New year, new you … new healthy morning routine? If part of your new year’s resolution is to optimize your AM lineup, you’re not alone—we all know that getting strategic about our morning habits can set the tone for the entire day. But where to start?

By focusing on a healthy breakfast, jumping on the lemon water train, sitting for a mini meditation and even supercharging your coffee, you can begin the day as your best self. The one with steady energy levels, improved mental focus, and even a higher functioning metabolism.

So whether you’re firmly acquainted with the snooze button or bouncing out of bed, here are some easy ways to hack your morning routine.

5 Easy Healthy Morning Hacks:

1. Start the day with a big glass of lemon water

First things first. Start the day off with a giant glass of lemon water. Why? During sleep, your body is in restoration mode, which also includes a little detox. And you’ve spent a full night without water, so some hydration is in order. By adding some lemon to the mix, you can enhance the ‘healthy’.

Some of the health benefits of lemon water: helps with hydration, assists your liver in flushing out toxins, and it’s also thought to help with digestion, and keeping you regular.

Added bonus? Lemons are also high in essential vitamins and nutrients, like vitamin C, fiber, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. But the one to pay attention to here is the vitamin C: it’s an antioxidant, which helps your body fight against free radicals. Meaning it’s good for your skin and your immune system.

2. Make Time for a Nutritious Breakfast

Your mom was right! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Mostly because it’s impossible to be calm and on top of things when you’re starving. But also because eating breakfast has a macro effect on the whole day, making you less prone to hunger and cravings later on. Eating in the morning kickstarts your metabolism and gives your body fuel, stat.

No time? If your mornings are tight, you can plan ahead by prepping something quick and easy, like overnight oats. Just grab and go. But what if you’re eating breakfast and still having a mid-morning energy crash? It might be because you’re not going for the right mix of nutrient rich items and protein. Protein helps to regulate blood sugar, which keeps your energy on an even keel. It also helps you to feel full, so you won’t be reaching for a sugary snack by 10am (that struggle is real). Getting some protein can be as easy as grabbing a handful of nuts. And if you’re already choosing a protein rich morning supplement, like collagen, you can work it into a paleo friendly omelet, or even add it to a smoothie. Morning protein? Check. Onward ho.

3. Do a 5 Minute Meditation

Truth: mornings can leave you feeling … frazzled. But did you know that even 5 minutes of meditation can keep you focused and even healthy? Dropping into a meditation works to reduce stress by calming the nervous system. And as move into the day with a peaceful nervous system, your precious energy is allotted to other functions, like the brain (think attention and focus), digestion and, of course, emotional wellbeing. Om.

4. Supercharge Your Coffee

The best morning hack? Tweak something you already do. Like coffee. By adding some nutrients and healthy fats into the mix, you can create the ultimate pick me up: the collagen MCT coffee. Collagen MCT coffee contains your favourite brew and two other ingredients: MCT oil (or coconut oil) and a scoop of your favourite collagen peptides. MCT oil is a supplement that’s touted as natural fuel for the body. MCT stands for multi chain triglycerides and it’s mainly derived from coconut oil. Users swear that it increases mental clarity, helps with energy levels and even promotes gut and heart health. Sproos Grass-Fed and Marine collagen is neutral in flavour and blends beautifully into coffee for an easy way to get in your daily serving of collagen. Your gut, joints, skin and hair will thank you!

How to Make a Collagen MCT Coffee

Making collagen MCT coffee is simple. All you need is something to blend with, like a hand blender or a regular blender. Add one tablespoon of MCT oil and one scoop of your preferred collagen to one cup of coffee, and blend. If you like, you can add some cinnamon or stevia. MCT collagen coffee has a delicious, creamy quality to it that’s a tad addictive (you’ve been warned). It also works to regulate blood sugar and stabilize your energy levels. Mental focus, here you come.

5. Move Your Body

Movement is flow, and flow is always a good thing. By moving your body first thing in the morning, you set all of the body’s metabolic processes in gear: it kickstarts your digestion, and increase your metabolism. And these benefits last well into the day. And don’t worry about it making you tired later on. Movement is a ‘more is more’ equation: the more energy you put into it, the more energy you have. Studies have shown that it can improve your overall mental and physical energy.

What is the best way to move? Depending on your schedule, you may have time for a run or a kettlebell class, or you may need to settle for a short session with your favorite YouTube yogi. Bear in mind that any amount of movement counts, so whether you’re doing a few stair sprints at home or biking all the way to work, movement is movement. And it all works toward getting your body in tip top shape for the day. If you’re headed into the new year with a ‘better me’ plan in place, don’t overlook the power of a healthy morning routine.

By fueling your body with a healthy breakfast, hydrating with the added benefits of lemon, making time for a morning meditation, moving your body, and creating a veritable health elixir out of your coffee you can start the day off as your very best self. Curious about adding a protein rich supplement to enhance your morning routine? Check out Sproos’ line up of collagen powders and give your body the fuel it needs to take on the day.