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)

  2. Breakfast blunder: Eating on the run
     If you usually get your breakfast from a fast-food joint, you should realise that saving a few minutes isn’t worth the nutrients you sacrifice. A typical take-away egg, cheese and bacon sandwich can set you back 500 calories and 30 grams of fat. And fast food meals tend to be low in fibre, vitamins and minerals.

     Solution: Eat at home. Try one poached egg (44 calories and 3g of fat), two slices of brown toast (100 calories, 1g of fat) and one teaspoon of reduced fat spread (110 calories, 2g of fat). If you simply must order fast food first thing in the morning, skip the cheese and meat on your breakfast sandwich and save around 200 calories and 18g of fat. Order skimmed milk or orange juice and your breakfast now is not only lower in fat, but contains more healthy vitamins and minerals.

  3. Breakfast blunder: Eating sweetened cereal
     If your version of breakfast involves pouring cold cereal into a bowl and adding milk, make sure you're choosing the kind that doesn’t fill you up with empty calories. Concentrate on cereals that are high in fibre, not sugar. They’ll make you feel fuller longer than sweetened ones.

     Solution: Choose a high-fibre, low-sugar cereal that's packed with vitamins. You won't even need to take a multivitamin supplement if you choose a fruit and fibre powerhouse like this:

     • Medium bowl of muesli
     • Skimmed milk
     • One apple

     (211 calories, 2g of fat and 4g of fibre)

  4. Breakfast blunder: Eating the English way
     If you start your day with a traditional bacon and egg fry-up, take a look at the following numbers:
     • Two rashers of streaky bacon, one fried egg, one fried tomato and one slice of toast with butter gives you 370 calories and 23g of fat.
     • One poached egg, two grilled pork sausages, one portion of baked beans and one slice of buttered toast contains 379 calories and 22g fat.

     Solution: Try some breakfast choices that are lower in fat and higher in fibre such as:

     • Porridge (113 calories, 2.2g of fat) topped with blueberries (20 calories, less than 1g fat) and one glass of orange juice (45 calories, no fat)
     • Bagel (190 calories, 1.3g of fat) with light cream cheese (53 calories, 4.5g of fat) and pineapple (25 calories, no fat)
     • Strawberries (24 calories, no fat) topped with reduced fat yoghurt (106 calories, less than 1g of fat).
  Got a question about what to eat? Then post it on the You Can Do It - Diet Support message board.