Can you imagine taking a car out on a long drive without fuel? The same goes for starting a busy day without a nutritious breakfast.
Eating breakfast not only ensures you have enough energy to get you through the morning, but throughout the entire day, no matter how much you’ve got lined up.
That’s because a good breakfast keeps your blood glucose levels balanced all day, instead of becoming unbalanced due to bad snacking habits or overly large meals to compensate for a poor or missed breakfast.
Try starting your day with a treat that you’ll love to wake up to: our Apple Cinna Bliss Baked Oats with a Dino Twist. Every ingredient in the recipe you’ll find later in this article helps keep you on your toes with the kind of energy and nutrients you can only find in real food.
The Power of Breakfast
The NSW Institute of Sport describes the body as a sponge, just waiting to absorb energy from food within just half an hour of waking up. Missing breakfast sends a cue to the body to slow metabolism down and find energy elsewhere such as in the muscles’ stores. This is an inefficient and sluggish way of getting the energy you need for working out.
Breakfast can kickstart your metabolism for the day by letting the body know that there are calories available to fuel the day’s activities, so it doesn’t have to conserve calories with a slower metabolism. A study published by BMC also shows abnormal metabolic outcomes as a result of eating breakfast irregularly.
The US National Library of Medicine also cites studies that show how skipping breakfast reduces cognitive function and work efficiency, which means you wouldn’t be able to focus even during physical activities. The University of Colorado likewise says breakfast makes you more alert, as well as boosts concentration and memory.
The Importance of a Balanced Diet in Sports Nutrition
Proteins, carbohydrates and fats are essential macronutrients, or nutrients which the body can’t produce in sufficient amounts, but which the body needs in large amounts for optimal performance. Proteins help to repair and build muscle, carbohydrates serve as the body’s main energy source, and fats act as an energy reserve for when fewer calories are available.
Vitamins and minerals are essential micronutrients which perform many different functions such as supporting growth, the immune system, brain development and energy metabolism.
The US National Library of Medicine says that it’s important for athletes to get the micronutrients they need from their diet rather than from supplements, which are only recommended for deficiencies.
Water and electrolytes are also essential in maintaining stamina and preventing fatigue, particularly among athletes engaged in aerobic endurance exercise. The National Strength and Conditioning Association in the US says that athletes must monitor their balance of fluids and electrolytes when performing these exercises to prevent dehydration, overheating and low blood sodium.
Plant-Based and Grain-Free: The New Age Nutrition
Enhanced energy, better gut health and digestion, and reduced inflammation are just some of the benefits of plant-based diets. Because the structure of unprocessed plant food is composed of fibre, eating plant-based food provides all the benefits of fibre including more stable blood sugar, better bowel management, and lower cholesterol.
Grain-free diets, which exclude grain and grain-based food such as bread and pasta, also have several benefits such as better digestion and blood sugar levels. Going grain-free may likewise reduce inflammation, ease pain caused by endometriosis or fibromyalgia, as well as support weight loss and mental health.
As more people come to follow these diets, plant-based and grain-free bars have also come to grow in popularity as a convenient and nutritious snack option for athletes and everyone with an on-the-go lifestyle. Knowing how to choose the right bar for your workout with an optimal combination of real ingredients has also become a priority for fitness enthusiasts.
Spotlight: Blue Dinosaur Cinnamon Scroll Bar
The secret behind the Blue Dinosaur Cinnamon Scroll Bar’s perfect fit into a healthy, active lifestyle can be found in just five ingredients:
- Dates are rich in antioxidants and fibre, and the nutrients they contain may help prevent disease and promote brain health.
- Cashews used in our bars’ cashew butter are also rich in fibre as well as healthy fats and protein, and their nutritional content includes vitamins and minerals.
- Organic coconuts are not only rich in fibre and fat but also low in carbs and have potent antioxidants. Unlike regular table sugar, coconut sugar retains many coconut palm nutrients.
- Organic raisins are vitamin-rich and are also high-fibre which helps promote a healthy digestive system. Moderate consumption may have potential health benefits.
- Cinnamon has a high antioxidant content along with other healthy compounds, and studies suggest that it may help prevent heart disease and control blood sugar levels.
The all-natural, preservative-free ingredients in the Cinnamon Scroll Bar make it easy to incorporate into various recipes, including our Apple-Cinna Bliss Baked Oats with a Dino Twist.
Recipe: Apple-Cinna Bliss Baked Oats with a Dino Twist
PREP TIME: 10 minutes or less!
BAKING TIME: 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 1
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup oats
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 red apple (peeled and diced)
- 1/2 small banana (mashed)
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp melted coconut oil
- 2 tbs coconut yoghurt
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 tsp coconut sugar
- 1 Blue Dinosaur Cinnamon Scroll Bar (1/2 in chunk + 1/2 crumbled)
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180℃.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together oats, cinnamon and baking powder.
3. In the middle of the bowl, add banana, honey, coconut oil, almond milk, coconut yoghurt and 3/4 of the apple mix, and mix well.
4. Add in the chunks of bar.
5. Lightly grease a smallish oven dish and scrape the mix in.
6. Top with leftover apple, a sprinkle of cinnamon and coconut sugar.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
8. Serve with coconut yoghurt, fresh raspberries, and crumbled bar.
9. Enjoy!
Now Give it Your Own Twist!
An active lifestyle is indispensable to staying healthy, and a balanced diet is indispensable to providing the energy needed for physical activity. As part of a balanced diet, a good and substantial breakfast goes a long way toward making sure you have energy and to spare for the entire day.
Preparing and eating a good breakfast can be fun and tasty, which can motivate you to form and stick to healthy eating habits. You might just feel like exploring other yummy plant-based and grain-free options for your diet.
Try our Apple-Cinna Bliss Baked Oats with a Dino Twist today. Think you can do better? Share your own Apple-Cinna Bliss Baked Oats with a [Your Name Here] Twist on social media and tag us @bluedinosaurbars
Blue Dinosaur creates what we feel to be the best, healthiest, purest and most honest snack food bars in the world. Our plan: Take the best ingredients we can get our hands on, smash them all together and convince the world that it is no longer acceptable to consume rubbish snack food bars. We will never use chemicals, binders, flavours, preservatives, or anything artificial, and we only ever want to make amazing food.