What do top sports nutritionists recommend for the most important meal of the day, breakfast?
To make life easy for a family always on the go, we've compiled a list of breakfast ideas from some top sports nutritionists:
Leslie Bonci: Some easy choices for us busy moms include:
- Whole grain cereal with milk and fruit
- Egg sandwich: whole wheat toast or English muffin with an egg cooked in the microwave and a slice of low-fat cheese, paired with fruit
- Yogurt mixed with high-fiber cereal (like Fiber-One) and berries
- Smoothies using a balanced meal-replacement formula, milk, ice, peanut butter and banana (or other favorite fruit)
- Oatmeal with milk, almonds and fruit
- Smoothie with Greek yogurt, milk, fruit and granola
- Breakfast wrap of eggs, ham, salsa in a whole wheat tortilla
- Grab-and-go low-fat chocolate milk and a small bag of cereal, nuts, and dried fruit, or
- Banana muffin with peanut butter or other nut butter and a glass of low-fat milk, or soy milk.
- If really in a hurry, whole grain cereal in a plastic baggy, milk in a shaker bottle and whatever fruit is on hand.
Valerie Berkowitz came up with this list of breakfast ideas:
- Eggs with spinach broccoli and cheese
- Peanut butter in celery or banana boats
- Whey or soy protein shake with added fresh fruit, cottage cheese
- Plain Greek yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit
- Oatmeal pancakes made with protein powder or topped with peanut butter,
- French toast sprinkled with cinnamon and turkey franks
Jill Castle recommends:
- oatmeal made with skim milk topped with banana and walnuts
- peanut butter toast and OJ
- low fat yogurt, fruit and granola.
Dave Ellis suggested an egg with cheese and peanut butter on toast (animal, dairy and vegetable protein)
Jennifer McDaniel recommends:
- Peanut butter on a whole-wheat hot dog bun with a banana sandwiched inside
- Greek yogurt + Whole Grain Cereal + Berries
- Milk/Yogurt + Flax-seed + Mixed Fruit smoothie
- Egg & Cheese + Whole Wheat Pita + Sliced apple on the side
- Soy/milk + Oatmeal + Dried fruit
Allison Maurer suggests:
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk
- Yogurt with fruit
- Bowl of cereal with a glass of chocolate milk
- Traditional breakfast foods such as eggs, toast, oatmeal, etc.
Lindsey Remmers recommends mixing and matching any of the following:
Whole-Grains & Fruit:
- Instant oatmeal packets
- 100% whole-grain toast with peanut butter and banana or raisins
- Banana roll-ups (whole-wheat tortilla, banana, peanut butter, honey)
- Breakfast burritos on whole-grain tortillas
- Whole-grain frozen waffles or pancakes
- 100% whole-wheat English muffins
- Whole-grain cereals with less than 10g sugar per serving and at least 2g fiber per serving. Great cereal options (not exhaustive): Life, Kix, Quaker Whole Hearts. Cheerios, Frosted Mini Wheats, Raisin Bran, Kashi, Whole-grain Cream of Wheat, Oatmeal, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Wheaties, Kellogg's Smart Start, Honey Bunches of Oats, Corn Chex
Granola
Dairy & Protein:
- Milk
- Chobani Champions yogurts or other Greek yogurts
- Eggs (try making them in the microwave!)
- String cheese
Brad Taliancich's choices for breakfast include:
- Whole wheat bagel or toast with peanut butter
- Meal replacement shakes made with water
- Smoothie with frozen fruit and milk
- Greek yogurt with fruit
- Oatmeal and scrambled eggs
Tracy Bowman suggests the following breakfast meals:
- Whole wheat waffles with a dab of natural peanut butter
- Banana with a cup of 1% milk
- Greek yogurt with fresh berries or low fat vanilla yogurt with fresh, frozen or canned fruit with crunchy whole grain cereal.
- Whole Grain cereal with 1% milk and fresh fruit
- Whole wheat bagel with Nutella or Natural Peanut butter
- Kashi or Nature Valley Granola Bar with 4 oz 100% orange juice
- 2 scrambled eggs and a fresh piece of fruit
- Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread
- Breakfast pizza
- Homemade smoothie made with fresh fruit, cup of steeled oats, skim milk and a sprinkle of vanilla
Cynthia Lair says if you are tired of the same old breakfasts, try something a little different like Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice. All you need is leftover rice, some vegetables, an egg, and about 5-7 minutes.
Nancy Clark encourage student athletes to eat at least three different kinds of foods per meal, such as:
- Cereal + milk + banana
- Bagel + peanut butter + yogurt
- Fruit smoothie (Berries, orange juice, yogurt) + a granola bar
- Leftover pizza (crust + tomato sauce + cheese)
Top five breakfast combo mentions
- Fruit, yogurt and granola or whole grain cereal
- Whole grain cereal with milk and fruit
- Peanut butter and banana
- Peanut butter and toast/hot dog bun/bagel
- Egg with cheese
Top five breakfast food mentions
- Peanut butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Greek yogurt/yogurt
- Oatmeal
Posted October 27, 2012; reviewed and updated February 10, 2017
