There can be a rumbling heard in our midsection after waking up from a 6 to 8-hour slumber. Reasonably so, the body is yearning for sustenance. As we sleep, our body breaks down cells to promote hormone rebalance. With the various chemical balancing acts our body endures throughout our slumber, the first meal of the day is vital for an optimally performing day of human production.
A traditional breakfast that has been embraced throughout our culture is a bowl of cereal and milk. The term “part of a balanced breakfast” was used in the Raisin Bran, Cheerio, and Frosted Flake commercials. Remember Tony the Tiger? “They’re GRRREAT!” However, the processed, denatured, preservative filled cereal we have connected with in our past is closer to a recipe for instant diabetes.
Another popular trend that has become prevalent in our culture include the easily obtainable breakfast sandwich from McDonalds, Starbucks, or 7-Eleven. Being able to swipe your credit card and have a multi-layered, mouthwatering sandwich in your hand before you go to work is remarkably convenient. However, underneath your skin, in your blood stream, and alongside digestive enzymes circulating in your stomach, your body doesn’t see that olfactory gland stimulating breakfast sandwich the same way. That scrumptious English muffin encasing the “just add water’ egg in the middle has been whipped up in a factory and filled with a form of salt for preservation that only my organic chemistry PhD peers can pronounce. After they are shipped in bulk to a fast food facility, they are distributed into the hands of consumers through drive through window and lines of Starbucks.
The gluten-filled, salty, temporarily satisfaction inducing food is similar to smoking a cigarette. Smokers know that cigarettes are bad for you, but the first few puffs elicit that numbing high for a few seconds. Before they know it, autopilot kicks in and the entire cancer promoting death stick is toxic gas in the lungs. A breakfast sandwich or a bowl of cereal isn’t much different when life threatening disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease are present from the regular consumption of these foods. The first few bites of that breakfast sando tastes good. Before you know it, the entire sandwich is past your teeth and in your stomach ready to be processed. Insulin is now being produced and circulating through the blood due to the glutenous, high glycemic index processed flour of the bun. Cells and connective tissue in the body begin to inflame and swell from the copious amounts of salt. Before you know it, the body starts to get a little sick after consuming too much of these breakfast foods on a regular basis. The quick fix breakfast solution taste good at first. However, people can easily enter a viscous cycle of the drive thru and “wait in line” addiction. If this gets out of hand, threats of metabolic disease ensue.
This is all curable with a solution that is about 10 to 20 yards away from your bed every day: cook at home for breakfast in your kitchen. Here are some healthy and easy to make dishes that have plant-based ingredients to help fend off cancer and metabolic disease:
- Pan seared sweet potato hash and eggs: Simply warm two pans to low-medium heat and put about half a spoonful of coconut oil in the pans. Peel a sweet potato and chop in up into the piece of size of a penny. Throw those sweet potatoes in a pan. Put an egg in the other pan. Season with salt and pepper. Once the sweet potatoes are browned to your liking and the eggs is fully cooked, place the sweet potatoes on a plate and the egg over the top of the potatoes.
- Vegetable Hash and egg: This is pretty much cut and paste of #1. Choose 2 to 3 of your favorite vegetables to sauté in a pan. Personally, I enjoy carrots, cauliflower and bell peppers. Take those veggies and seer them in a pan until they are cooked to your liking. Top with your favorite style of egg.
The time it takes to drive to the McDonalds drive thru matrix or wait in line at Starbucks is equivalent or less than the amount of time it takes to cook a healthy plant-based breakfast at home. You can probably even get your dishes done with time to spare as well. If you compare the two times, you’ll be astounded. If we can get out of the habit of getting our breakfast on the go and start cooking plant-based foods in the morning, we can significantly decrease the overwhelming threat of metabolic diseases, cancer, and obesity in our society. Get in the kitchen and fire up that stove. Cook some veggies and give your body the nutrients necessary to live to the fullest.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
