Buenos Dias Breakfast

This month I learned that breakfast is definitely the easiest meal to enjoy without using processed foods. Although, if you are a die-hard cereal fan you may disagree. Cereal is a processed food, but there are some exceptions such as Wheetabix, Shredded Wheat, or Bran Flakes. For the most part, though, packaged cereals are highly processed and contain added sugars, colorings and preservatives. So, bad news to the captains of Captain Crunch Berry, but good news for the captains of eating healthy and easy to prepare breakfast meals.

Delicious, easy meals to start your day off right:

• Fruit salad - Combine your favorite seasonal fruits such as apples, pears, oranges, bananas, pineapple, or kiwi, and eat as is or topped with fresh squeezed lime juice, sunflower seeds, or plain yogurt.
• Smoothies - Throw all the ingredients in the blender the night before, blend in the AM, pour into a Nalgene bottle or reuse a plastic cup, and enjoy. Be creative. You can use a base of water, juice, coconut milk, homemade almond milk, organic milk, or plain yogurt, then add fresh or frozen fruit, wheat germ/ground flax/chia seeds, nut butters or nuts, seeds, spirulina and a sweetener such as dates, raw honey or maple syrup. Or try one of my creations which in just one serving has 13 g Fiber, 14 g Protein, over 1,000 mg Potassium, 45% Calcium, 25% Vitamin D, 17% Vitamin C, 16% Iron, as well as many other vitamins and minerals. FUNKY MONKEY SMOOTHIE: 1/4 cup chopped dates, 1 banana, 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter, 1/8 cup ground flax seed, 1/2 cup plain organic yogurt, 1/4 cup water. Place all in blender and puree.
• Oatmeal - Again this can be prepped at night by placing water in a saucepan on the stove and setting out the measured cup of oatmeal with some raisins or dates added to it. In the morning bring water to a boil, place oatmeal and dried fruit in the pan and let simmer while you are doing something else. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or cloves, along with chopped nuts and seeds for added nutrients. Sweeten or add a liquid of choice.
• Yogurt and Muesli/Granola - Bob's Red Mill makes a pure delicious muesli or you can try making your own. The night before or first thing in the morning combine muesli with yogurt and let soak. You can add chopped fruit or use organic milk instead of the yogurt. For granola, just add yogurt, milk or try with orange juice, the way I sometimes like it.
• Eggs - Any way you like them...hard boiled, soft boiled, scrambled, poached or make an omelet or frittata using fresh herbs, sundried tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, and/or a locally made goat cheese. Back when I was in college I lived in Spain and ate Tortilla de Patatas (like a frittata made with potatoes) almost all the time and any time of the day. Yesterday I decided to try my hand at making one and it turned out pretty good. You can find a recipe for it online and then check out this quick video on how to make it (it is in Spanish though).
• French Toast, Pancakes, Waffles - Try making your own whole grain bread and use leftovers for french toast. Or make your own wholegrain pancake/waffle base to have on hand. Combine dry ingredients and place in an airtight container in the freezer. Just add wet ingredients when you are ready to make them. A new hearty Pancake/Waffle Recipe I developed this month, which serves about 3 and has 10 g Fiber and 10 g Protein per serving, consists of:  1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup ground flax, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp honey, 1 egg, 3/4 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup water, 1 Tbsp safflower oil, 1/4 -1/2 tsp almond extract, and frozen raspberries.  I mixed all the dry in one bowl, the wet in another, and then blended the two until just combined. Pour in a waffle maker or make pancakes and press raspberries into the batter before flipping sides. Top with applesauce, yogurt, or real maple syrup, toasted nuts and seeds, or fresh fruit.

So as you can see there are many delicious, nutritious, unprocessed foods to get your day started right. Whether it is a quick bowl of oatmeal and fruit salad or a weekend Spanish brunch, your taste buds and your body will equally enjoy the fruits of your labor. Buenos dias!