Croissant, cereal: what to replace it with for a slimming breakfast?
To balance out that first meal of the day, simply substitute your favorite foods for healthier options. Advice from Natalie Negro, Dietitian.
For breakfast, everyone has their own preferences and rituals to start the day right. It's hard to break because morning eating habits are often well established. There's no doubt about revolutionizing this first meal after the nightly fast, or else you won't stick to it. On the other hand, you can easily modify certain ingredients to make them healthier. The goal: to swing until lunch while satisfying a binge. Nutritionist Natalie Negro, head of the Nutrition Center at Brides-les-Bains offers you a good trade off.
Pills: a good weight loss alternative
Typical breakfast: 45 grams of honey or chocolate cereal = 171 calories. + 20 cl of semi-skimmed milk = 40 calories. In terms of calories, it's not too high, just a little low to keep you going in the morning. The problem is that 45 grams of cereal provides the equivalent of 2.5 sugar cubes. It's a lot!
Healthy option: 45 grams of muesli without added sugar, chocolate or fruit = 153 calories. + 20 cl of semi-skimmed milk = 40 calories. That's 1.5 sugar. The trick: make your own "personalized" mix based on oat flakes or cereals (cornflakes, wheatgrass, millet, barley, etc.) to buy in bulk. Add a tablespoon of chocolate chips and a teaspoon of honey. The result: the same amount of calories, but the mixture provides more fiber and long-term satiety.
Baguette and butter: How to lighten sandwiches
Your usual breakfast: half a baguette + 10 grams of butter + 2 tbsp. Coffee jam = 436 calories. 100 to 120 grams of bread is like consuming 300 grams of pasta (cooked)! And to accompany such an amount, you necessarily need a dose of butter and jam that exceeds our real needs.
Healthy option: 1/4 of traditional baguette, sourdough, or rye bread + 10g of butter or 2 tbsp. Coffee jam (30 g) = 431 calories. This type of bread holds a lot. And in the morning we choose: butter or jam! Not both... The trick to limiting bread: Start eating fruit or a dairy product. Everything provides the same amount of energy but in a more balanced way (more fiber and protein in particular), thus more satiety and better regulation of the day's other meals.
Breakfast biscuits: lighter alternatives
Your usual breakfast: 1 bag of 4 specialty breakfast biscuits = 244 calories. It's a snack that's neither fattier nor more energy than bread, but it's much sweeter: ten times more than 50 grams of bread! As a result, this type of biscuit does not satisfy you and you want to eat again very quickly afterwards.
Healthy option: 50 grams of bread with dried fruits = 219 calories. + 1 yogurt + 1 fruit = 110 calories. Thus, we maintain the sweet tone. The trick: These crackers can help but should be combined with fruit and natural yogurt or cottage cheese. Everything stays more caloric (354 calories) but is better satisfactory and reduces the effect on glycemia (blood sugar level), which results in you feeling better full.
Croissant: other pastries that can replace it
Your usual breakfast: 1 croissant (45 g) = 188 calories + 1 orange juice briquette = 100 calories. Croissants are very fat. It contains about 10 grams of fat which is equivalent to 15 grams of butter, and the way it is made makes it very unsaturated and a low satiating powerhouse.
Healthy option: 1 brioche (45 g) = 160 calories + 1 orange = 80 calories. For the same weight and similar amount of energy, brioche provides half the amount of fat and the same amount of sugar as a croissant. The trick: Instead, enjoy an orange that provides fiber to cross. And know that regardless of the type of juice, whether it is concentrated or juiced at home, the intake of calories, vitamins and minerals is the same.
Rusks for breakfast: the healthiest and most filling alternative
The usual breakfast: 4 rusk 164 calories. + 1 compote 102 kcal. Rusks seem light but addictive and not at all satisfying. On the compote side, the carbohydrate content varies from simple to double: an average of 24 grams for the basics, and half the amount for the "non-added sugars".
Healthy option: 60 grams of whole grain bread = 170 kcal. + 1 compote without added sugar = 56 calories. Bread is always more satisfying, and for the crunchy side, toast it. The trick: If you stick with rusk, take it whole or a breakfast cereal for a fiber boost (2.8 to 3.5 grams/100 grams versus 1.2 grams for the classics). Preferably compote without added sugar or with little sugar or "homemade"...without adding sugar, of course!