If you're looking for hormone balancing breakfast ideas, you've come to the right place! As a dietitian, I think a lot about food and nutrition. Over the years, I've become a strong believer in a healthy breakfast.
In this article, I break down the four key ingredients that make up a hormone balancing breakfast. I’m also going to leave you with 12 quick and easy breakfast ideas that you can make in 5 minutes to get your day off to the perfect start!
Jump to:
- Why Eat a Hormone Balancing Breakfast?
- Benefits of Hormone Balancing Breakfast
- 4 Elements of a Hormone Balancing Breakfast
- 12 Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas for Balanced Hormones (+ 1 bonus idea)
- A Hormone Balance Breakfast: In Conclusion
- Looking for More Nutrition Education?
- Looking for Nourishing Breakfast Recipes from a Dietitian?
- 💬 Comments
Learn more about Hormone Balancing Foods
Why Eat a Hormone Balancing Breakfast?
If you struggle with hormone imbalances, eating a good breakfast with healthy fats, lean protein, complex carbs, and micronutrients is a great way to start your day. While some people prefer intermittent fasting, eating a hormone balancing breakfast has many health benefits to consider that are related to healthy hormone levels.
In other words, the food choices you make at breakfast have a significant impact on hormone production. And the best thing is that it’s easy to make a nutritious breakfast with real food if you know how to do it right.
Benefits of Hormone Balancing Breakfast
A hormone balancing breakfast has been shown to help control blood sugar levels. It also plays a role in regulation of cortisol levels, reproductive health hormones, and hunger hormones.
Healthy choices at breakfast have also been shown to improve energy levels and brain function and can reduce dreaded brain fog and mood swings throughout the day.
Breakfast can also play a part in maintaining a healthy weight, preventing weight gain, and can help with weight loss because it has been shown to decrease cravings - especially late-night cravings! Eating breakfast can also decrease snacking and overall calorie intake throughout the day.
Since a hormone balancing breakfast is the first meal of the day, it's a perfect opportunity to start with nutrients that can improve your gut health, decrease your stress hormones that are high in the morning, and support your adrenal glands which are impacted by stress levels.
Plus, making healthy choices at the start of the day with a nutrient-dense breakfast makes it more likely you’ll keep that momentum for the next meal because you won’t feel ravenous by the time lunch arrives.
With so many benefits of eating breakfast, it really is the most important meal of the day when it comes to hormone health. Skipping breakfast or having a sugary breakfast low in nutrients can increase stress levels in your body and have a negative impact on your cognitive function.
Learn about a Cycle Syncing Diet.
4 Elements of a Hormone Balancing Breakfast
Now that you know how important breakfast is, you may be wondering how to make the right kind of hormone balancing breakfast, especially when you don’t have much time!
There are 4 main components to think about when building a balanced breakfast for healthy hormones.
1. Healthy fats
Fatty acids support hormone levels and energy levels. They also help optimize brain function and mental health. And they improve the appearance of skin, hair, and nails.
Plus, they keep you full longer and provide you with essential fat soluble vitamins that are important for overall health. Instead of focusing on low-fat foods, put an emphasis on healthy unsaturated fats as part of a hormone balancing breakfast.
Foods with healthy fats: Natural fats are found in legumes, nuts and nut butter such as peanut or almond butter, and seeds like chia seeds, flaxseed, and hemp seeds. Egg yolk, olive oil, and avocados are also excellent sources of healthy fats.
2. Protein
Adding a good source of protein to your hormone balancing breakfast will leave you satisfied and helps with insulin resistance and blood sugar control as well as cravings and uncontrolled eating. This is especially true when protein is paired with complex carbs and healthy fats.
Lean protein also supports your tissues and helps you maintain muscle mass which is important for keeping your bones and joints healthy and avoiding chronic pain. Not to mention, muscle is more metabolically active than fat. This means that building and maintaining muscle will help you burn more calories at rest.
High Protein Foods for hormone balancing breakfast:
- Animal proteins that are common at breakfast include eggs, turkey bacon, chicken sausage, milk, greek yogurt, ricotta or cottage cheese. Make a hearty omelet or frittata with eggs and your favorite veggie - tomatoes, mushroom, and spinach all go great with eggs.
- There are plenty of sources of proteins from plants for the vegetarian breakfast eater, too. These include nuts and seeds, chickpeas and other beans and tofu. A protein powder made from pea protein is a great option to add to smoothies and an easy way to get protein.
