Starting your day with a nutritional breakfast while you pack lunch for the kids, iron clothes, walk the dog, and get ready for work seems impossible — until now. Breakfast — the most important meal of the day — provides the human body with the essential energy and nutrients to tackle day-to-day activities, says John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For a quick and healthy breakfast, the University recommends incorporating two or three of the foods listed below into your staple morning diet:

• bread and grain (i.e. cereal, toast, muffin)
• milk and milk product (i.e. low-fat yogurt, low-fat milk)
• fruit or vegetable group (i.e. bananas, apples, carrots)

For those days when you are on-the-go, you can still meet your daily requirement of vitamins and minerals by using fresh strawberry recipes in a simple breakfast. This red heart-shaped fruit is a great source of vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says eight strawberries provide 160 percent of the vitamin C you need for a whole day.

Boasting high levels of flavonoids like anthocyanin, strawberries can also reduce a woman's heart attack risk by 32 percent, according to a study published in Circulation Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. followed 93,600 healthy women aged 25 to 42 years who were originally part of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) II in 1989 — a study conducted by Dr. Walter Willet and his colleagues to study the diet and lifestyle risk factors in women who were initially younger than those who participated in the NHS1. The relationship between anthocyanins and other flavonoids and the risk of a heart attack was examined in the latest Harvard study. Researchers found that throughout the course of 18 years, there were a total of 405 heart attacks, which suggests that eating more strawberries at an early age may reduce the risk of a heart attack.

Anthocyanins have been linked to benefiting the endothelial lining of the circulatory system, preventing plaque from building up in the arteries and overall promoting healthy blood pressure. With an abundance of nutrients and vitamins, it's time to prevent the mid-morning slump when you are on-the-go with these six healthy fresh strawberry recipes for breakfast in five minutes or less!

1. Balsamic Strawberry Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 baguette , sliced on the diagonal and toasted

4 oz. goat cheese, room temperature

1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

¼ cup basic leaves

1 packet Splenda

Preparation:

In a small bowl, combine strawberries, basil and balsamic vinegar. Spread goat cheese over toasted bread slices and top with strawberry mixture. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Table Spoon.

2. Strawberry Banana Smoothies

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 package (10 ounces) frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, partially thawed

1 medium firm banana, cut into chunks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ice cubes

Preparation:

In a blender, combine all ingredients. Cover and process until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses; serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Taste Of Home.

3. Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup soy milk

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 banana, broken into chunks

14 frozen strawberries

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

Preparation:

In a blender, combine soy milk, oats, banana and strawberries. Add vanilla and sugar if desired. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

Recipe courtesy of All Recipes.

4. Strawberry Quinoa Flake Bake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup strawberry pulp - about 6-8 strawberries ran through your blender, no water needed!

1/2 cup quinoa flakes

1 tbsp coconut sugar - brown sugar, or sucanat would work great too!

1 tbsp of chia seeds

2 tbsp apple sauce

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Optional toppings: cocoalmond mania butter, raisins, coconut, granola, maple syrup and yacon syrup

Preparation:

Prepare a 16oz. microwave/oven safe dish by oiling with a dab of coconut oil. Set aside. Drop all ingredients in a small bowl and mix until fully incorporated. Press mixture into prepare dish and even out with fork.

Microwave option: Place in the microwave and cook for 3 1/2 minutes. You'll know when it's done when it rises slightly, is harder to the touch, and pulls away from the sides of the dish. Don't bake it too long, or you'll have a chocolate Frisbee!

Oven option: Place in a preheated oven at 350F and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to rest for 1 minute before tipping over onto a plate and smothering with your favorite toppings.

Recipe courtesy of Healthful Pursuit.

5. Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 ounces) sliced, frozen strawberries, thawed-the kind with juice

2 tsp teaspoons cornstarch

1 tsp fresh lemon juice, if desired (cuts sweetness)

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine juice from strawberries and cornstarch. Cook over, medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add lemon juice, if desired. Cook 2 minutes longer. Add strawberries to the saucepan and heat to serving temperature. Do not overcook

Serve with my Strawberry-Lemon Curd Trifle and as a dessert sauce for pound cake, strawberry shortcake, pancakes & waffles, angel food cake or ice cream. Yummy -and easy!

Tip: You can puree the strawberries before cooking if you want it less chunky -I like

Tip: Sometimes it is hard to find the sliced, frozen strawberries with juice in the 16 oz. package. You can almost always find the 10 oz. packages. So, if you can't find the 16 oz. size, you can either use the 10 oz. package or two 10 oz. packages. In that case, you might want to decrease the cornstarch to 1-1/2 teaspoons (for the 10 oz. pkg) or increase it to 2-1/2 teaspoons if you use two 10 oz pkgs (20 oz.), for desired thickness.

Tip: This strawberry sauce can be put on French Toast, Pancakes, Waffles and even sandwiches!

Recipe courtesy of Just A Pinch.

6. Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons strawberry puree

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

4 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

8 slices very thick sliced bread, such as Italian bread, Challah, Texas Toast, etc

Butter

Sliced fresh strawberries

Powdered sugar (optional)

maple syrup or strawberry syrup

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300˚F. In a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese, strawberry puree and orange zest until smooth. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs then stir in the whipping cream. Pour into a shallow dish. Set aside. Using a paring knife, slice a pocket into the side of each slice of bread, without cutting through the bread). Fill the pockets with a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip the filled bread slices into the egg mixture, then brown in the skillet for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. Keep warm on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until ready to serve. Serve hot with maple syrup, powdered sugar and sliced strawberries.

Recipe courtesy of Seeded At The Table.

Read more:

Strawberry Nutrition: Vitamin C And Other Benefits Of Strawberries That Help You Live Longer