Breakfast is the most essential meal of the day. We’ve all heard the phrase, and with good cause. Breakfast is our opportunity to restore our body’s fuel after 10 hours of nocturnal fasting while we’ve been sleeping.
Making sensible judgments on what we eat in the morning may enhance our energy levels, focus, and productivity, allowing us to take on the world!
Conversely, selecting the incorrect breakfast choices may give us a short lift, but leave us feeling depleted and lethargic by lunchtime. We may even be tempted to make extra poor eating choices throughout our day to compensate.
Here is our rundown of the 15 worst breakfast foods that you’re definitely eating every day. You’re going to be astonished by some of them, particularly number 15!
1. Sugary, highly-refined cereals
We all know that children’s cereals in bright boxes should be avoided owing to their terrifyingly high sugar content. But, even more, harmful are the morning cereals which are touted as “healthy” alternatives, but still have high sugar content.
We truly enjoy morning cereals. Cereal is a highly fast, simple, healthy, and nutritious method of filling up in the morning, ready to start the day. But only if they’re produced with whole grains, and have no added sugars.
Popular puffed rice, honey-coated nut cereals, and frosted flakes (either large name brands or store-own brand equivalents) will generally be ladened with spoonfuls of sugar.
Aside from the long-term health repercussions of ingesting too much sugar, a sweet start to your day will only maintain energy levels for a very short period. But after this sweet burst has been absorbed, we’ll be left feeling hungry very soon, and, very probably, reaching for another unhealthy decision.
Make sure you examine the nutritional contents of your cereal and verify there are no added sugars. Opt for cereals that are manufactured with whole grains and are high in tummy-filling fiber that will assist to sustain you till lunchtime. Choose shredded whole wheat cereals, corn flakes that aren’t coated in sugar, and classic porridge oats, but avoid microwavable porridge which may frequently include hidden, sugary syrups to enhance flavor.
2. Pancakes or waffles
If you’ve ever cooked pancakes from home, then you’ll know that they’re created from flour, eggs, milk, and sugar, plus a raising agent that gives them their fluffiness such as bicarbonate of soda. Vegan pancake recipes do also exist that contain substitutions for eggs and milk and gluten-free flour alternatives may also be utilized to produce gluten-free pancakes.
But the one thing they all have in common? Sugar! Waffles are very much the same, too. Yet they’re both fairly frequent breakfast choices. Adding to the sugar burden of a pancake or waffle-based meal is the fact that we don’t frequently eat pancakes and waffles plain. Who does?
We load them up with sweet syrups and crispy bacon that’s heavy in saturated fats and salt, just adding to the calorie level yet not actually adding anything to the positive nutritional value.
What’s more, more frequently than not, the wheat used to produce both is white flour, which has been treated to eliminate the whole grain and important B vitamins. So it truly is better to limit them to holiday meals only!
3. White bread and margarine
Who doesn’t enjoy some crisp white bread drenched with melting spread? The trouble with eating this consistently as a breakfast, however, is twofold.
First up, white bread. White bread is created with white flour, which is flour that has been treated to eliminate the wholegrain, brown portion. In doing so, along with the wholegrain, the important vitamins, notably B vitamins, are also eliminated. A better alternative is brown bread, that’s prepared with non or slightly processed wholegrain wheat, replete with its essential elements.
Secondly, if our spread of choice is margarine, we might be receiving more fat than we bargained for. All spreads have some quantity of fat, including low-fat ones. Margarine is no different, but margarine has also been treated in order to make it simple to spread directly from the fridge. It’s during this process that trans fats may be introduced, commonly known as partially hydrogenated oil.
There are requests to prohibit trans fats because they’ve been brought into question over their possible ties to certain health conditions such as problems with blood pressure and high blood sugar. In the UK, their usage is being phased out although they may still be found in imported goods. Butter, while higher in fat, is a preferable alternative as it isn’t as processed and doesn’t contain trans fats. But either way, keep your bread brown and your spreads to a minimum.
4. Muffins and pastries
Muffins are great, but let’s face it, by eating a muffin for breakfast, we’re very much enabling ourselves to eat cake for morning and surely that’s reserved for our birthday each year?! Even a muffin that’s promoted to us as ‘healthy’ such as a fruit-loaded blueberry muffin, is still more or less a cake.
