Breakfast in Brussels

One of my favorite things in Europe is eating breakfast.  Depending on where you stay the breakfast is usually a great selection of yogurt, fruit, cheeses, nuts/seeds and of course carbohydrates of many types depending on the country.

Our hotel is Brussels (Hotel Metropole) had one of the best breakfast buffets I’ve seen and could have ended up being a food nightmare so I thought I would share my strategy.

• Look around the buffet first to get the lay of the land and see what is available. 

This breakfast had many options – a “protein” station of several varieties of cheese, lox, ham, etc.  Another station had multiple types of yogurt including several varieties of plain. 

There was a fruit section, a hot section of boiled and scrambled eggs, and hot mushrooms and tomatoes (common in Europe).  There was a large carb section of the Belgian treats of waffles, breads and pastries and of course the American cereal and milk section. 

• Decide what you really want and how to balance your meal so you’re satisfied, even-keeled and not over full.

After scanning the stations I had my plain yogurt with fruit, a slice of cheese and some lox (which was one of the best I’ve ever had – no fishy taste), a few bites of scrambled egg, a mushroom, and a tomato.  The carb treat I chose was a mini-croissant – something I allow myself in Europe or France since they are worth it.

I left breakfast feeling a little more full than usual but I’m walking around all day and went to the gym this am so I could “afford” the extra carbs versus sitting and seeing clients all day – one of the benefits of a walking trip.  In addition, we were on the 5^th floor with an old-fashioned lift that was difficult to open so we ended up walking up and down these long flights of stairs multiple times a day.

So whether you are at a breakfast buffet in Europe or America, you can enjoy your food and be healthy and conscious at the same time – it just takes a little planning and thought while making your selections.  Bon Appetit!

Protein and Breakfast?

“But what about my cereal? “  “I love my Danish and coffee.”

“It’s almost Anti-American not to have cereal or pastry for breakfast, isn’t it?”

What are the facts?  We are the most insulin resistant in the morning due to sleeping for 6-8 hours.  As the day progresses we’re moving around, increasing activity and getting on with the day.  This activity makes insulin more efficient and ready to work.

Eating an average bowl of cereal with milk contains approximately 60-70 grams of carbohydrate or 4-5 slices worth of bread.  How can that be a good start to your day?  Or how about a 60-gram carbohydrate bagel worth 4 slices of bread?

Studies show eating a strong protein breakfast within an hour of waking up can increase your metabolic rate, lower insulin resistance and stabilize your blood sugar for the rest of the day.  Sounds like a good trade-off to me.

How does that break down – what are some examples of a high protein breakfast? 

1. 2-3 eggs with veggies, an ounce of cheese (about 20-25 grams of protein) and sliced fruit or tomatoes on the side
2. 1 cup of plain Greek Yogurt (about 20 grams of protein) with 2-3 tablespoons of raw nuts and your choice of fruit
3. 1 cup of cottage cheese (30 grams of protein) with fruit and 2-3 tablespoons of nuts
4. Smoothie with protein powder, milk/yogurt, and fruit

Most of the above breakfast options are easy, portable, high in protein and contain approximately 15-30 grams of carbohydrate which is a reasonable amount for your am insulin to handle.

If you’ve been to Europe or abroad they eat a little cheese, yogurt, an egg, some fruit and maybe a croissant but it is not the core of the breakfast.

What happens if you eat a high protein breakfast?  It results in a more even blood sugar and appetite for the remainder of the day with less chance of binging, grasping for food or candy at the office; increased energy and less chance of weight gain.  In addition, it can improve your sleep and increase your sense of health and well being.

Sound too good to be true?  Try a 30-day experiment of having a high protein breakfast and get back to me.  You might complain about missing cereal but you won’t complain about the benefits you’re experiencing.

Organizing Your Food World

This morning I dropped by the grocery store to pick up a few items and was pleasantly surprised to run into a client.  I could not help looking in her grocery cart.  Most of the time, I’m “off duty” in the store but curiosity got the best of me.  For the record, she got a passing grade.

We spoke for a few moments and she reminded me of one of the things that helps an individual with being successfully nutritious:  planning and organizing your food.

Many times a day I hear “if I could just get organized I would be okay.”  Surprisingly, when you get in the mindset of organizing your food, things fall into place.

Plan your Week- Start with Breakfast

Making a list once a week of what you need for most of your meals is the first step.  If you eat yogurt or cottage cheese with nuts and fruit for breakfast, or eggs with fruit, make sure you have enough of those items to last the week.  If you are on the run, make be sure you have some sliced cheese and a fruit and you’re good to go.

On to Lunch

For lunch, Jeffrey’s Chicken Salad is a good one for lunches and easy to make with baked or leftover chicken.  A container of the chicken salad and a fruit works well for an easy lunch.  CORE (clean out the refrigerator) salad is also a good lunch time item – put whatever leftover veggies, fruit, protein (chicken, meat, fish, hard-boiled eggs and cheese) over lettuce with some lemon, olive oil and vinegar.

