Healthy Breakfast - Energizing and nutritious breakfast ideas.

Try reducing your intake of tea and coffee, especially if you drink excessive amounts. First of all, substitute one or two cups a day for herbal or fruit teas, fruit juice or mineral water. Nowadays there are many varieties of fruit and herbal teas to choose from and they are widely available in the supermarkets - why not try a refreshing ginger tea or mint tea after meals.

There are even coffee substitutes, usually only available from health food shops that actually taste like coffee but are made from herbs, vegetables or grains. The most popular are chicory and dandelion root.

A particularly effective cleansing and detoxifying morning beverage is warm but not boiling water flavoured with the juice of half a freshly squeezed lemon.

There is a saying "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper", meaning that the biggest meal of the day should be breakfast, followed by a moderate lunch and a frugal evening meal.

Nowadays, many of us do not have time for a big breakfast in the morning, nor could we stomach such a thing. Even so, we should set off to work or about our day having refuelled from the night before and after consuming plenty of valuable vitamins, minerals and essential fats.

Ideally, you should eat some carbohydrates, as carbohydrates are the body's main energy providers - the lower the GI the better. Foods with a low glycaemic index release their energy slowly throughout the morning, if consumed at breakfast for example, keeping you full until lunchtime.

Carbohydrates include cereals, bread, porridge, potatoes, beans and some fruits. Go for complex, unrefined carbohydrates rather than simple or refined carbohydrates. This would include foods such as wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread. These complex, unrefined carbohydrates contain many more vitamins and minerals than simple, refined carbohydrates plus plenty of fibre, which is essential for a healthy body.

Foods with a low - moderate GI that could be eaten at breakfast are:

• Grapefruit = 26
• Peaches = 29
• Apricots = 30
• Milk = 32
• Apples = 39
• Oranges = 40
• Organic baked beans = 40
• Grapes = 44
• Oats = 49
• Bananas = 62
• Raisins = 64
• Wholemeal bread = 72

Certain types of cereals, particularly those aimed at children, are loaded with sugars and these types of cereals should be avoided. They will raise blood sugar levels, sending them soaring and then crashing back down again fairly rapidly, leaving you hungry and with little energy. Not to mention that they have very little nutritional value, the sugar will rot your teeth and cause mood swings, as your energy levels are not stable.

The best cereals to have for breakfast are those that are low in sugars, fat and calories and which have an abundance of fibre. You will find that they are often unrefined, complex carbohydrates, which have not had all of the goodness processed and taken out. They are principally whole grain cereals that consist of one ingredient such as "Shredded Wheat". This will mean that the grains are whole and have not been refined. Care must be taken with breakfast cereals, however, as many claims on the packets are often misleading.

When choosing a breakfast cereal, if you are unsure, it is best to check the label. Choose cereals whose first ingredient is a whole grain such as "whole wheat" or "flaked oats". Return any packets back to the shelf that contain the words "refined" or "partially hydrogenated". It is also necessary to check the label for added sugars and high levels of salt.

The following are a list of some of the recommended healthy cereals:

• Weetabix
• Shredded Wheat
• All Bran
• Cheerios
• Golden Grahams
• Oat Bran
• Muesli
• Shreddies
• Porridge

If you prefer toast in the morning, try to choose wholemeal bread instead of white. White bread is refined and has very little nutrients remaining. Use butter and margarine sparingly and try healthy spread options such as marmite, low-fat cheese or a thin scraping of peanut butter.

Instead of regular brown bread, why not try some other tasty alternatives including rye bread, granary bread, pitta bread or wholemeal bagels, scones, waffles, crumpets or muffins.

Doughnuts, Danish pastries, cakes, croissants, biscuits and any other fattening, cholesterol-laden and sugary products do not form part of a healthy breakfast, or any other meal for that matter!

Most of us do not eat enough fruit and vegetables and therefore breakfast is an excellent opportunity to get a few portions in to count towards your daily-recommended amount.

You could start the day with a glass full of freshly squeezed orange, orange and lemon or grapefruit juice or if you are the proud owner of a juicer, there are 101 fruit, vegetable, herb and spice concoctions that you could come up with.

Eating the whole fruit, as opposed to just the juice, is beneficial for the body, due to the extra fibre contained in the skin, and so you could add grated or chopped fruit to your cereal or even prepare a fresh fruit salad. Don't forget that smoothies made in the blender can be prepared with whole fruits too.

