Please ensure that you have read the Important Notice in the Introduction and the guidelines for a balanced diet, fat, sugar, and salt   - the full contents of this website are listed at the end of this section. The products referred to below may be available from retailers other than those mentioned.

Coffee will certainly give you a ‘boost’ first thing in the morning, but later it may cause a significant fall in blood sugar, which can result in cravings for a high-sugar snack, and it may also make you feel irritable. Any ‘soft’ drinks which contain ‘added’ sugar may also have the same effects. If you like coffee, then it’s best to have a cup, or small mug, after you’ve had something to eat. The following drinks are suggested for first thing in the morning:

·       A 'green' or 'white' tea. Both types of tea are available with refreshing lemon or other natural fruit flavours - and in fact there are so many flavours available that you could never get bored.

·       For women who are feeling ‘hormonal’, Pukka organic ‘harmonise’ herb tea  is recommended – its ingredients include chamomile, Indian asparagus, rose and vanilla. It's available on-line at Tea World.

·        If you normally drink ‘ordinary’, or black, tea with milk, then whether you should add whole-milk, semi-skimmed, or skimmed, really depends on how many cups you drink per day, and whether you also have milk with cereal. Try to note how much milk you consume each day, and consider whether it’s worth using skimmed milk. If you’re used to having sugar in your tea, then perhaps it’s worth trying a ‘green’ 'white', or herb tea, as they don’t need sugar  or milk.

·       If you usually have fruit juice, try drinking vegetable juice instead, as it may prevent you from craving for sweet snacks later. You could try Grove Fresh organic vegetable juice (chilled cabinets in some supermarkets), V8 (non-chilled shelves), or tomato juice. Most vegetable and tomato juices contain added salt – e.g. Tesco pressed tomato juice contains just under 2 grams of salt per 250 ml - although Sunraysia Tomato juiceis salt-free, but it's a lot more expensive than other tomato juices, and it's also in a glass bottle, which some people may find less convenient than cartons. It is unfortunate that most manufacturers find it necessary to put so much salt in tomato and vegetable juices, but it’s worth considering that tomato and vegetable juices do have good general health benefits, and are reported to be very beneficial for the skin – but don’t consume more than 250-300 ml per day, because of the salt content, and also because you shouldn’t drink an excess of any kind of juice. Carrot juice is also available in health shops and some supermarkets (non-chilled, or ‘health’ sections), and it usually has the advantage of not containing any salt – however, don’t drink more than 250-300 ml per day, as drinking large amounts could make you look a bit orange!

If you normally have toast for breakfast, it’s recommended that you use wholemeal or a seeded bread, such as Vogel or Burgen, which provides important nutrients – if you notice that seed bread contains more fat than your usual bread, don’t worry, the seeds contain fats which are good for your skin and general health. If you usually have jam or marmalade on your toast, try potted beef or potted salmon instead – as you may find that it takes longer for you to feel hungry again. A 35 gram jar of Marks & Spencer Potted Beef contains about 4 grams of fat (1¾ grams saturates), and slightly over ½ gram salt. Two slices of Vogel Sunflower & Barley Seed Bread contains about 5½ grams of fat (negligible saturates), and about ½ gram of salt. So potted beef on toast amounts to 9½ grams of fat, of which 1¾ grams are saturates, and 1 gram of salt. If you prefer to have wholemeal bread, that will contain less fat, but remember, seeds are good for you.

If you’ve got the time, and the appetite, the following suggestions contain more fat, but they’re nutritious options for people who need a more substantial breakfast to start the day:

·       A boiled egg on lightly toasted wholemeal or seed bread, with cress. A medium boiled egg contains about 6 grams of fat (1 gram of saturates). If you use about 10 grams of margarine, then that’s about 6 grams of fat   (1½ grams of saturates), and only a negligible amount of salt. Using Vogel bread, the total amount of fat for this breakfast would be 17½ grams of fat, of which 2½ would be saturates, and ½ gram of salt. To avoid ‘spending’ some of your fat allowance on margarine, you could try spreading some tomato puree on the toast instead – Sainsbury’s sell jars of organic tomato puree, which doesn’t contain any added salt or sugar.

·        Scrambled eggs with grilled or baked tomatoes and mushrooms (you may need to brush the mushrooms with a little oil before grilling or baking, to make them appetising). The values for eggs and margarine (if you use that for cooking the eggs) are given above, and the amount of oil used for brushing the mushrooms should be negligible.

·       If you like a fried egg, remember to use as little fat as possible to cook it in, and you could eat it with canned tomatoes, which don’t usually contain any added salt.

·       Cheese on toast (wholemeal or seed bread) with grilled or baked tomatoes. If you use 30 grams, just over an ounce, of cheddar cheese, then that will contain about 10 grams of fat (about 6 ½ grams of saturates), and about ½ gram of salt. The values for Vogel bread are given above, if you want to use that bread. Instead of whole tomatoes, you could try spreading some tomato puree on the grilled cheese, and sprinkle on some cress, if you have some.