Healthy Snacks?

For snacks, Trader Joes sells 1 ounce bags of nuts and sliced hard cheeses.  Have one of these and some fruit and it will last you till dinner.  My clients know I like the Mauk Family Farms Wheat Free Crusts – very satiating and provide that crunch we desire without having to fall into the temptation of processed carbohydrates.

Weekend Cooking for Dinners?

For dinner, making 2 entrees on the weekend you can heat up during the week and adding a salad is easy for those that work full time.  After working all day, the last thing I want to do is come home and make a full dinner.  Having these entrée items to choose from can prevent an on the way home unhealthy takeout.

At first it takes more forethought and getting into a new routine.  After a few weeks, you’ll be on autopilot and wonder why you ever had a hard time with your food.  An ounce of planning prevention provides low stress nutritious living.

Shrink your Waist with Sleep and Protein

 “I’m hungry Mother, I really am,” said the little puppy Rolly on 101 Dalmatians.

I often hear “I’m always hungry; I don’t feel full after a meal; I still want something after I eat but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Appetite is affected by both physiological and psychological issues.  Since the psychological may be a whole research paper in itself let’s stick to the physiological things you can do to keep your appetite normal and healthy.

Two hormones affecting appetite are Leptin and Ghrelin.  An easy way to remember them is leptin lowers your appetite and ghrelin grows your appetite.  When they are in sync your appetite is in line with your metabolism.  Things that can throw them off are lack of sleep and imbalances in the diet.

If your sleep is compromised it affects your hunger levels.  Eve Van Cauter at the University of Chicago has done 25 years of research on how hormones affect sleep.  Her research shows that when you are sleep deprived your leptin levels are 18% lower and your Ghrelin levels are 28 percent higher.

Her subjects also reported they were much hungrier than usual and craved salty, sweet food when they lacked sleep.  Think of late night pizza and nachos when you stayed up too long.  Craving salty, sweet food and increasing leptin and lowering ghrelin are the perfect combination for weight gain.

Appetite can also be thrown off by the wrong combination of carbohydrate, protein and fat.  David Cummings, M.D. at the University School of Medicine in Seattle found that protein was the best suppressor of appetite.  Fats seemed to have a neutral affect.

Carbohydrates initially lowered the appetite, but then rebounded later with a vengeance.  I still remember my days of eating a “healthy” bowl of cereal for breakfast only to be famished 2 hours later – unaware that it was due to a lack of protein at the most important meal of the day.

Good sources of protein include:

• lean meats, poultry, fish
• eggs
• plain yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheeses
• nuts/seeds and nut butters

Take home message?  Getting your rest and making sure you eat some sort of protein at each meal and snack will keep your appetite even keeled.  So maybe a good idea is to eat your protein and get some rest with Rolly.  What have you got to lose…besides weight?

This piece is part of Prevention not Prescriptions

The Power Breakfast

Many of my clients ask me "what do you eat on a typical day?"  Since I hear that more often than not, I thought I would share over the next few weeks some of my favorite meals and how they break down nutritionally for balance and health.  We always hear breakfast is the most important meal of the day so why not make it power packed with nutrients?  Why not have something to jump start your metabolism for the day and make it delicious and enjoyable at the same time?  Here's my favorite breakfast:

Susan’s Power Breakfast:

½ cup of 2% low fat organic cottage cheese

½ cup of low fat plain organic yogurt

3 tablespoons of part-skim ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds

1 tablespoon of raw cashews

½ cup of mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)

1/3 medium banana (on the greener side)

Sprinkling of Cinnamon

Organic breakfast tea with 2-3 tablespoons of organic 1% milk

The nutritional breakdown of this breakfast is:

400 calories

31 grams of protein

36 grams of carbohydrate

7.5 grams fiber

15 grams of fat

450 mg. of calcium

Beginning your day with a strong breakfast is important to maintaining a healthy metabolism.  A protein-based breakfast not only jump-starts your metabolism but stabilizes blood sugars and appetite throughout the day.  This breakfast contains approximately 4 ½ ounces of protein, a moderate amount of healthy carbohydrate from the fruit, nuts, and dairy products and monounsaturated and omega 3 fats coming from ground flax seeds and cashews.

One-third of the recommended needs for calcium are provided.  The berries are powerful antioxidants known as flavonoids which are known to lower inflammation in the body and help prevent cancer and heart disease.  The less ripe banana contains resistant starch which is now thought to play an important role in intestinal health.  Lastly, it contains one-third of the recommended amount of fiber also important for proper digestion and gut health.

It is quick, easy and satisfying and meets many nutritional needs in just one meal.