PEP UP YOUR PORRIDGE

 

 

5 WAYS TO GIVE YOUR BREAKFAST A BOOST

 

Porridge is the smart option to starting your day as it’s relatively cheap and easy to prepare.  It’s warm and comforting on cold days and not only gives you a fibre hit but will also leave you feeling fuller for longer, so there’s less chance of you getting tempted by mid-morning snacking. 

 

So there’s plenty of bang for your buck but even though you know it’s doing good things it can sometimes score pretty low on the excitement scale.  But don’t get tempted by alternative rubbishy cereals, instead jazz up your porridge and add a little razzmatazz to breakfast time.

 

Blueberries

Fresh blueberries add a power punch.  Don’t buy porridge varieties including blueberries as they contain too much sugar, just add a handful of fresh berries.  Blueberries contain antioxidants.  Antioxidants have cell protecting properties that actually assist in maintaining healthy cells.  If you’ve ever heard of blueberries referred to as a ‘super food’ this is the reason why.

 

Cocoa Powder

You can stir in cocoa powder for a chocolate hit.  Not the drinking chocolate type, but the natural unsweetened cocoa powder which contains polyphenols.  These polyphenols increase the nitric oxide within the walls of blood vessels making them stronger.  There are major blood vessels within the heart and this strengthening assists in the flow of blood.  So rather amazingly dark chocolate with high levels (85%) of cocoa solids has emerged as a super food as it aids in the struggle to maintain a healthy heart. Natural cocoa powder is even better as it contains no sugar additives. 

 

Walnuts

Add some walnuts.  Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid which once on-board converts to an Omega-3.  They also contain fibre and on-going research is also starting to show that there could be a whole lot more good news to come so start getting walnut benefits ahead of the crowd.  You'd be nutty not to. 

 

Milled Flax

Flaxseed is enriched with protein and also contains Omega-3, vitamin B1 and fibre.  Use the ground or milled flaxseed though as the whole seeds are more likely to pass through the digestive system before the body has a chance to utilise them and receive the benefits.

 

Almond Milk

You could try adding unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk for a change from dairy.  These plant based alternatives have around 50% less calories than found in normal skimmed milk.

 

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