Drink Your Breakfast

The experts say you need to eat breakfast. Keeps you healthy and helps you to lose weight (and keep it off). After you've slept all night, you need to eat within an hour of waking up to get your metabolism revving. Now, I was not a breakfast person for years. After all, I had grown up eating a Morton Honey Bun (remember those?) every morning while I watched The Three Stooges on TV. When I got older, I was certainly smart enough to know that a sweet fat-laden baked good was not a healthy option, but I just couldn't get into eggs and the like. So, for years, I skipped breakfast. Finally, a couple of years ago, I decided it was time to lose some of the extra pounds I had put on during my early thirties. So, breakfast time it was.

I quickly got the hang of microwave poaching an egg. Fixing some whole wheat toast. Or cracking open a container of yogurt. It still seemed like work. And time I didn't want to spend. I wanted something easier. (And somehow driving through for a McDonald's Egg McMuffin, while easy, didn't seem like a good idea.)

I discovered my solution this summer. I now drink my breakfast. Mix up a breakfast smoothie. It's fruit, it's protein, it's easy, and it can be fixed "to go." Yay.

So, as I'm stumbling around in the morning getting ready, I put some fruit in the blender. A banana. And/or berries...strawberries, blackberries or blueberries. Maybe even a couple slices of peach. You can use whatever you like. Melon, kiwi, mango. I precut my fruit and put it in plastic bags or containers in the freezer ahead of time, so my morning prep time is even shorter. I also just buy bags of frozen fruit (no sugar added) at the grocery and keep them in the freezer as well.

Then, I'll dump in a scoop or two of protein powder. I keep it simple and buy whey protein powder in a big tub at Wal-Mart. You can certainly get fancy and buy yours at a health food store--there are literally hundreds of choices with all kinds of supplements thrown in the mix. That's just too fancy and complicated for me.

Finally, I pour in a half-glass full of crushed ice and a little water. Hit the on button on the blender and the work is done. It's a great way to have a healthy breakfast without too much effort or expense. And you'll be full enough to resist the temptation of those Krispy Kremes in the break room at work. Probably.