There are a whole heap of options when it comes to the way we start our day and get our bodies and bellies working. Breakfast is the first meal of the day and sets our bodies up for what we're going to crave for lunch, dinner and all our snacks in between. So which one is best?
We checked out ten of the most popular Aussie breakfast choices, how they stack up to fuel our bodies and give us the healthiest and most nutritious start to our day.
So you can get the best picture of what these breakfasts look like in a nutrition sense, these are the recommended intakes for the big ticket nutrition items:
| Calories – women approx 2000 per day/men approx 2500 per day Protein – each person has a specific measure but ball park 56g for a sedentary male/46g sedentary female Sugar – 5% of your daily calorie intake (25g which is about 6 teaspoons) Saturated Fat – 24g Salt (Sodium) – less than 2300mg Fibre – 25-30g |
Top Ten Aussie Brekkies
Weet Bix (2 biscuits)
While these are low in calories, sugar and saturated fat, those sodium levels are really high for two little biscuits so I wouldn’t pop this on the list as a regular breakfast choice.
| Calories – 117 | Protein – 4.1g | Sugar – 1.1g | Saturated Fat – 0.1g | Salt (Sodium) – 960mg | Fibre – 3.6g |
Pancakes (3 medium, homemade)
These stats are without your maple syrup, butter, honey and whatever other goodies you like to pop on them so keep the pancake flipping to a weekend treat.
| Calories – 272 | Protein – 9.6g | Sugar – 4.8g | Saturated Fat – 5.4g | Salt (Sodium) – 96mg | Fibre – 1.8g |
Bircher Muesli (45g)
Bircher always seems like such a healthy choice and overall it doesn't do too badly, but beware of the sugar level, it could switch that sweet tooth on for the rest of the day.
| Calories – 189 | Protein – 5.6g | Sugar – 7.2 | Saturated Fat – 1.2g | Salt (Sodium) – 3mg | Fibre – 3.9g |
Acai Bowl (large bowl or smoothie)
Sugar overload! Lots of fruit makes it seem like a super healthy choice but once they whizz it all up fruit tends to lose the majority of its fibre (that’s the best part!) so you’re probably better off getting your fructose hit with your two pieces of fruit a day.
| Calories – 690 | Protein – 37.2g | Sugar – 85.2g | Saturated Fat – 6.6g | Salt (Sodium) – 306mg | Fibre – 0g |
Avo Smash (medium avocado on 2 medium pieces of sourdough toast)
A great breakfast option although I would swap the sourdough for a grain, wholemeal or rye alternative to increase that fibre and decrease the sugar and salt content. Not all calories are counted the same way and there is good fat that outweighs the bad in an avocado… just don’t eat more than half to one a day.
| Calories – 632g | Protein – 14.2g | Sugar – 1.6g | Saturated Fat – 8.5g | Salt (Sodium) – 620mg | Fibre – 8.6g |
Vegemite on Toast (2 pieces of sourdough toast)
Low calories, low sugar, low fat – looks amazing! But it’s not an overly nutritious breakfast and you’ll probably be hungry within the hour.
| Calories – 319g | Protein – 12.5g | Sugar – 0.7g | Saturated Fat – 10.3g | Salt (Sodium) – 821mg | Fibre – 4.1g |
Bacon and Eggs on Toast (2 eggs, fried, on sourdough)
The salt is out of control in this breakfast! The other numbers don’t even matter, you’ve almost reached your sodium quota for the entire day before you’ve even finished your morning coffee!
| Calories – 869g | Protein – 43.9g | Sugar – 4.9g | Saturated Fat – 31.8g | Salt (Sodium) – 2061mg | Fibre – 0g |
Porridge (3/4 cup cooked in water)
Porridge wins! Great way to start the system of nice and gently. Add some berries to get a little more flavour, sweetness and fibre without overdoing the sugar.
| Calories – 111 | Protein – 3.4g | Sugar – 0g | Saturated Fat – 0.3g | Salt (Sodium) – 51mg | Fibre – 2.9g |
Big Brekkie with Fried Eggs
Can anyone say hypertension? Biggest loser of the day for sure! Considerably higher than your recommended salt intake for the day. I would stay away from this one if you're wanting to keep your body working at its peak throughout the day.
| Calories – 922g | Protein – 59.7g | Sugar – 6.5g | Saturated Fat – 26.2g | Salt (Sodium) – 2761mg | Fibre – 0g |
Fruit Salad
Always delicious and low in calories but watch the sugar. You’re over halfway to your daily intake so be on your best behaviour for the rest of the day.
| Calories – 74 | Protein – 1.4g | Sugar – 15g | Saturated Fat – 0g | Salt (Sodium) – 28mg | Fibre – 2.6g |
It’s worthwhile keeping in mind that changing out the fried eggs for scrambled or poached will make your big brekkie’s healthier, swapping your sourdough for a wholemeal bread or rye will increase your fibre and lower your sugars and fats. And always remember that not all calories are created equal…I would always choose and Avo Smash over Vegemite toast any day!
Kelley x
Kelley Sloan is a qualified nutritionist and Lagree Fitness Instructor at LaFIt Studio. Kelley is also certified in many other forms of fitness, including Pilates, Barre, TRX and other cross training methods.
After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease several years ago, a passion in health, nutrition, and overall wellness was born. In order to improve the state of her own health Kelley undertook training as a Nutritional Counsellor to understand her own body and help others experiencing similar issues through her consulting business One Wellness.
If you have any questions about health and nutrition that you would like Kelley to answer on our blog hit please send us an enquiry!
