Hello, many of you may be new to my blog, so I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Lucy, a registered dietitian with a Master's in Public Health. Because of my health degrees, I love to share my knowledge about optimal nutrition and lifestyle because I really believe nutrition information should be available to everyone. So I hope you find this blog very informative and helpful! If you are someone who wants to leave dieting behind and find a true and sustainable lifestyle for weight loss and disease reversal, I'd love to touch base about my Ditch-the-Disease Program.
Vegetables for Breakfast?
Many of us are turned off by the idea of veggies for breakfast. I, like many of you, was raised on dessert for breakfast- sugary cereals, sweet yogurt, pancakes, oatmeal, and pastries. It wasn't that I could never enjoy something savory for breakfast- eggs, potatoes, and even some veggies mixed in those things were totally acceptable.
However, having a sweet preference, even as an adult I've found it hard to leave behind those sweet breakfast foods. So while I mostly eat oatmeal for breakfast now, I still like to have fruit, dates, brown sugar, or chocolate chips in it.
Well, in my personal weight loss and research in order to help others lose weight and prevent disease, I've heard many times over that vegetables for breakfast are the secret to health and weight loss!
I didn't really have that much to lose (well, I do still have some lingering pounds), and yet it still took me until last week to fully give roasted vegetables for breakfast a try! And let me tell you- I'm hooked!!
The first step for me was making sure I had enough vegetables on hand TO roast for breakfast for the week. I usually only bought enough for dinners and lunches- boy it felt overwhelming to make sure I had enough for breakfast too!
But once I was prepared for this, I cranked on the oven, diced my veggies, and set them to roast into sweet crispy perfection :)
I made sure to do a BUNCH, so I could have plenty for leftovers for other mornings. Some days I paired the veggies with an English muffin smeared with my Easy Chia Jam.
Here are the benefits I've noticed from incorporating veggies and potatoes into my breakfast:
Less sweet cravings throughout the day
Just as much fullness and satisfaction as a bowl of oatmeal
A few pounds of weight loss (Crazy, but it's the only change I made last week).
A sense of pride knowing I had already had 2-3 servings of healthy disease-fighting foods first thing in the day!
These aren't just placebo effects, either! Actually, the research is becoming clearer about how green leafy vegetables can help us reduce our hunger and cravings later in the day- moderated by the plant membranes of green leafy vegetables called thylakoids.
The way it works is by binding to lipase and delaying the absorption of fat and therefore calories. When we get a signal that far down in our digestive tracts, it communicates to our body that we are really quite stuffed (even though we might not be), and therefore downregulates our hunger hormones. This effect is why I've added the recommendation to add some dark green leafy vegetables to your breakfast bowl of veggies!
Eating vegetables FIRST in a meal can also impact how stable your blood sugar stays after a meal and throughout the day. So you might want to consider eating a cup of vegetables first before taking some bites of potatoes!
So, ARE YOU CONVINCED?
You don't need to start consuming vegetables every day for breakfast, but I promise that if you do start incorporating them more into your day, you will likely see some incredible benefits, including increased satiety and improved blood sugar stability, and therefore decreased energy crashes and cravings late in the day.
If you are excited to give it a try, here is one way to prepare them that I've found easy to prepare and enjoyable to consume!
The key here is that ANY VEGETABLES WORK. I've used zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, red cabbage, white and sweet potatoes, and bell peppers so far- but I'm still experimenting every week.
Want to print it?
This recipe was developed by Lucille Luong
Do you need help transitioning to a plant-forward or plant-based diet? I do just that! Don't stay stuck, reach out today to learn more about my program here.