Sunday 18 May 2014

No Breakfast Skipping For Me (Anymore)

Lately I have opted for liquid breakfasts.  I like to start my day with a big glass of not so cold filtered water; a good way to get the insides working followed by a cup of green tea to get my mini caffeine fix.  Since starting my food journey, I try really hard to start my day with breakfast. Lately, I have become quite taken with  my homemade juices, orange and green and of course my green smoothies.  My new Breville juicer gets plenty of work and as I mentioned in my last blog post, my blender has seen more mileage in the past few months that it has seen in the last 20 years.

Despite the fact that I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I have never been big on it as I find it hard to face food until around 10 or 11 in the morning. Subsequently, I have forever been a breakfast skipper, traditionally opting for a large double double to give me that get up and go! I have found that my juices and smoothies are the perfect start to the day for this kid. These liquid breakfasts provide quick access nutrients for my body.  I feel better, think better and am better prepared for the day. 
 


Often, if I have opted to start my day with a juice, I am a little peckish around 10 so I have found that a whole grain pita bread is a welcomed mid morning snack. Other snack options might also be a homemade sweet potatoe muffin or a breakfast cookie (recipe below).  I have recently discovered that a natural organic peanut butter sprinkled with chia seeds is really good and certainly gets me to lunch! The other day, I also had a little leftover dairy free chocolate pudding kicking around, so I thought I would try it on my pita toast sprinkled with some almond slices. YUM YUM YUM!   A bite of one and then a bite of the other. A match made in heaven!  Next time, I will make it easier to eat by actually spreading the peanut butter first, then spreading the chocolate pudding on top of that and finishing off with a sprinkle the almonds and chia seeds. 
 


If I have started my day with a green smoothie, I am usually good till lunch.  Smoothies tend to be more filling and long lasting. My favourite green smoothie contains a frozen, ripe banana, kale, spinach, almond butter, a little honey or maple syrup for some sweetness and some almond milk to blend. YUM! Green smoothies are an excellent way to get more raw greens into me quickly and easily! 

I have also discovered Banana Oat Breakfast Cookie are amazing and even though they do contain added sugar, they are certainly a MUCH better choice to those crappy made for you oatmeal bars. They even freeze well so you can make sure you have plenty on hand!These kid friendly cookies are tasty AND healthy.  Shhhh don't tell the kids!  They work as a quick sit down breakfast or because of their portability, these little morsels can be taken for breakfast on the go!   Who wouldn't say "Yes please" to a cookie or two for beakfast?  They also make a nice addition to a boxed lunch for a healthy dessert or snack.

The recipe I use does contain butter and eggs plus some added sugar. In the spirit of my food journey, I have started making some tweeks to the recipe to take this recipe from good to great. In the meantime, until I have tested my tweeks, the recipe as I have posted is lovely.  As a note,  I would definitely drop the sugar down a bit more, especially if your bananas are super ripe.  Please enjoy and let me know what you think.



Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies (W.I.P.)
 
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup coconut oil; 1/4 cup butter this time)
3 ripe bananas, mashed (mine were medium in size)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I added 1/2 a cup]
2 whole eggs (next time I will try flax eggs; 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water)
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 tbsp flour (I made 2 tablespoons of oat flour by processing large flake oats in my food processor)
1/4 cup almond milk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries, nuts or a combination (I used 1/2 cup pecans, 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, topped up to 1 cup with cranberries)
 
As a special treat, I tossed in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, but you can omit this if you prefer!

DIRECTIONS
Mix first 3 ingredients together in a bowl.
Add eggs and mix.
Add remaining ingredients except nuts and/or dried cranberries
After dough is mixed add nuts and or cranberries.
Batter will seem too wet, but don't worry  
Drop by heaped and packed tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  
Flatten with fork to about 1/2" thick, patting edges to keep the cookie together and rounded.
Bake at 350° F. for 12 to 15 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for one or two minutes on the baking tray, then transfer to cooling rack.
Cool completely. 






 

Yes sir-ee.  No more skipping breakfast for this kid!  My next goal is to try out some home made granola.  I have a few recipes I want to try.  I will keep you posted. 


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