TL;DR (watch and listen here): If breakfast is usually whatever you can eat while getting the kids ready, or worse, the crusts they leave behind, it’s time to give yourself a bit more than an afterthought. Toast can absolutely be a nourishing breakfast when you pair it with protein, healthy fats, fibre and colour. Here are 10 easy combinations to help keep you satisfied, nourished and going for longer.
If you haven’t wanted, or needed to think about it up to this point, perimenopause is a pretty good time to start thinking about what you're actually getting from your meals, rather than whether you've managed to eat something.
As hormones shift, paying attention to things like protein intake, muscle maintenance, steady energy, appetite and nutrient intake becomes more and more important.
We’re not talking green smoothies, a complicated breakfast bowl or another 20 step morning routine to add to the list.
Toast can absolutely be breakfast. The trick is what you put on it.
Think beyond the toast
A slice of sourdough, wholegrain or your favourite bread is a perfectly good starting point. But bread on its own isn't likely to keep you going for very long. (We're going to have another chat about bread and bread alternatives another day. You're busy.)
Instead, think about building your toast around four simple things:
1. Protein
Protein is particularly worth paying attention to during midlife and perimenopause. It's important for maintaining muscle as we age and helps make a meal more satisfying.
Some easy toast-friendly options:
Eggs
Ricotta, cottage cheese or Greek yoghurt
Feta
Tuna or salmon
Hummus
Beans and lentils
Nut and seed butters
Hemp seeds
Hot Tip: A little schmear of nut butter is delicious, but if it's your only protein source, think about adding something else alongside it.
2. Healthy fats
Fat helps make meals satisfying and provides essential fatty acids.
Think:
Avocado
Extra virgin olive oil
Nut butters
Tahini
Nuts and seeds
Oily fish
3. Fibre
Fibre is important for digestive health, helps keep meals satisfying and is an easy way to add more plants to your day.
And don't forget, the toast itself can contribute. Wholegrain or seeded bread is an easy place to start.
Other options include:
Chia, hemp, pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Beans and peas
Fruit
Vegetables
Hummus
4. Colour
This is the bit that can easily disappear from breakfast when you have a solid repertoire of butter and whatever is in the closest jar.
Adding fruit or vegetables is an easy way to increase the variety of plants you're eating, and breakfast is another opportunity to work towards overall plant diversity.
Think:
Tomato
Cucumber
Rocket and other greens
Peas
Roasted capsicum
Berries
Pear
Nectarine
Figs
Banana
You don't need all four components to be perfectly represented on every piece of toast. They’re your building blocks, not rules.
So what does that actually look like?
We've put together 10 combinations that bring together different combinations of protein, healthy fats, fibre and colour, using ingredients that are easy to find and actually realistic for busy mornings.
Feed yourself something decent before school drop-off.
Ricotta | Fig | Honey | Seeds
Feta | Tomato | Basil | Avocado | Everything Bagel
Ricotta | Leafy Greens | Pear | Parmesan | Walnuts
Tuna Salad | Gouda (toastie, or not)
Ricotta | Pea | Mint | Parmesan
Hummus | Egg | Dukkah | Cucumber … Chilli Crunch?
Avocado | Smoked Salmon | Cottage Cheese | Lemon
Peanut Butter | Banana | Chia | Cinnamon
White Bean | Feta | Roasted Capsicum | Rocket
Almond Butter | Nectarine | Greek Yoghurt | Cinnamon
Your breakfast doesn't need to be another job
There's a tendency to make nutrition during perimenopause sound like a full-time project.
Eat this. Don't eat that. Track this. Supplement that. Optimise your hormones. Hit your protein target. Get 30 plants. And somehow do it all before 8.30am while locating someone's school hat.
And whilst it's all important, we're not interested in adding another thing to your mental load.
Instead, we want to help you make the meals you're already eating work a little harder for you.
We want to build the science into the inspiration, so you don't have to.
If toast is what you can manage in the morning, make it a bloody good piece of toast.
Add some protein. Add some healthy fat. Add some fibre. Throw some colour on there.
Then eat it.