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A Dietitian's Morning Routine for Steady Energy and Focus
Water before coffee, a balanced breakfast, and functional mushrooms. A dietitian shares a simple 10-minute morning routine for steady energy and focus.
A Dietitian's Morning Routine for Steady Energy and Focus
With the ever-growing demands of daily life, we all could use a little inspiration on how to optimize our time. Between work deadlines, kids’ extracurricular schedules, healthcare appointments, and growing piles of laundry, it’s hard to keep up the necessary energy to power through our to-do lists.
Having a solid morning routine is often a way to start the day on the right foot, ensuring our energy levels stay balanced and our productivity never falters. Let’s dive into the ideal morning routine recommended to jump-start your day.
Start with Water Before Coffee
While it is ever-so tempting to roll out of bed and guzzle a cup of coffee before blinking open your eyes, research suggests that water is the best beverage to consume upon waking1. After a long night of sleep, your body is slightly dehydrated, both from breathing and sweating, and you likely haven’t consumed much water during this period. Water helps to quench this thirst as well as get your digestion moving, which can further help to wake you up.
Additionally, coffee is a diuretic, meaning that it can dehydrate you. If you consume coffee first thing in the morning, when you are already in a state of mild dehydration, you are at risk of becoming even more dehydrated. That’s why it’s best to have at least one cup of water when you wake up. Then, if you choose to enjoy morning coffee, you can pour yourself a cup after that.
Building a Balanced Breakfast
You’ve likely heard the term “balanced meal” before, but what exactly does it mean? A truly well-rounded meal contains all three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Ideally, it prioritizes sources of lean proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates with a large base of fruits or vegetables. That sounds more complicated than it is. However, it does require some intention.
While grabbing a donut on the way out the door may be convenient, because it is solely composed of simple carbohydrates, you’ll likely experience the dreaded sugar crash. Though it takes some work, whipping up an egg scramble with sauteed spinach, feta, and tomatoes served with a side of whole grain toast and fresh berries, is a much more balanced meal. But don’t worry, not all breakfasts need to take loads of time. Try making avocado toast topped with eggs, a Greek yogurt parfait loaded with berries and chia seeds, or throwing together a smoothie made with protein powder, frozen fruit, and soy milk.
Not a regular breakfast eater? You may want to consider eating even something as small as a banana and peanut butter. Research shows that eating breakfast is associated with stable energy levels and less overeating later on in the day2.
Where Functional Mushrooms Fit In
From gummies and coffee, to powders and chocolates, functional mushrooms are everywhere and can be found in a variety of forms. But these mushrooms are proving to be much more than a fleeting trend. Research continues to highlight their ability to impact cognitive performance and energy levels3.
If you’re aiming to start your day with steady energy and focus, functional mushrooms like lion’s mane and cordyceps can really move the needle. Research shows that lion’s mane intake is associated with the stimulation of brain cells, which may boost cognitive function and memory4. Additionally, cordyceps has been associated with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, which could be helpful when longer periods of sustained energy are needed5.
Smarter Morning Bite: Brainstorm
Here at alice, we recognize the importance of consistency. A healthy habit is only good if it's something you actually adopt. To make taking your daily functional mushrooms more appealing, we’ve developed functional mushroom chocolate. We believe if a supplement tastes good, you’re more likely to keep up the habit.
And our alice Brainstorm is the perfect addition to your morning routine. Made with cordyceps for energy production and lion’s mane for a cognitive boost, brainstorm is designed to unlock your productivity with a steady smooth flow of energy. No crash required.
Setting up a Daily Ritual
Daily rituals, regardless of time of day, prove to be important. They transform a bunch of scattered intentions into reliable, repeated action. Most of us struggle with consistency, and would rather attempt to make big strides less frequently, such as running 10 miles one day per week, rather than running one mile per day or eliminating all animal products from our diets instead of simply cutting back on red meat.
Research shows that this desire to overhaul our behavior changes can backfire6. It seems that by biting off more than you can chew, you’re more likely to give up when you run into obstacles along the way. Instead, it’s recommended we do something small each day to create the habit and establish consistency so you can show up long term.
When sitting down to develop your morning routine, keep this in mind. If you currently don’t have any established habits, start small instead of being too ambitious.
Sample 10-Minute Morning
Need an example to serve as inspiration? Let’s take a closer look at a sample 10 minute morning routine.
- Wake up & hydrate- Drink 8 ounces of water to rehydrate after sleep
- Let the light in- Open the curtains or step outside to kick-start your body's natural alertness
- Grab a cup of coffee- Your morning brew to get going
- Get moving- Lightly stretch or walk around a bit to get the blood flowing
- Build a balanced breakfast- Hard-boiled eggs, avocado toast, and a fruit salad
- Add your functional mushrooms- One square of alice mushrooms "Brainstorm"
- Dive into work- Start your day with your most important task
Disclaimer: This blog contains promotional content about our products. The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your wellness routine, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
References:
1. Edmonds CJ, Harte N, Gardner M. How does drinking water affect attention and memory? The effect of mouth rinsing and mouth drying on children's performance. Physiol Behav. 2018;194:233-238. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.06.004
2. Grech A, Sui Z, Rangan A, Simpson SJ, Coogan SCP, Raubenheimer D. Macronutrient (im)balance drives energy intake in an obesogenic food environment: An ecological analysis. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2022;30(11):2156-2166. doi:10.1002/oby.23578
3. Li IC, Chang HH, Lin CH, et al. Prevention of Early Alzheimer's Disease by Erinacine A-Enriched Hericium erinaceus Mycelia Pilot Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study. Front Aging Neurosci. 2020;12:155. Published 2020 Jun 3. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2020.00155
4. Martínez-Mármol R, Chai Y, Conroy JN, et al. Hericerin derivatives activates a pan-neurotrophic pathway in central hippocampal neurons converging to ERK1/2 signaling enhancing spatial memory. J Neurochem. 2023;165(6):791-808. doi:10.1111/jnc.15767
5. Choi E, Oh J, Sung GH. Beneficial Effect of Cordyceps militaris on Exercise Performance via Promoting Cellular Energy Production. Mycobiology. 2020;48(6):512-517. Published 2020 Nov 9. doi:10.1080/12298093.2020.1831135
6. Maksudul Shadat Akash, Shahanaz Chowdhury. Small changes, big impact: A mini review of habit formation and behavioral change principles. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. 2025;26(1):3098-3106. doi:10.30574/wjarr.2025.26.1.1333
By Kristen Carli, MS, RD
Kristen Carli is the owner of Camelback Nutrition & Wellness, a private nutrition practice and consulting firm. She graduated from University of Arizona with a BA in psychology and then received a BS in dietetics from Arizona State University. After completion of the dietetic internship, she continued her education by receiving a MS in Human Nutrition from University of Western States. Having a passion for nutrition communication, she writes for many food and nutrition outlets as well as regularly develops recipes for food brands and media companies. Her nutrition expertise has been featured in InStyle, Bustle, Livestrong, The List, MyFitnessPal and many others. Additionally, Kristen is often featured via local TV segments sharing nutrition tips and tricks. She was selected to act as a Produce for Better Health Foundation Fruit and Vegetable Ambassador in Action, helping to promote the health benefits and importance of consuming fruits and vegetables, as well as a FoodMinds upwaRD winner for 2022, honoring up and coming media dietitians. You can find her reading, running, and exploring new restaurants with her husband and baby boy.
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
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Brainstorm contains fairly traded organic dark chocolate, organic Lion’s Mane and organic Cordyceps from 100% fruiting body mushrooms, guarana and phosphatidylserine. Each square contains 66mg of natural caffeine which is equivalent to ⅔ cup of coffee.
Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and OU-D kosher certified.
Other ingredients: organic semi-sweet 72% dark chocolate (organic unsweetened chocolate, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter), coconut oil, cocoa butter
Allergens: Coconut, Soy
Processed on shared equipment and may contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, or soy.
Each bite of Brainstorm is formulated to boost cognitive function while also delivering an immediate boost to productivity and energy levels.
The long term benefits come from our functional mushrooms. Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps are felt over time — not instantly. When incorporated into a daily routine, the mushrooms’ nutrients compound in your body and become more effective (and noticeable) with sustained use.
Cordyceps works to boost blood oxygen levels to increase full body stamina, vitality, and energy. Lion’s Mane directly stimulates the nerve growth factor to improve memory, cognition, neuroplasticity, and brain health.
We also know that nothing beats instant gratification. That’s why we’ve added Guarana and Phosphaditylserine to our formula. Guarana is a caffeinated Brazilian berry that provides a smooth flow of energy, and Phosphaditylserine is a fatty acid that improves alertness, reaction time, thinking speed, and productivity throughout the day. Each square contains 66mg of natural caffeine which is equivalent to ⅔ cup of coffee.
The result: an indulgent daily routine that’s good for you and only gets better with time.
What to expect:
- In 30 minutes, feel productive and energized
- In 30 days, notice daily flow states, sustained energy and mental clarity
- After 3 months, enjoy memory support, brain health, and daily energy
One square suits most.
Enjoy one dose of Brainstorm when you’re in need of a clean boost of energy. Those looking for a stronger, more prolonged sensation may enjoy a double dose.
With daily use, Brainstorm supports neural connections in your brain for better productivity over time.
We exclusively use organic, fruiting body Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps mushrooms that are hand-harvested when their medicinal compounds are at peak concentration. Our mushrooms are dried in the sun to soak up Vitamin D before undergoing a pure, starch-free extraction process.
All ingredients are third-party lab tested for safety and stability, and mushrooms are third-party lab tested for potency.
