The Best Breakfast to Start Your Day With (According to a Nutritionist)

Good morning! Good afternoon! Whatever time of day it is and wherever you are, I am here to offer you some good energy and a positive perspective on your health. If we haven’t met before, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Nomi, and I am a board-certified Clinical Nutritionist currently pursuing my Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition. I can get really excited talking about glucose regulation or estrogen metabolism. I’d say that my enthusiasm for your health is my superpower. In a world that is so confused about nutrition and health, I am here to give you some clarity, action steps toward long-term change, and a little tough talk to get you to step away from the narratives that are not only not serving you but are holding you to a pattern that is not your potential.

Nutrition is a tool in my toolkit for my purpose on this planet in this lifetime. That purpose is to remind everyone that I cross paths with, whether as a personal client in a one-on-one session, through this column, or at a speaking event, that they have a unique energy that only they can bring to this world. I may be able to provide some tools and tips for harnessing that energy, nutrition, and lifestyle habits being some of them, but my goal is to get you excited, passionate, emotional, motivated, and disciplined enough to show up with your potential. In this column, we’ll discuss how to use nutrition and lifestyle habits to create a life you love and a body you feel good in. I’d love to hear what you want to learn more about. Feel free to send me questions or suggestions at nomi@nomiknows.com.

Let’s jump in and get started with my number one recommendation for adults. Let’s separate kid and adult nutrition. The most important thing is for children to develop a healthy relationship with food. I will address that at a later date. I’ve had clients, with very good intentions, try to introduce nutrition concepts into their home that end up backfiring. I’ve heard it all. The vegan family whose child takes other kids chicken at lunch or the sugar-free, no-packaged food family with a kid who chronically noshes and hides wrappers under their bed. That is not the relationship we want our kids to have with food, so please remember that my recommendations are for a general adult audience.

I work in the field of individualized nutrition. That means that when a client comes to see me, I look at their specific health history and genetics, habits, dietary patterns, and biomarkers to determine what is best for them. This isn’t a generalized dietetics approach. This is personalized nutrition, and it is the future of wellness. I firmly believe that the world is transitioning back to the idea that food is medicine, and I am excited to be part of this movement and evolution of nutritional biochemistry.

So, back to my first recommendation to improve your energy, decrease the bloat, drop a few pounds, and eliminate the late afternoon sugar cravings. I recommend to start the day with a savory meal, and make sure that the meal is higher in protein, vegetables, fiber, and healthy fats than it is in carbohydrates. Even if those carbohydrates are healthy, they are NOT how you want to start the day. Unless you are an athlete, and then you need a personalized nutrition plan to optimize performance. For the average person, starting the day with a high protein, a little fat, and vegetable meal is the key to sustained energy and glucose regulation throughout the day.

I often get some pushback against this. What about oatmeal? What about high-fiber muffins? What if eggs feel too heavy? What if one feels they absolutely can’t start the day with a savory meal? Here’s where the tough talk comes in. Try it for two weeks, and then you can decide whether or not you want to continue.

Improving one’s health isn’t about doing or eating new things and loving them; it is about experimentation to find what feels right for your body. Experimentation only works if there is an adequate time of observation. So try eating a savory breakfast for two weeks. Eggs and vegetables are the easiest, in my opinion. Adding some fresh herbs, like parsley or coriander, gives you an A+ for phytonutrient content and color. What if eggs get boring? Ok, buckle up for a second because I’m going to share my unconventional breakfast.

Chicken salad is the ultimate flex. It’s the ultimate breakfast if you add a variety of colorful vegetables, some seeds for crunch (I favor pumpkin), a yummy dressing (include some cold-pressed olive oil for the win), and some legumes (black lentils are adorable—seriously, and they are packed with nutrients).

Guess what. You will feel so great you won’t even crave those morning starchy carbs anymore. Why does what you eat in the morning matter? When you eat a carbohydrate-heavy breakfast, like oatmeal and fruit, your pancreas is going to produce insulin to help turn those carbohydrates into energy. Insulin is a hormone, and once your body starts pumping out insulin, it seeks hormone homeostasis and tries to prevent blood sugar crashes. That means that you are going to have more carb cravings all day. The best way to keep energy and blood sugar stable is to start the day with high protein, high fiber, and healthy fats.

Ditch the cereal; ditch the Western idea that breakfast starts with a croissant or a muffin. The standard American diet is contributing to the chronic disease epidemic in America. Recent numbers from the CDC have shown that over 130 million adults in America have pre or Type 2 diabetes. That is a staggering statistic showing that over 30% of the American population has a preventable condition. I’ll say it again and again: Type 2 diabetes is a preventable condition, even with a strong genetic predisposition. Yes, some people will have to work a lot harder at prevention. They will need to eat the correct dietary pattern and watch starchy and simple carb intake. It also means they will need to prioritize building and maintaining muscle and avoid dietary advanced glycation end (AGE) products. Dietary AGEs are a byproduct of lipid and protein combined with sugar that can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, as well as other chronic diseases.

I look forward to addressing more particulars of glucose regulation, metabolic health, and Type 2 diabetes prevention in future columns. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, go try that chicken (or salmon or organic tofu) salad for breakfast, and let me know how you feel. I can be reached anytime @nominkowsnutrition on Instagram if you want to share some observations.