3. Complex Carbohydrates with Fiber
Carbohydrates that are high in sugar or low in fiber can cause sugar dips that come after blood sugar spikes. But including foods made from whole grains in your hormone balancing breakfast can help with stable insulin levels and blood glucose control by raising blood sugar levels slowly and steadily.
Incorporating complex carbohydrates that have a high fiber content is also good for gut health and satiety. And fiber helps lower cholesterol levels, too.
Foods with complex carbs: If you want energy in the morning, sugary or empty carbs like bagels, sugary cereal, pancakes, or syrup will have the opposite effect you are looking for.
Instead, reach for whole grain breads, muesli, or oatmeal. Or make savory breakfasts with the addition of sweet potatoes, quinoa or brown rice. You can even make French-toast on whole grain bread or use whole wheat or oat flour to make yummy muffins, pancakes, or waffles!
4. Micronutrients
Including foods with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants at breakfast will help you meet your overall nutrient needs for the day and are a vital addition to any hormone balancing breakfast.
Adding vegetables to scrambled eggs, having a side fruit or even a vegetable like leafy greens, fresh tomato with black pepper and sea salt, or collard greens are all great ways to get vitamins. So is adding blueberries, strawberries, apples, or kale to a breakfast smoothie.
Foods with micronutrients: You probably know that vegetables and fruits are high in vitamins and minerals. But things like rolled-oats or steel-cut oats and eggs are, too! Oatmeal is loaded with iron which premenopausal women need more of. And eggs have choline, an essential nutrient that helps protect your heart and brain health.
12 Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas for Balanced Hormones (+ 1 bonus idea)
Feel free to get creative with how you build your own hormone balancing breakfast! But here are some simple breakfast ideas to get you started.
- Greek yogurt topped with chia seeds, homemade granola, and berries.
- Smashed Avocado Toast with Hard Boiled Egg on sourdough or whole grain bread.
- Overnight oats with almond milk, greek yogurt, flax seeds or chia seeds, cinnamon, and apple. Try these Strawberries & Cream Overnight Oats or Blueberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats!
- Chia seed pudding with banana and coconut. Top it with homemade granola.
- Hot oatmeal bowl with protein powder, walnuts, banana and berries. You can use bananas to sweeten oatmeal naturally. Start by cooking your serving of oats in water or milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Then, add ½ a banana, mash it into the oats, and cook for another minute. Add the rest of your toppings once it’s done.
- An egg breakfast sandwich on sourdough bread or whole grain english muffin with avocado and eggs. You could easily use a wheat tortilla and make it a breakfast burrito instead.
- Cottage cheese with fruit and almonds. Blend the cottage cheese a bit to make it more creamy.
- If you have a blender, make a fruit smoothie with greek yogurt or protein powder, your favorite milk, chia seeds, mango, and power greens. This is an easy breakfast on the go.
- Savory breakfast bowl with quinoa, tofu, avocado, and sauteed leafy greens.
- 4 Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies with a hard boiled egg or side of greek yogurt for protein.
- Scrambled eggs with avocado, spinach and sweet potatoes. If you don’t have sweet potatoes made or don’t have time to make some, just do the egg scramble with spinach and add a slice of whole wheat toast or fruit as your source of fiber and complex carbs.
- Copycat Starbucks Egg White Bites that you can meal prep ahead of time for the week. Serve with a bowl of oatmeal or piece of fruit for complex carbohydrates.
- If you don't have time to make a hormone balancing breakfast, a nutrition bar that is balanced in carbs, fats, and protein can be a great option. Grab an RX Bar for those busy mornings!
A Hormone Balance Breakfast: In Conclusion
A hormone balancing breakfast starts your nutrition for the day on the right track and will leave you feeling satisfied and energized. It also helps with mental clarity, balanced blood sugars, and decreased cravings later in the day.
By starting your day with a breakfast loaded with protein, healthy fats, fiber, and micronutrients, you can support your hormones and feel your best!
I hope you enjoyed this article about building a hormone balancing breakfast! I would love to hear from you if so. Please leave me a comment below or find me on Instagram....I LOVE knowing there’s people out there reading my articles. 🙂 IG: @mallorythedietitian
Looking for More Nutrition Education?
Here are some posts you may enjoy:
Looking for Nourishing Breakfast Recipes from a Dietitian?
Give one of these a try!
Comments
No Comments