January’s recipe is something I thought everyone could use not only to start out the day strong, but also to start the year out strong. You’ve all heard the saying, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. Well, there are several reasons people say this.

For one thing, a healthy breakfast will give you the energy to perform at your best. Healthy protein, fat and carbs in the morning will give you what you need to build muscle, think hard and fell sustained so that you don’t make bad food decisions later in the day. Protein gives energy and builds muscle, carbs give faster (shorter lasting) energy and fat gives slower acting (but longer lasting) energy and helps you feel sustained.

For another thing, if you have some of those nutrients in the morning (especially the carbs) then you can burn them off in your workout – especially if you workout in the morning. So here’s the deal with that… We want to eat a majority of our carbs around our training times so that our bodies will burn those carbs and put them toward good use (building strength, repairing muscles, etc). Most nutritionist I have worked with suggest protein and slow digesting carbs about 1 1/2 – 2 hours before training and protein and fast digesting carbs (high in sugar) right after training. Now if you train at 5am eating 2 hours before a workout might be impossible. Figure out what works best for you.

I like this recipe because it only takes me a few minutes and it’s delicious. It’s very simple:

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1.5oz turkey/beef mix (see note below)
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Riced Cauliflower
• 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Riced Broccoli
• 3/4 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 jalapeno, sliced
• 1/2 chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)

*Turkey/Beef mix is made on Sunday evenings. I use 1lb Extra Lean Ground Turkey + 1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef. I also add any spices I enjoy (onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, oregano and cumin are my faves). I put the mix in the fridge and take what I need in the mornings

To cook – I seriously just throw all of this into a pan (veggies first) and cook it until the eggs are done. Takes me about 7 minutes. Seriously, it’s that easy.

8g carbs / 6g fat / 26g protein

I also add 1/4 cup Trader Joe’s Frozen quinoa on days when I need more carbs. You could change this up as much as you want and add bacon or any other veggies you enjoy. The point is, make something awesome and healthy and feel great all day!