Are you getting your day started off in the right way?

Or...does your morning look more like; getting up late, rushing to shower, grabbing something fast to eat on the way and picking up a coffee to bring to the office, eating while you are answering emails and checking your voicemail?

hm...

Well, that is not quite what I have in mind for a good start.

I was thinking;
Instead of choosing the morning grind how about making the choice of getting the best possible start on your day by making some time for the morning grain instead. Why? This is why...

Morning Rituals:

Imagine this. You wake in the morning, feeling relaxed and rested. As your mind awakes you start feeling excited and curious for the day to start and what it might bring. But it is not quite starting yet. You still have a little time to simmer and practice some selfcare while getting yourself ready for it.

You might scribble in your journal; dreams or some morning thoughts, meditate, do some morning yoga or stretching exercises. Have a cup of tea with the morning paper (in hardcopy or on-line:) or check your email. And of course...get a good healthy sit-down breakfast. Yes, please be seated. The body is so designed that it needs the angle of the seated position to digest best. Spend a little time to chew and focus on the fact that you are eating. This way you can feel the fullness as it starts happening rather than afterwards, when you ate too much and feel stuffed or as if your breakfast is just a big lump in your stomach. Which it is. Un-chewed food does not get digested very well. Your saliva is needed to help you break-down your food so you can absorb it. It is also important to eat slowly to avoid acid reflux.

Why is breakfast so important?

Breakfast means breaking the fast of 12 hours since the last meal, that means your dinner. By morning, have you given your body the time it needs to detox, regenerate, and rejuvenate overnight? Of course this does not mean for you to skip breakfast, it means to eat dinner earlier. Dinner is not the important meal for your body. Breakfast is.

So yes - It is true what they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It starts you off on the right foot so to speak. It gets your bloodsugar balanced and your energy charged. Depending on what you choose to eat of course. The sugary danish or donut will not help you out. Quite the opposite actually. If you eat something that kicks you into a sugar-high right away in the morning, then that is what your day will look and feel like. Highs and lows. The bagel and creme cheese will probably just get you feeling heavy, tired and bloated and you can spend the rest of your day trying to get yourself moving. (Imagine the bagel and creme cheese in a glass of water and see what happens to it, then compare to how your stomach feels:)

So - a good start to the day means get yourself a good grain.

There are several choices. Muesli, if you like the cereal approach, oatmeal, kasha, or a good mix of chewy grain. Brown rice, barley, groats, or some other grain of your liking can be mixed together or eaten by itself as a grainy chewy morning porridge. I like to mix in the black forbidden rice or the Japonica rice from Lundberg with my brown rice. Another yummy option is millet, it is a nice sweeter lighter morning grain.

This way you have a good start on your day. A meal that gives you stable energy, a balanced bloodsugar and a steady mind.

Apart from the fact that you feel good from the food and that you did not rush out the door half dressed, should help you realize that the 1/2 hour or so of awaking earlier helps you make the difference between the daily grind and the daily flow. That will also help you gain that 1/2 hour back later on in the day because of having more energy, better mood, and higher productivity.

Morning Grain Recipe:

You can cook the grain the evening before - I tend to cook a big pot of grain and keep if in the fridge for a couple of morning breakfast bowls. Up to 3 days is fine.

Wash the grain well.
Use 1 cup grain to 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water.
I like mine a bit softer so I add that extra 1/4-1/2 cup per cup of grain.
Pinch of salt (which is important to make the grain "open up", taste better and sweeter, and make it more digestible)
Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and leave it alone for 45 min.
Check in on the grain but don't stir. When done it should still be a bit wet looking.
Leave it in the pot unstirred and undisturbed. After 15 min the rest of the water is absorbed. The grain is ready- or you can keep it like that for the next morning.

When serving:
Add cinnamon to help balance your bloodsugar - and it tastes good too.
Add nuts and seeds. I like sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds,
maybe some pecans or walnuts or almonds.
If you like it sweeter, use agave.
It is a much lower glycemic index than sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
Brown rice syrup is however also an option.

If you like it more like a cereal as the left picture above, use rice-, almond-, or hempmilk. Soy milk is also an option.

Sit down, enjoy and chew very very well :)

For some more grainy information, see the newsletter achieves below.
The Grain Issue, October 2007