What Everyone Ought to Know About an Ayurvedic breakfast
5 Mins
Breakfast is the cornerstone for a successful start of the day
You’ve probably been searching around the web for quite some time now, trying to learn as much as you can about how to make a quick and healthy breakfast. Or maybe you’ve even tried to make your own recipe, but it didn’t turn out as well as you hoped. Indeed, if you’re like a lot of people in the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, then you probably ended up giving up because you don’t have the patience, time or you have lost your inspiration to continue, due to a busy lifestyle.
Don’t despair. You too can start eating healthy in the morning, and all you have to do is tweak your time management strategy a bit. Generally, that means you need to realise the following five common mistakes about what makes a healthy breakfast and how to implement one of the most important Ayurvedic routines in your daily life. Read on…
Breakfast Mistake #1: I can eat as much as I want in the morning
Just guessing, but I’m sure that most people believe this to be true: eating a big, heavy breakfast in the morning will give you energy for the day. Worse yet, some of the blogs and products you find around the web actually advise people to stuff their faces in the morning!
If you see someone advocating it, run. That’s because eating too much in the morning will not give you energy. While the typical central European breakfast of bread, jams, cheese, sausage, yoghurt and muesli provides a lot of energy, it doesn’t provide enough nutrients to fill you up properly. From the Ayurvedic point of view, these foods have cooling properties and can weaken the digestive system, which can lead to lethargy, weight gain and a constant feeling of hunger.
According to Ayurvedic knowledge, the digestive fire (Agni) is very low in the morning. Therefore, it is recommended to take the lightest and most digestible breakfast. Breakfast should nourish the body (and mind) and give it everything it needs to provide enough energy for the day ahead.
When we start the day with a lot of energy, tasks are easier to handle.
Breakfast Mistake #2: Smoothie is the best breakfast food
Another exceedingly common mistake. We consider smoothies to be healthy because they contain fruits and all sorts of healthy ingredients. However, if you want to have a good, healthy breakfast then you need to make sure you avoid cold food for breakfast (like smoothies). Ayurveda says that a cold breakfast (for example, cold milk cereal or a buttered toast with jam) is harder to digest. Particularly high-sugar foods cause a short-term energy boost and once the blood sugar level falls again, we feel tired.
Instead, focus on making, for example, porridge instead, which is, according to Ayurveda, the best breakfast food: not too heavy, but substantial enough to give you just the right amount of energy for the day.
Porridge every day might sound boring, but making it can be a very creative process and you can use a variety of grains: oats, quinoa, millet, barley, buckwheat, etc. Then add some nuts, soaked dried fruits, spices, and you’re good to
go!
Breakfast Mistake #3: I don’t have time for making breakfast
Don’t feel bad if you feel like you don’t have time, most people have the same challenge. Our lives are on the fast track and we find it hard to manage some extra time to prepare and eat our meals. But it shouldn’t be like that. Mealtime should be a time that we enjoy in perfect peace, undisturbed. How to accomplish this? Make preparations the night before: soak your fruits, prepare your spices and grains, put the cooking pot on the stove. These little things will give you precious seconds that you will need to save time for cooking. Make it simple, think ahead and you will quickly have a ready breakfast routine. You will soon see the increase in your morning energy levels and your body and mind will thank you for it.
Breakfast Mistake #4: I'm not hungry in the morning, but I have to eat for energy
“Golden Milk” is a nutritious alternative for those who don’t like to eat in the morning. You can start your day with golden milk and eat later when you’re hungry. It is traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine as a remedy, immunity booster and for cleansing. Here’s how to prepare it:
Ingredients
You’ve probably been searching around the web for quite some time now, trying to learn as much as you can about how to make a quick and healthy breakfast. Or maybe you’ve even tried to make your own recipe, but it didn’t turn out as well as you hoped. Indeed, if you’re like a lot of people in the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, then you probably ended up giving up because you don’t have the patience, time or you have lost your inspiration to continue, due to a busy lifestyle.
Don’t despair. You too can start eating healthy in the morning, and all you have to do is tweak your time management strategy a bit. Generally, that means you need to realise the following five common mistakes about what makes a healthy breakfast and how to implement one of the most important Ayurvedic routines in your daily life. Read on…
Breakfast Mistake #1: I can eat as much as I want in the morning
Just guessing, but I’m sure that most people believe this to be true: eating a big, heavy breakfast in the morning will give you energy for the day. Worse yet, some of the blogs and products you find around the web actually advise people to stuff their faces in the morning!
