What Should I Eat for Breakfast?
It’s January and we are on the health bandwagon. Something about a new year, a clean slate, and a fresh start inspires us to live better. One of the most common questions I get is, ‘what should I eat for breakfast?’ Many of the women I care for have specific dietary limitations, so not all of these recipes will be useful for all women, but here are a few of my favorites:
#1- Eggs – any and all styles.
I love an omelet loaded with veggies, frittata for leftovers later in the week, scrambled, hard-boiled for grab-and-go, or fried on a bed of wilted greens.
#2- My version of a Green Monster Smoothie:
Combine in a blender:
1 cup of coconut or nut milk
1 banana, frozen and chunked
3 tablespoons nut or seed butter, I like cashew
2 cups of fresh greens, I usually use baby spinach or baby kale
1 cup of ice cubes
#3- Power Seed Bircher: This is an adaptation from Donna Hay’s recipe in her amazing cookbook Life in Balance.
1/3 c. sunflower seeks
1/3 c. pumpkin seeds
1/3 c. flax seeds
1/3 c. gluten-free rolled oats
1 ½ c. coconut or nut milk
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1 firm pear, grated
berries to serve
greek yogurt to serve
Place the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, and oats in a large bowl. Add the milk, cinnamon and honey and mix to combine. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Add the pear to the bircher and stir to combine. Serve the bircher with berries, a spoonful of yogurt, and a drizzle of honey on top.
#4- Yogurt-Chia Pudding from Bon Appetit 9/2014:
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt (or alternative milk yogurt)
1 ½ tbsp. chia seeds
1 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
Toppings: cocoa nibs, sunflower seeds, and toasted coconut for serving
Mix the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and chill at least 12 hours. Served drizzled with honey or maple syrup and the toppings.
#5- Brassica bowl – Make this when you have the time. It is worth it.
#6- Muesli:
1 ¼ c. quick-cooking gluten free oats or quinoa flakes
2/3 c. coconut milk
2/3 c. plain low-fat yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. fresh orange juice
¼ c. honey
1 ½ c. grated red-skinned apples (about 2)
1 c. chopped raw almonds
3 c. chopped fresh fruit or frozen berries
Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to soften oats. Whisk orange juice and honey in a medium bowl. Stir in grated apples and almonds, then 3 cups of chopped fruit. Stir fruit mixture into oat mixture and serve.
#7- Breakfast sausage with wilted greens or leftover veggies.
I like to buy local, nitrate-free breakfast sausage, brown it in a pan, and wilt a large mound of greens or re-heat leftover broccoli. Have a few berries or half a grapefruit with it.
Share your breakfast favorites in the comments!
Adapted from Carrie’s previous blog published on JANUARY 23RD, 2018