NicoleEndurance athletes often reach for oatmeal or pancakes for breakfast. But if you don’t have a big training day planned, you might want to change things up a bit by fixing a meal that is more carb-protein-fat balanced. The idea being that eating carbs with a higher amount of protein and fat helps keep the blood sugar more stable, preventing a large “insulin spike,” allowing your body to be more efficient burning fat.
My workouts today are an easy 45 minute run over lunch and a fun evening swim. I’m swimming for recovery and general fitness, so I am not going to make it a killer workout. Hence my carbohydrate needs for today are pretty average, probably around 50% of my daily caloric intake. Since my workouts are later in the day, I will eat slightly more carbohydrates at lunch and before my swim to keep me fueled.
My meal for this morning was scrambled eggs (organic omega-3 enriched) with green pepper, mushrooms and spinach served on a whole wheat tortilla. From start to finish (cleaned plate) it took me 20 minutes. If I had a stash of pre-cut veggies, which I often do but not today, it would be even quicker!
I heated the veggies up in coconut oil in my pan, then added the eggs. Once scrambled I placed it on a whole wheat tortilla and shredded a little bit of gouda cheese for flavor. It ended up looking like this:
Not only did I get a balanced breakfast, I also got at least 2 servings of vegetables from the get-go!
I entered the meal data into TrainingPeaks and the result is a pretty even split of macronutrients:
It was definitely satisfying and I was hungry for my snack (a banana and peanut butter) three hours later, so the portion was just right.
Scrambled eggs and veggies is actually my “go to” meal. There are many variations you can do, including using egg whites instead of full eggs, adding beans (like black beans or kidney beans) for more carbohydrates and fiber. I will also add in sweet potato as a carbohydrate source.
What’s your favorite quick breakfast outside of cereal or oatmeal?
Nicole