Studies have proven that eating some form of protein for breakfast enhances concentration and memory. It also increases learning and performance ability and it has been shown that children who eat breakfast and protein in particular, perform better at school, whilst adults perform better at work.

Eggs are possibly the most versatile as well as being the most nutritious breakfast protein. They can be poached, scrambled, fried, soft-boiled, hard-boiled or made into an omelette.

A hard-boiled egg is low in calories and saturated fat yet is full of vitamins A, B, D, E and minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium, selenium and magnesium.

Milk is another form of protein and is often considered a food in itself. It is essential that children drink plenty of milk whilst they are growing up for strong and healthy bones and teeth.

Although some may prefer the creamy taste of full-fat milk, for health and diet reasons, it is best to stick to skimmed or semi-skimmed versions.

Nowadays there is much controversy as to whether or not humans should actually consume cow's milk and many are turning to other alternatives such as soya or rice milk.

Cow's milk and its dairy by-products such as cheese, butter and yoghurt do contain high levels of saturated fat, which raise cholesterol levels. High levels of cholesterol in the body may lead to heart disease and other cardiovascular illness.

It is not uncommon for many people to have problems digesting cow's milk and it is possible to become lactose intolerant. Other negative symptoms such as excess mucous, constipation, allergies and stomach cramps amongst others may also occur.

A traditional English breakfast need not be a plate of unhealthy ingredients swimming in fat. You should not be eating this type of breakfast every day of the week, but as an occasional treat, it's ok, as long as you bear a few things in mind.

First of all, "grill" instead of "fry". In this case, this is probably the major health concern here. Secondly, try to use healthy or low-fat versions of some of the typical calorific foods found in an English breakfast.

For example grill low fat vegetarian or 100% pork sausages, grill lean bacon with the fat trimmed or removed, serve scrambled or poached eggs instead of fried, toast wholemeal bread instead of frying white bread, use reduced salt baked beans and serve extra portions of grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. Couple all of this with a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice and you will actually have quite a healthy and nutritious breakfast in front of you!

The following is a list of healthy breakfast ideas and for healthy breakfast recipes.

• Natural yoghurt sweetened with honey and served with chopped apples, cinnamon and nuts
• Fruit smoothies made with whole fruits, nuts or seeds, a carton of yoghurt and some soya milk
• Weetabix served with yoghurt, grated apple and cinnamon
• Wholemeal pitta bread with hard-boiled egg slices and lettuce
• Cinnamon toast or eggy bread
• Scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast
• Low sugar and salt baked beans served on wholemeal toast
• Soft-boiled egg with brown bread soldiers
• Whole grain waffles topped with fruit and yoghurt or ricotta cheese and cinnamon
• Toasted wholemeal English muffins served with a poached egg and a slice of lean ham
• Porridge made with soya milk sprinkled with cinnamon
• Fresh fruit salad
• Melon wedges
• Mushroom and fresh herb omelette
• Brown rice pudding with shredded apples and cinnamon
• Lean ham and tomato toastie made with wholemeal bread
• Prunes with natural yoghurt
• Wholegrain cereal topped with dried apricots, raisins or prunes.
• Weetabix or other cereal with sliced strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, nuts etc
• Toasted rye bread with low fat soft cheese
• Wholemeal toasted baguette rubbed with garlic and tomato, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt
• Sardines on wholemeal toast
• Grapefruit halves
• Grilled kippers or mackerel on toast with grilled tomatoes
• Soya milk porridge sprinkled with chopped dates or raisins plus a sprinkling of nutmeg or cinnamon
• Fried mushrooms on wholemeal or rye toast
• Grilled plum tomatoes on toast
• Malt loaf or fruit loaf slices
• Pancakes with mixed fruit salad and yoghurt
• Potato waffles with scrambled eggs
• Flapjacks and yoghurt
• Grilled lean bacon and tomato sandwich
• Toast with honey

Some of these breakfast recipes may be prepared the day before, whilst others can be whizzed up in a few minutes in the morning. Even though you may have a hectic lifestyle, you should still always make time for breakfast and with some of our recipes, those of you who skip breakfast may not want to do so anymore.