Monday, 19 December 2011

Breakfast – the best meal of the day

I love breakfast. Seriously, it is my favourite meal of the day. I go to bed thinking about what I will have for breakfast the next day, and when I wake up I am excited about eating. Before I get out of bed I do one of those excited little stretches thinking about it. Some people are creatures of habit and have the same thing each day, but that would bore me witless! My husband and both my children need to be forced to eat breakfast, but if I have not eaten within half an hour of getting up – I am dizzy, grumpy and quite horrific to be around.

So why breakfast?

1. Breakfast restores sugar levels after up to 12 hours of not eating.

2. Your body has been deprived of food throughout the night, therefore your metabolism has slowed. If the cells do not receive sufficient nutrients they will begin to function less efficiently on smaller amounts, and they will actually store more fat to use during these times of nutritional deprivation.

3. It is extremely difficult to get all of your necessary daily nutrients without breakfast.

4. It is delicious!!

I have a rotation of quick easy breakfasts – here are some of them.

Strawberies and Cream Oatmeal
I found this on The Kind Life website. It is a recipe by Christi Young.

1 cup(s) of rolled oats

  • 1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. of ground flaxseed
  • 1 pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/2 pinch of salt
  • 1 cup(s) of chopped strawberries
  • 2 1/2 cup(s) of soy milk
  • 2 tsp. of agave nectar

    •         Steps
    1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small pot. Toast the oats and spices over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until fragrant.
    2. Add 3/4 c. of the strawberries and stir to evenly distribute. Once the berries are mixed throughout, add the soy milk and agave nectar.
    3. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium and simmer. Stir frequently (scraping the bottom of pot), until the liquid is absorbed and the oats are tender, about 7 minutes.
    4. Serve immediately and use the reserved 1/4 cup strawberries to top each bowl.

    Toast and almond butter
    At the moment I am having gluten free toast, to see if it alleviates some stomach issues !
    And of course on a regular basis I go back to my favourite Breakfast smoothie.

    Mixed berries
    Banana
    Spinach
    Soy milk
    Chia seeds
    Flax seeds
    Protein powder
    Question 1: What is Your Favourite meal of the day?
    Question 2: What do you have for breakfast?
    • Anna @ The Guiltless Life

      Ooh I love oats in the morning, one of my favourite fuel-me breakfasts! It's important to not get stuck in a rut with breakfasts as my naturopath recently explained to me that if you eat the same thing every day your body could develop a sensitivity to it. The fear of not being able to eat my oats ever again shocked me out of that habit, so now I mix it up with some gluten-free waffles topped with a quick cinnamon apple compote, maple syrup and almond butter or a green smoothie…or breakfast quinoa, which is like oats but packs more protein! Love it!

    • Ali

      Anna cinnamon apple compote sounds heavenly!I would love to try that.