There is a breakfast that looks fantastic in a photograph and completely fails us by eleven. A little granola, a banana, some juice, maybe a coffee with milk. Two hours later we are opening a drawer looking for something we hadn't planned to eat. The problem is not a lack of discipline. Perhaps the breakfast simply didn't do its job.
Satiety is not a moral quality of food. It emerges from a combination of volume, energy, protein, fibre, fat, water, food structure, the speed at which we eat and individual response. That is why two meals with a similar calorie count can leave a very different feeling several hours later.
Protein is one of the most interesting parts of that story. In controlled studies, a higher-protein breakfast frequently increases subjective feelings of fullness and reduces hunger compared to meals with less protein. A meta-analysis of randomised studies in children and adolescents, for example, found greater satiety and lower subsequent energy intake after higher-protein breakfasts — though the studies were heterogeneous and the results should not be turned into a universal formula.
But there is no need to turn breakfast into bodybuilding. Eggs, Greek yoghurt or other dairy products, tofu, soy, legumes and nuts can all contribute protein without requiring anyone to count every gram. The idea is simple: if a breakfast consists almost entirely of rapidly available carbohydrates, it is worth asking what else it is missing.
The other major factor is fibre. Whole fruit, oats, vegetables, seeds, nuts and less refined grains bring more than vitamins. Their fibre alters the physical structure of a meal, can slow digestion and contributes to fullness. In a randomised crossover trial in adults, a breakfast combining eggs with higher intakes of protein and fibre produced greater satiety and lower food intake at the next meal compared to a cereal-based breakfast low in protein and fibre.
Fat plays its part too. Avocado, nuts, seeds or olive oil add energy, flavour and can contribute to satiety. This does not mean more fat is automatically better; it means breakfast does not need to be a product from the nineties with FAT 0% printed in enormous letters to qualify as healthy.
And then we come to food form. Drinking calories and eating them are not always the same experience. Solid food requires chewing, remains part of a conscious meal for longer, and in some experimental conditions produces greater satiety than a liquid version of similar nutritional content. A smoothie can be a perfectly good breakfast, but a large glass of fruit, juice and syrup is not automatically filling simply because it is green.
This is why the phrase "healthy breakfast" sometimes describes aesthetics more than construction. Granola can be excellent, but if the portion is small and almost protein-free, it may not be enough on its own. Porridge can be very filling, but much depends on what is in it. Toast can be part of a great meal when eggs, avocado, vegetables or other ingredients that give the meal structure are on it and around it.
At VERA this is precisely why we do not treat breakfast as a competition to see who can put the fewest calories on the largest white plate. Food should look good — we are in Belgrade in 2026, someone will obviously photograph the eggs — but after the photograph there is still lunch, work, a walk and several hours of normal life ahead.
A good breakfast does not need to keep you full until dinner. Nor does it need to contain a perfect macronutrient ratio. But if you are regularly hungry an hour or two after it, instead of blaming your appetite, look at the plate.
Is there protein? Is there fibre? Is there enough food? Did you eat it or drink it in three minutes?
Sometimes the most sophisticated nutrition hack is simply to make breakfast a real meal.
Try it at VERA — specialty café and wellness bistro, Nikole Spasića 4, Stari Grad, Belgrade.
Breakfast at VERA →