Not A Breakfast Person?

I am totally useless without breakfast - and usually my appetite drives me to make a fairly substantial meal to start my day. But many people are not “breakfast people”. If that’s you, you might worry about how it affects your day or your nutritional intake. Let’s look at what you can do!

First of all, it might not be all bad.

The idea of breakfast being the “most important meal of the day” is maybe not holding up anymore. With everything we’ve learned in more recent years about the benefits of intermittent fasting, or mini fasts, where you try to go slightly longer periods without food (like keeping all your food intake to a 10 hour window for example), cutting breakfast is actually becoming a conscious choice for some people.

Now this is highly individual and not a great idea for everyone - for someone like me who does a pretty full on workout most mornings for instance, not eating until lunch would be detrimental to my energy levels and well-being. But if your day looks fairly different, then maybe it’s something you can try (please look into this properly first though, it is not a good idea for anyone who has struggled or struggles with eating disorders for example, or has any kind of health condition that might worsen as a result of fasting).

Now, if you feel like you need breakfast, like me, but you just don’t have an appetite in the morning or any motivation to make yourself anything nutritious - I feel you. I get like that sometimes too.

On really drowsy mornings, where you just can’t stomach the idea of chewing through slices of bread or cooking an egg - why not have ingredients for an energy boosting smoothie ready? Then all you have to do is have a quick “drink” - but you’re actually getting lots of nutrients that are going to help you wake up and get ready for the day. Chucking in things that you really love the taste of will help, like your favourite berries or fruit, and for some extra nutrition - have some spinach, nuts or nut butter at the ready. I often add a bit of ground matcha and turmeric to my smoothies; it doesn’t really taste of much, but is so great for you! Check out my top 3 smoothie recipes that I’ve shared this week.

Another way of making yourself more of a breakfast person is by having a “menu” ready. On a piece of paper that you tape to the inside of your kitchen cupboard, or just a note on your phone, list out as many tasty breakfast ideas as you can think of. Things that you know you can easily make in the morning. Then check the menu when you get into the kitchen in the morning, see if anything takes your fancy! Check out some of my ideas, like breakfast apple crumble or homemade granola.

If nothing works and you can’t make yourself have a proper meal in the morning, don’t fret too much. A big glass of water (maybe have some flavoured water: cucumber, lemon, strawberry… in your fridge?) will help you wake up a bit and at least hydrate you. Often this gets your system going a bit and maybe your appetite will wake up a bit quicker. Don’t worry too much about it, but try to make breakfast exciting for yourself and don’t limit yourself to just a boring slice of toast as the only breakfast option.

Maybe your routines just need some changing up too? It’s unlikely that you will have no appetite after a workout for example, so maybe try the kitchen again after your morning run!

Are you a breakfast person? If not, how do you deal with it? What is your favourite thing to have in the morning? Post on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!