“Breakfast? Who’s got time for that?” - I hear you say. I get it. I’ve been there. Getting up before the sun is up, driving to work and it’s still dark, worrying about what crazy case load you’re going to have today - who’s thinking about breakfast?

Breakfast is important for every person, but especially important for us vet nurses. We have an extremely physically and mentally demanding job that is unlike any other profession. We are receptionists, ward nurses, surgery nurses, pathologists, cleaners, admin assistants, counsellors - just to name a few (and we’re usually doing more than one of these at the same time!). This can take a toll on our bodies. High levels of stress and going long periods without food can deplete us of certain nutrients.

So where does breakfast come in? Well, it needs to come at the start of your day. Fuelling your body with a decent breakfast can actually make you more efficient at your job, and help you recover better after work. It’s important to include a source of carbohydrates for not only energy throughout the morning rush, but also to maintain glucose flow to the brain. Glucose is our brain’s only source of energy - it cannot metabolise protein or fat. If you deprive yourself of carbohydrates, it can make processing information harder and tasks will take longer, or even worse - mistakes might happen. This is why people who go on restrictive ketogenic diets tend to suffer from “brain fog”. The way we react in difficult situation scan become more difficult when not fuelled properly in the morning - eg. the rude client who drops their pet off at 9:30am for surgery and cannot for the life of them understand why they can’t come back in an hour to pick them up. When you’ve had a good breakfast, it is so much easier to explain to that client the details of the day without getting flustered.

So what would be a good breakfast as a vet nurse? It should really tick 3 boxes -

• quick prep.

• budget friendly.

• contain carbs, protein & healthy fats.

A few of my favourite vet nurse breakfast ideas are -

• smoothies (drink in the car on the way to work).

• quick egg and salad wrap.

• microwave oats.

A quick breakfast on regular rotation in my house is my Microwave Choc Berry Oats - click HERE for the recipe. A great source of carbs, fibre, plant protein and healthy fats, you’ll smash the morning ahead, get prep sorted and take on those annoying client phone calls with ease (a pug nail trim is in the bag too).

For those that tend to skip breakfast, I hope that I’ve convinced you to at least give it a try. If you need any further nutrition advice, please feel free to email me at hello@vetnursehealthhub.com.au.