That said, a blueberry muffin does at least include fruit, which is a healthier option than a plain muffin or worse, a chocolate chip muffin. Blueberries are an excellent source of antioxidants and vitamins that assist to keep the immune system healthy, so if you’re going to select a morning muffin, choose a fruit one. And even then, preserve them for the rare treat!
Savory muffins might also be a better alternative, but watch out for cheese muffins that are heavy in saturated fats. We’ve seen muffins created with courgette and little sugar, which may not check the sugar desire box, but they surely won’t start you off on the back foot for the day.
The same applies to those baskets of beautiful-looking morning pastries we see in hotels. They’re most certainly reserved for hotel and vacation sweets if we wish to prevent a sugar overdose for breakfast!
5. Fruit juice
Who doesn’t adore coffee and orange juice with their breakfast? As a tiny supplement to an already balanced meal, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with a small (about 150ml) glass of fresh juice. The issues arise if you’re drinking considerably more than this every day.
If you think of oranges, how many could you consume in one go? One or two is our estimation. But if you have a big glass of freshly squeezed (either by yourself or a store-purchased fresh orange) juice, you may be eating twice that.
Oranges are nutritious, as are any other fruits used to prepare liquids. They contain significant quantities of vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals. But fruit also includes fructose, a fruit sugar. So if you’re having one or two oranges, then you’re not ingesting much fructose. But extend that to four or more oranges in one sitting, simply as a drink, then you’re ingesting more sugar than you realize. So if we drink fruit juice alone for breakfast, we’re likely to feel hungry very quickly thereafter.
Fruit juices also reduce the fiber content from the fruit, because you’re not ingesting the pulp. Fiber is crucial for optimum gut health. So take entire fruits and keep juices to a minimum. And certainly, opt out of fruit drinks with extra sugars!
6. Low fat or fat free yogurts
Yogurt, either prepared with cow’s milk or a non-dairy substitute such as soya, is a nutritious choice since it’s high in protein and probiotics (good bacteria that assist to care after a healthy gut) (good bacteria that help to look after a healthy gut).
So at first appearance, we’d be excused for believing that a reduced or no fat yogurt was an even better option. But beware. Often, fruity variations of these supposedly healthy for us yogurts have more added sugar than the full-fat ones! (Even plain or Greek style reduced fat yogurts might sometimes include additional sugar.)
The trouble is, fats and carbohydrates make things taste delicious. Remove on, and often the other is added to improve the taste. So if something is touted as low fat, then always make sure that you read the ingredients list and nutritional information for hidden added sugars.
They may be classified as sugar, sugar syrups, honey or glucose - if in doubt, check the traffic light system. If it’s red for sugar, then the chances are, your ‘healthy’ morning yoghurt has added sugars.
Aside from that, low fat yoghurt without added sugars isn’t extremely calorific and won’t sustain you for very long. So add some fruit of your choice and sprinkle with chopped nuts or oats to create a delightfully nutritious and hearty meal.
7. Breakfast bars
If ever there was a dish that’s been more advertised as a healthy alternative when fact it’s not, then we’d be hard pressed to find one above breakfast bars. Often promoted as solutions for athletes and people who exercise often and don’t have time to create a bowl of cereal or muesli, breakfast bars need to be handled with care.
This is because they’re typically far from the alternative for a nutritious cereal that they promise to be. So our advise is obviously to read the label. Like many of the cereals we described above, cereal bars typically include significant amounts of added sugar, most often from the sugar syrups and honey required to bind everything together into a bar form.
Plus, since they’re not drunk in a bowl with cow’s milk or a non-dairy option such as soya or almond milk, they lack protein too. Protein keeps us satiated for longer, so taking one of these bars as your breakfast will probably mean that your gut rumbles a short time later.
So choose for ones that have reduced sugar levels, no added sugars and have an extra protein source such as peanut butter. Or drink a healthy version of them with a glass of milk.
8. Bacon and other processed meats
Bacon, sausages, ham and other forms of processed meats could taste delicious – but that’s mainly because of the added salts and the processing procedures employed that are meant to appeal to our palate. (Well, those of meat eaters, anyhow.)