If you see someone advocating it, run. That’s because eating too much in the morning will not give you energy. While the typical central European breakfast of bread, jams, cheese, sausage, yoghurt and muesli provides a lot of energy, it doesn’t provide enough nutrients to fill you up properly. From the Ayurvedic point of view, these foods have cooling properties and can weaken the digestive system, which can lead to lethargy, weight gain and a constant feeling of hunger.
According to Ayurvedic knowledge, the digestive fire (Agni) is very low in the morning. Therefore, it is recommended to take the lightest and most digestible breakfast. Breakfast should nourish the body (and mind) and give it everything it needs to provide enough energy for the day ahead.
When we start the day with a lot of energy, tasks are easier to handle.
Breakfast Mistake #2: Smoothie is the best breakfast food
Another exceedingly common mistake. We consider smoothies to be healthy because they contain fruits and all sorts of healthy ingredients. However, if you want to have a good, healthy breakfast then you need to make sure you avoid cold food for breakfast (like smoothies). Ayurveda says that a cold breakfast (for example, cold milk cereal or a buttered toast with jam) is harder to digest. Particularly high-sugar foods cause a short-term energy boost and once the blood sugar level falls again, we feel tired.
Instead, focus on making, for example, porridge instead, which is, according to Ayurveda, the best breakfast food: not too heavy, but substantial enough to give you just the right amount of energy for the day.
Porridge every day might sound boring, but making it can be a very creative process and you can use a variety of grains: oats, quinoa, millet, barley, buckwheat, etc. Then add some nuts, soaked dried fruits, spices, and you’re good to
go!
Breakfast Mistake #3: I don’t have time for making breakfast
Don’t feel bad if you feel like you don’t have time, most people have the same challenge. Our lives are on the fast track and we find it hard to manage some extra time to prepare and eat our meals. But it shouldn’t be like that. Mealtime should be a time that we enjoy in perfect peace, undisturbed. How to accomplish this? Make preparations the night before: soak your fruits, prepare your spices and grains, put the cooking pot on the stove. These little things will give you precious seconds that you will need to save time for cooking. Make it simple, think ahead and you will quickly have a ready breakfast routine. You will soon see the increase in your morning energy levels and your body and mind will thank you for it.
Breakfast Mistake #4: I'm not hungry in the morning, but I have to eat for energy
“Golden Milk” is a nutritious alternative for those who don’t like to eat in the morning. You can start your day with golden milk and eat later when you’re hungry. It is traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine as a remedy, immunity booster and for cleansing. Here’s how to prepare it:
Ingredients
- 2 cups plant milk of your choice (500 ml)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup, honey, or any sweetener you like
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger (optional)
- A dash of ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a saucepan, stir until well combined and cook over medium heat until hot (about 3-5 minutes). Stir occasionally.
- Serve immediately.
Breakfast Mistake #5: I’ve tried it for a while, but it’s too hard to follow Ayurveda
Sometimes it is hard to follow the suggestions, maybe you miss a day or two, and you go back to old habits of not having breakfast or buying delicious pastry at a local bakery. Don’t be too hard on yourself, life is colorful and change is inevitable, but we promise you - once you have had a healthy breakfast routine, you will eventually go back to it, because you will not be able to shake the memory of having more energy after a healthy, Ayurvedic breakfast.
After reading this article, think about improving your breakfast habits and giving the Ayurveda a fair chance. Check out our store for spices and ingredients and drop us a line or send us a photo of your delicious Ayurvedic breakfast!
Sometimes it is hard to follow the suggestions, maybe you miss a day or two, and you go back to old habits of not having breakfast or buying delicious pastry at a local bakery. Don’t be too hard on yourself, life is colorful and change is inevitable, but we promise you - once you have had a healthy breakfast routine, you will eventually go back to it, because you will not be able to shake the memory of having more energy after a healthy, Ayurvedic breakfast.
After reading this article, think about improving your breakfast habits and giving the Ayurveda a fair chance. Check out our store for spices and ingredients and drop us a line or send us a photo of your delicious Ayurvedic breakfast!
