While cereals seem the easiest and most fuss-free choice, are they really good for your health? Let’s decode the worst breakfast foods that make an unhealthy breakfast. These are the foods you should avoid in the morning.
How you start your day sets the mood for the rest of the day. Which is why it is so important to have a healthy, filling breakfast. What’s the most ideal breakfast? A balance of fibre, protein, and healthy fats that will keep you full until lunchtime, paired with a moderate amount of unrefined carbs to provide you energy. Most of us do not start our days with this right balance. Worry not, we have your back. We have listed down the worst breakfast foods to avoid in order to have a great day ahead.
[Hero and featured image credit: Brooke Lark/Unsplash]
Worst breakfast foods that you need to avoid
Highly refined cereals
Wondering what highly refined cereals are? The ones that you pick up at the store every time. They are sweet, crunchy and are advertised as the healthy choice to start your day with. But the reality is that they have a high sugar content and little to almost no nutrients. So, this will rapidly increase your blood sugar, without doing any real good.
Oily and greasy breakfast
Another unhealthy breakfast is anything oily and greasy, like bacon, fried eggs and so on. Such greasy foods are really high in calories with mostly no nutritional value. It’s all about making healthy choices with your proteins. For example, instead of frying the eggs, you can have them boiled. Or even if you are frying them, use a healthier oil, like coconut oil instead of refined oil.
Breakfast smoothies
Yes, they are called breakfast smoothies for a reason. But just having smoothies and not pairing it with anything else is one of the worst breakfast foods. Having just a glass of smoothie will result in a highly sugary breakfast, especially if it has a lot of fruits.
Protein bars
Another unhealthy breakfast that’s packaged and marketed as a healthy option are protein bars. Protein bars seem to be a great option for people on the go, who have no time or breakfast but there’s a cost you have to pay. These cereal protein bars are full of sugar and contain little protein. These are mostly added sugars, making them one of the worst breakfast foods.
Waffles and pancakes
They look great in a breakfast buffet and on your Insta feed. But they are one of the least nutritious foods to start your day with. As good as they look, they are made from refined white flour and topped with butter and syrup, which is basically refined sugar. Which means, these are high in calories, fat, sugar, and are lacking in protein and fibre.
Fruit juice
Just like smoothies, fruit juices, too, are high in sugar. You might think that juices are a better option than coffee in the morning, but sadly, they are not. These juices are high in nutrients and antioxidants, but they also have a significantly lower fibre content than whole fruits. So, it is best not to make fruit juices a regular breakfast option.