Processed meats are rich in saturated fats which are very calorific. Consuming such meals may lead to health concerns, including weight gain.
Adding to the difficulty is the degree of salt commonly present in these sorts of meats. Eating too much salt might at best make us feel thirsty and dehydrated. Plus, processed meats are related with difficulties later in life with the stomach and intestines.
On the bright side, bacon and sausages do deliver protein, which keeps us full and supports us for all the chores we need to get done each morning. But a better breakfast choice that’s high in animal protein is eggs, so go for a couple of poached, boiled or scrambled eggs over wholemeal bread for an energetic, nutritious, reduced fat breakfast.
We’re not recommending to avoid bacon and sausage totally. If you love eating them, reserve them for the rare weekend breakfast and avoid ingesting them every day.
9. Fast food breakfast items
Imagine the situation. You’re fatigued, running late for work and you have a major conference to attend with no time to treat your sleepiness with a nutritious smoothie. Or you’re genuinely on time for work since you have a deadline to fulfill, but you had a few too many drinks last night and you have a hangover.
What are you going to do? Like so many of us in this predicament, there’s nothing for it - you have to walk to the next fast food takeout and buy something from there. Sausage muffins, cheese toasties, hash browns and bacon butties - you name it, you can find everything.
And certainly, you’ll receive an immediate pick me up. But it will only be short lived, and it may not even get you through your meeting or deadline before you feel the crash coming on.
Fast food breakfasts are generally fried, processed or both, and include high amounts of saturated fats and salts and if we put in a fizzy drink or large juice, significantly sugar packed, too. None of which is a healthy way to start the day and if we make these choices early on, we’re more likely to continue to make them throughout the day.
10. Sugary coffee drinks
If you require a coffee (or two) in the morning before you can function or even think about commuting or chatting to a coworker, then you’re not alone. Millions of us head to the coffee pot every morning, bleary eyed and sleepy. Then ping! We’re up and ready to face the day.
There’s nothing intrinsically harmful about coffee. In fact, it’s rich in antioxidants that aid to maintain the immune system healthy and may raise our mood no end.
But it very much depends on how we choose to consume our coffee. If we drink extra-large cups of coffee with additional full fat dairy milks, calorific nut milks, sugar and fancy syrups, then we’re bringing in a whole load of calories in the form of fats and sweets.
If we’re having one of these pricey coffees with another unhealthy breakfast decision, then we might be setting ourselves up to surpass our calorific consumption for the day. But on the other extreme, if we’re simply taking a black coffee for breakfast then we’re not only in a calorie deficit finding it hard to feel invigorated, we’ll be missing out on the essential nutrients, fibre and protein we’d receive from a balanced, nutritious diet.
11. Bagels and their fillings
Bagels are thicker than many other bread products, and they’re a popular option for breakfasts on the move since they tend to hold onto their contents better than typical bread without turning soggy.
Most bagels are produced with white flour, which as we mentioned above, is flour with all its essential nutrients and fibre removed away. So you’re not getting much nutritious benefit from eating a bagel.
Then there’s the matter of the most popular toppings for bagels — butter, cream cheese and salt beef – all of which are heavy in fat and in the case of salt beef, a lot of salt and chemical processing chemicals.
So if bagels are your thing, limit them to a minimal and try them with low fat cream cheese, smoked salmon or peanut butter, all of which contain essential protein to help invigorate your morning.
12. Doughnuts
OK. So let’s talk about doughnuts. Deliciously sweet, sugary, jammy doughnuts. They’re amazing, right? But you don’t need us to tell you that they’re not a fantastic breakfast option. High in saturated fats (doughnuts are deep fried, in case you didn’t know!) and sweets, and rather low in the beneficial things such as fibre and vitamins, doughnuts are most certainly a treat meal.
But the trouble is, they’re sold at coffee shops, and when do we most typically go a coffee shop? That’s correct, during breakfast time! And they sit there, looking all nice and round and doughnut-y, tempting us in through the glass. If we’re feeling especially weary, upset or emotional, then the odds are, we’ll forego the yoghurt and granola we were planned on, and settle for a doughnut instead.
