orange whirl

  • 25g fresh strawberries
  • 50g low-fat fromage frais
  • 1 glass orange juice
  • 1 glass skimmed milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  (122 calories, nine grams of protein, 2g of fibre and 0.4 fat gram)

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