Muscle building breakfast – Delicious recipes for you

Breakfast, the first meal at the beginning of a new day, provides us with essential nutrients, and is the most important meal.

For active people who want to gain muscle mass, this meal is even more important, because it prevents breakdown of the protein present in muscle mass, one of the most important macronutrients to build muscle mass.

That’s why I’ll give you some delicious recipes here, that you can put into practice in your daily food routine.

The importance of breakfast

According to the Portuguese Cardiology Foundation, breakfast plays a fundamental role for everybody, and especially for those whose goal is to increase muscle mass.

Why?

Because we go through a long period of fasting overnight while we’re sleeping and during this period, although at rest, the body doesn’t stop working.

This will result in the body using the reserves of nutrients and energy to keep functioning, for example to build muscle mass, which is something that happens while we’re at rest.

This situation (the long period of fasting) can lead to protein breakdown (continuous breakdown of protein), something that will eventually affect your muscle mass, if it continues for several hours.

Therefore, the replenishment of these reserves is fundamental, so that the body has the necessary energy to face the challenges of another day.

Find out more about the importance of breakfast in this article.

What defines a balanced breakfast?

An adequate breakfast should be balanced in terms of nutrients, and the following should be present:

• Protein

• Carbohydrates

• Fiber

• Vitamins and minerals

• Fat

Natural foods and foods low in simple sugars are preferred, mainly avoid processed foods, such as breakfast cereals, wafers and pastries.

What are the most important nutrients?

Protein is perhaps the most talked about ingredient when it comes to building muscle, because it’s the nutrient responsible for muscle building and repair, helping to avoid a constant state of muscle breakdown. Plus, it helps to satiate!

All you need to know about protein.

At the same time, fats and carbohydrates are also essential, as they are principally responsible for giving you energy and for facilitating the absorption of nutrients. This is especially important if you workout in the morning!

Examples of foods that should be present in a balanced breakfast

Examples of foods that, due to their properties, should be part of your breakfast if you’re looking to gain muscle mass, are:

• Eggs: one of the richest sources of protein

• Yogurt: source of protein, vitamins and minerals

• Fruits (like red fruits or banana, for example): they are good sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber

• Oats: a complex carbohydrate, with a good percentage of protein and fiber, important to keep you satiated for longer and to release energy gradually

• Nuts (for example nut butters): they’re sources of healthy fats, and have a good percentage of protein

Here are some suggestions, to apply in your daily routine, to prepare balanced and delicious breakfasts!

Breakfast recipes

Oatmeal pancakes with banana and yogurt topping

Ingredients

1 egg

3 tablespoons of oatmeal

50 ml of milk or vegetable drink

1 small banana or ½ large banana

Natural yogurt

How to prepare:

Beat the egg with a fork and then slowly add the oatmeal. Mix the ingredients well and add the milk (or the vegetable drink) until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Heat the non-stick skillet, add a little coconut oil so it doesn’t stick, and add spoonfuls of dough. Fry the pancake on both sides until it’s golden-brown, and repeat the process until finishing the dough.

Serve with yogurt and banana on top.

Oatmeal protein porridge

Ingredients

30g of oat flakes

1 tablespoon of protein (flavor of choice)

200 ml of almond or coconut drink

Cinnamon (optional)

1 tablespoon of almonds or walnuts or hazelnuts (15g)

How to prepare:

Mix the oat flakes with the vegetable drink and cook for 5 minutes in the microwave (or 10 minutes on the stove). When the oats have doubled in size, remove the container and add the protein. Stir very well and sprinkle cinnamon, almonds/walnuts or hazelnuts or put fruit on top.

Overnight oats with mango and coconut

Ingredients

1 Yogurt or vegetable alternative to yogurt

3 tablespoons of oat flakes

Coconut drink

Grated coconut

½ small mango

1 teaspoon of almond butter (10g)

How to prepare:

Mix the oat flakes with the coconut drink and let stand for 10 minutes. Cut the mango into small pieces and set aside. In a jar, make alternate layers of oat flakes, yogurt and fruit and add almond butter. The last layer should be of mango. In the end, sprinkle grated coconut on top and leave the bottle in the refrigerator until the next day. This meal should be prepared in the evening to be served in the morning or the afternoon of the following day.

Cheese and spinach omelet with fruit

Ingredients

2 medium-sized eggs

½ serving of fresh mozzarella cheese

1 handful of raw spinach

1 fruit of the season

How to prepare:

Beat the two eggs and put them in a non-stick frying pan. Fry them for 2 minutes and place the cheese and the spinach in the middle. Carefully try to loosen the sides of the omelet and begin to roll it. Serve with fruit of the season.

Multifunctional shake

Ingredients

1 handful of strawberries or other red fruits

1 natural yogurt or quark

1 small piece of red cabbage (30g)

Chia seeds

How to prepare:

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until obtaining a homogeneous and creamy consistency. If you wish, you can add water and, for sweetening, a little bit of stevia.

In conclusion

Regular physical exercise is fundamental to gain muscle mass, but nutrition is equally fundamental.

If you want to increase your muscle mass, you shouldn’t only worry about your protein consumption, but also about carbohydrates, because an adequate consumption of carbohydrates, in addition to facilitating the absorption of nutrients such as protein, will prevent your body from using protein as its primary energy source.

You should give preference to carbohydrates that are as natural as possible, such as fruits and unprocessed, fiber rich, whole grains.

Try some of these recipes and tell us what you think in the comments!

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