Far from keeping us full until noon, we’ll achieve that familiar sugary high after eating a doughnut, then crash as our blood sugar levels drop again a short time later. Lunchtime seems like hours away, and we grab a chocolate bar to keep us going. Disastrous for our healthy eating goals.
So certainly save these delicacies as infrequent treats
13. Pop Tarts
Pop Tarts first graced our breakfast tables somewhere in the 1990s in the UK and boy did they get popular! They’re handy, delicious and lots of fun, but that’s where the good stuff stops. These fascinating breakfasts-in-one are laden with white, processed wheat, artificial colourings and sugar — loads of it, approximately four tablespoons each Pop Tart.
As adults, we can seek a nostalgic look back to our youth when we didn’t have to worry about the risks of sugar for breakfast. But choosing for a Pop Tart for breakfast (or feeding them to our kids) should really only be on a very infrequent basis.
Starting the day with that much sugar will surely give us that high octane sugar rush, followed by the even more inevitable fall when we feel sleepy and fuzzy brained, desiring the next sugar dose. We’re therefore more prone to make additional harmful decisions throughout the day.
But not just that. Consuming a high sugar diet may create health concerns such as weight gain and high blood sugar levels, which can have additional adverse implications later down the road. So confine the colorful, artificially coloured, sugary breakfast ideas (that also lack many other nutrients of any use to our health) to the uncommon treat.
14. Shop bought smoothies
Smoothies are a great way of ensuring that we’re getting a good intake of fruits and vegetables along with all their vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytonutrients.
The problem is, often if we buy one for convenience from a shop, the chances are, there’s some form of added sugar to add sweetness that appeals to our palate. Even if this sugar is in the form of honey, agave syrup or maple syrup, it’s still sugar, it’s still adding unnecessary calories and it’s still not adding any other nutritional value.
So the answer is – to make your own! Which may be simpler than you think, you’ll only need to invest in a blender or specialty smoothie make like a NutriBullet. As a general guideline, you’ll need liquid as a basis, so water, cow’s milk or a dairy free substitute such as oat milk or protein rich pea milk.
Then add a small banana for thickness, and a handful of berries and some other chopped fruit (frozen works great, we adore strawberries, cherries and melon) (frozen works perfectly, we love strawberries, cherries and melon). Something green is excellent too, so if you’re bold, a handful of chopped kale, or for a sweeter flavor, try spinach. Then lastly a teaspoon of nut butter or yoghurt for a protein boost. Whizz it everything together, which takes seconds, and away you go - a nutritious, low sugar smoothie for breakfast on the fly.
15. Bananas
Yes, bananas! We knew you’d be stunned by this one. As a food, bananas are really very delicious. They’re full of fibre that helps to look after a healthy, smooth moving bowel and they’re high in micronutrients such as potassium, vitamin C and antioxidants that assist to maintain a healthy immune system.
But they’re also quite heavy in sugar, which as we’ve seen from this list of lousy breakfast choices, may induce blood sugar highs and lows, leading us into temptation to eat before midday.
Sugar is a sort of carbohydrate, therefore eating bananas implies consuming a large quantity of carbohydrates, with minimal healthy fats and nearly no protein. So a single banana for breakfast won’t sustain you for long, and you’ll be hungry in no time since they’re not a full meal when consumed on their own.
Try adding bananas to homemade smoothies or cutting them up and putting them on wholemeal bread. Adding a small spread of your preferred nut butter will offer a nutritious dose of protein and healthy fats. So go bananas for bananas, but make sure you’re eating them with something else to keep you satisfied late into the morning.
Getting your breakfast right
Here’s an interesting fact for you - did you know that technically, it’s impossible to miss breakfast? The term breakfast literally means to break your fast – that is, the time of non-eating, or fasting, that you would’ve gone through overnight while you slept. (Unless of course, you got up in the middle of the night for a midnight snack.)
So that implies that even if you do go without eating until midday, technically anything you eat for lunch is your breakfast, since you’re breaking your fast.
Not that we would ever suggest missing breakfast. We believe it’s a terrific idea to start the day on the right foot, with something healthy, nutritious and full. What will you select tomorrow morning?
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