Generally, while on the first 6-week strict period of Eat to Live, breakfast consisted of fruit, nuts, and possibly a small amount of grains. I am a little more relaxed at this point and will throw in extra protein like hard-boiled eggs or greek yogurt.
Let's start with a great all-in-one breakfast, oatmeal. We were addicted to the Blueberry-Banana Oatmeal from the ETL book! I personally love sweet breakfasts, and this one fit the bill. The riper the bananas, the better. You can even take your over-ripe bananas and freeze them so they're ready for this recipe or smoothies. I also love making overnight oats. It is really convenient to have a grab-and-go breakfast that are healthy! This is my favorite overnight oat recipe. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oats . I will put links up for other recipes, although I haven't tried all of them yet! Let me know if you try one and like it. I also like to make oatmeal and just add whatever fruit I have that sounds good--apples, pears, raisins, then add nuts to finish it off.
Smoothies are another great breakfast option. The base of all of our smoothies tends to be a frozen banana and almond milk. Great add-ins are chia seeds(read more here about their benefits)and ground flax seeds(read more here about their benefits). To sweeten, add a little honey or a whole, pitted date. If you want a little protein boost, try adding a spoonful of peanut or almond butter. While you're add it, throw in a handful of spinach! You can't taste it and it is a great way to "sneak" in nutrients for yourself or your kids. Or if you're like me sometimes, you may have that bag of spinach in your fridge that is about to go bad or is a little wilted. Throw it in a blender with a small amount of water and make spinach ice cubes to put in your smoothies! Here are a few of my favorite smoothies and recipes:
Chocolate Peanut Butter
*1 banana, preferably frozen
*generous spoonful of peanut butter
*2 TBSP cocoa powder
*squeeze of honey or 1 date
*milk-about 1/2-1 cup depending on how thick you like it
Chocolate Smoothie(from Eat to Live)
*5 oz baby spinach(small handful)
*2 C blueberries, preferably frozen
*1/2 C almond milk
*1 banana
*2 TBSP cocoa powder
*1 TBSP ground flax
*water to thin if necessary
Mango Smoothie
*1/2 mango, chopped coarsely(did you know the best way to cut a mango?)
*1 banana
*4-5 frozen peach slices or 5-6 small chunks of pineapple
*1/2 cup almond milk
*1TBSP ground flax
Sometimes, breakfast is very simple, I grab a Kind bar. Well, let's be real, an Aldi's knockoff Kind bar, which is delicious and less expensive! Then, I add a banana, hard-boiled egg or greek yogurt, and I am set. Other times, I make up a mini-bagel or whole-wheat waffle and add the same formula of a piece of fruit and a protein.
My last suggestion for breakfast is fruit. Simple, I know, but there are a few things you can do to make it a little more interesting. In the summer, I love a bowl of fresh pineapple, mango, banana and a sprinkle of flax. It's so refreshing and the flax lends a nice nutty flavor. In the winter, I love a warm breakfast, so I heat up my fruit. It makes me feel like I'm eating a warm cobbler! My suggestions for "warm fruit" as my little girl calls it....
Apple/Banana Bowl
1 apple, cored and cut into chunks
1 banana, sliced
1 TBSP raisins(optional)
1 TBSP your choice of nuts
sprinkle of cinnamon
1-2 TBSP almond butter
Place apple and banana in a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 1 minute or until slightly softened. In a small bowl, heat almond butter for 1 minute or until liquified(just watch it, as I know every microwave is different and the almond butter will bind up if it's overheated). Pour the almond butter over the fruit and add cinnamon, raisins, and nuts.
Pear and Berry Bowl
1 pear, cored and cut into chunks
1/2 cup blueberries
1 TBSP craisins
sprinkle of cinnamon
1 TBSP your choice of nuts
Place pear and blueberries in a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 1 minute or until berries start to burst slightly. Top with raisins, cinnamon, and nuts.
Granola "Cobbler"
1/4-1/3 cup granola(here's my favorite homemade recipe or we also like Nature's Path Organic)
1 cup berries, combination or single type is fine
1 TBSP water
Place berries in a microwave safe bowl. Add water and microwave until they burst and become liquified(usually 1-2 minutes). Top with granola.
In personal news, we are enjoying a massive purging at our house! With baby #2 coming in May, it's time to clean out the girly stuff and bring in the boy stuff. There's something very peaceful about cleaning out closets and organizing! I am feeling so blessed to have had a healthy pregnancy so far. Here's a picture of me at about 25 weeks.
I hope that you find some new breakfast recipes that can help you to have a healthy start to 2015! Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment