Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day for, as its name suggests, it breaks your overnight fast and fuels your metabolism to get you going. Eating the wrong types of food at breakfast can soon leave you feeling lethargic and hungry within a couple of hours, while eating the right types of food, can keep you alert and satiated until lunchtime.

Our ancestors ate a natural breakfast that they foraged and hunted themselves. It was high in protein, fibre and healthy fats while relatively low in sugars and starchy carbohydrates. This helped to ensure stable blood glucose levels, unlike some modern breakfast choices that are highly processed such as sweetened cereals, baked pastries, concentrated juices and other processed and refined sources of carbohydrate that trigger a roller-coaster of blood sugar highs and lows. By selecting the most natural breakfast foods you can prepare your mind and body for a productive morning without compromising on taste.

I am a great fan of coconut water and coconut milks which have a deliciously unique and natural taste that doesn’t have to be overly coconutty. In fact, when coconut milk is diluted with water it can taste remarkably similar to dairy milk and can be used in teas and coffees, making it a great natural alternative for those who are lactose intolerant, have a cows’ milk protein allergy, are following a plant-based diet or choose to avoid dairy for other reasons.

For example, increasing numbers of people are adopting initiatives such as Meatless Mondays and Veganuary as a way of supporting their health as well as the environment.

Did you know? Koko’s coconut milk, yogurt and cheese alternatives are fortified with added calcium, vitamin D2 and B12 to match the nutritional content of dairy products. Koko Super Milk is also a source of iodine.

My ideal, natural breakfast is therefore one that features coconut and which is a good source of protein, fibre and healthy fats and relatively low in sugar while still providing some ‘slow’ carbohydrates as a steady source of energy during the morning.

While most of us seek variety in most things in life, we tend to be creatures of habit when it comes to breakfast. Many people eat the same thing every single day to break their fast – sound familiar? That’s why my ideal natural breakfast would also allow variety so you could make a different version every day of the week to delight your taste buds. That’s where my Blissful Breakfast Bowl comes in. Based on thick, creamy, Greek-style coconut yogurt, it also provides protein, fibre and healthy oils from nuts; vitamins, antioxidants and fibre from fruits; and healthy carbs from natural grains.

About Dr Sarah Brewer

Dr Sarah Brewer qualified from Cambridge University with degrees in Natural Sciences, Medicine and Surgery. While working as a hospital doctor and GP, she recognised that many illnesses have a dietary basis and studied for a Master’s degree in Nutritional Medicine from the University of Surrey. As well as being a registered Medical Doctor, Sarah is also a Registered Nutritionist, a Registered Nutritional Therapist and an award-winning health writer. Sarah writes widely on all aspects of health and nutrition and is the author of over 60 popular self-help books. drsarahbrewer.com

I have been working for Koko for five fantastic years, and I am nuts about coconuts! Koko started in 2010, we were the first UK company to make a coconut-based milk alternative.

We love the milk inside coconuts, it seemed natural to turn it into another kind of milk that more people could enjoy. Using our exclusive Koko-know-how we created a milk that tastes remarkably close to dairy milk: Koko Original. It was so successful we expanded our range and introduced more milks, yogurt, cheese and spread.

I have been Vegan for just over six years; I love trying new wonderful vegan food and my job with Koko lets me do just that! My favourite meal of the day is breakfast, everything from scrambled tofu on toast to waffles, it’s the yummy meal that starts the day!

Breakfast should be a meal providing you with nutrients, minerals and enough energy to start the day with a good, healthy kick and make you feel great for the rest of the day! If you skip breakfast, you are likely to feel sluggish and tired throughout the whole day simply because you didn’t fuel your body in the morning… it’s like with a car: you can’t drive on an empty tank. Feeling sluggish and tired is also likely to make you reach for sugary snacks and caffeinated drinks, which will make you feel energised but only for a short period of time and cause imbalance in your blood sugar levels.

Now, you know why breakfast is important and what are the consequences of skipping it, let’s establish what a healthy and natural breakfast should consist of…;

The perfect breakfast meal should provide most, if not all macronutrients, which are protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Protein will keep you full and fuel your muscles, good quality, healthy fat will slow down the absorption of glucose and help with absorption of certain vitamins and nutrients, and carbohydrates will give you energy and fuel your body. Apart from these three macronutrients, you also need micronutrients and vitamins, which you can find in fruits, vegetables, nuts and fortified dairy alternatives such as Koko range.

To help you create a healthy and natural breakfast, I will give you some examples of my favourite sources of all the components of the perfect breakfast meal.

• Protein: tofu, hummus, legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils), chickpea flour (great for omelettes), nuts and nut butters…
• Fat: seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, pumpkin), coconut yogurt (e.g., Koko Dairy free plain), nuts and nut butters, avocado.
• Carbohydrates: oats, buckwheat, wholewheat bread, low-sugar granola, quinoa, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
• Fruit and vegetables (any kind you like! I usually use berries, bananas, apples, oranges, dates, goiji berries or raisins for my fruit, and kale, tomatoes, onion, courgette, mushrooms or spinach for my veggies).
• Koko plain yogurt and Koko unsweetened or original milk – enrich your breakfast in calcium, vitamin D & vitamin B12. They are also completely vegan and dairy free, and free from soya, gluten, nuts, GMOs, and anything artificial, therefore they fit perfectly into a healthy and natural breakfast!

About Martyna

Martyna has been vegan for 5 years and loves this lifestyle! She says knowing that her choices are good for the animals, environment and her health makes her feel fantastic! She is also passionate about cooking, baking and nutrition. When she’s not baking, she says “I’m probably running…making room for more yummy vegan food in my stomach ;)”