This week we are featuring items for the most important meal of the day “Breakfast”. Many people find it difficult to have breakfast in the morning as they are busy with getting kids off to school, squeezing in a workout and getting to work.

By consuming lentils in a breakfast item first thing in the morning this will help to meet some important nutritional and daily recommended levels of iron, folate, fiber, and protein. They also heath with satiety “keeps you feeling full”

• Eating breakfast helps you lose weight
  “There’s well-documented evidence showing that eating breakfast correlates with long-term weight loss and weight maintenance,” says Charlene Chen, a clinical dietitian with the Vancouver General Hospital. Eating regular meals, says Chen, “stimulates metabolism and signals the body to start using fuel, instead of hoarding fuel.” When you skip meals, however, the body goes into lockdown mode, burning far fewer calories.
• Skipping breakfast is tied to being overweight
  Studies have shown that breakfast-skippers – of all ages – are more likely to be overweight than regular breakfast eaters.
• Skipping it makes it harder to meet your nutritional needs
  According to Canada’s Food Guide, adult women need at least seven servings of fruit and veggies per day, six of breads and cereals, two of dairy, and two of meat and alternatives.
• It’s easy, even if you’re not hungry
  Okay, we’ll admit that some mornings the idea of a meal is just unappealing. If you feel queasy at the idea of choking down toast, try a liquid breakkie instead. Concoct a simple DIY smoothie with a banana, lentil puree, handful of berries (frozen fruit makes it a snap), low-fat milk and orange juice.
• You’ll have more energy
  Food literally provides you with energy. When you start your day on nothing, you’re running on empty. But if you eat up, you’ve got what you need to make it through your workday, and, hopefully, a lunchtime gym session, too!
• You’re less likely to cheat on your diet
  Spacing your calories throughout the day at regular intervals is better than going through a starve-binge routine each day. Don’t deprive yourself of breakfast – or other meals for that matter – or you may just find yourself losing control later in the day.
• You’ll feel smarter
  “Eating breakfast provides an energy boost to the brain for mid-morning alertness and performance,” says clinical dietitian Chen.
• You’re setting a good example for your kids
  A University of Minnesota study published last year in Pediatrics found that 25 per cent of teens regularly miss breakfast. Some do so to save time in the morning, but a sizable portion does it in a misguided attempt to lose weight. An earlier Finnish study found that children who skip breakfast are more likely to have parents who also skip breakfast. Unfortunately the results of skipping breakfast are the same for youths as adults: less energy and concentration, a higher likelihood of obesity and nutritional deficit.