RECIPES breakfast bowls
I usually kick off my day with a 'grain bowl' and cup of coffee. One of my priorities is diversity in foods. (see Simon Hill 40 foods a week theory). So i try to switch up the fruits and grains in my breakfast. I also typically meal prep 4 of these at a time and freeze them in the wide mouth 16oz Ball jars. General formula is as follows:
​
2 cup Organic Rolled Oats or
1 cup Organic Scottish Oats or
1 cup Cream of Buckwheat
​
4 tbsp organic Flaxmeal or 4 tsp Chia seeds
4 tbsp pecan flour or any nut ground to 'flour' (i use my mini food processor) or
4 tbsp wheat germ
4 tbsp Trader Joes Hemp Powder or Hemp hearts
2 cup fruit - at least ONE of them being berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries), plus mango, peaches, apples, etc.
​
Cook grains per instructions (using oat or almond milk for cream of buckwheat). Once cooked turn off heat and mix in flax, nut flour, hemp or chia and berries. Let sit about 15 minutes. If the pot is large enough i will just take my Kitchenaid immersion blender and mix in pot. Otherwise dump everything in my Ninja. Divide into 4 ball jars. Cool to room temperature, then freeze. To serve, microwave to soft, add nut or oat milk and blend with immersion blender to desired consistency. Nuke again to desired temp.
​
I vary consistency depending on how ambitious i am that day. For whatever reason, i'm also pretty sensitive to heat. Like if i dont have a tongue shouldn't heat matter less?
01
OATS + grains
CARBS???? oh NO!!!
oh YESSSS!!!! We have been inundated with this anti-carb anti-gluten message in the media in recent years. However, not all carbs are created equal. OATS are a great source of fiber - scrub out those intestines baby!
02
FRUIT
Berries have pretty much been proven to be incredible for your brain...and everything else! So i try to get a daily dose. In terms of other fruits, i shoot for diversity. Citrus can be a bit overwhelming for my mouth...but i do need to try and squeeze in more. I do love adding in KIWIS, chock full of C and i tolerate them well.
Fresh vs Frozen. I've read a bit on this and consensus seems to be the are pretty equally good for you...so i mix it up and use both depending on what i have on hand!
03
LOAD them CALORIES
In this new life, i'm always striving to add (quality) calories. So a few great adds for my breakfast
SEEDS, usually chia and hemp. Seeds are full of unsaturated fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals as well as calories! Help is easier for your body to process if its already ground.
NUTS, again unsaturated fats, fibre, vitamins. sometimes i will grind them up but its alot easier to just buy almond or other nut flour.
WHEAT GERM. back to whole grains again...i have a very nostalgic reason for adding wheat germ though. My dad was a 70's health food fanatic and we always seemed to have wheat germ on hand. When i was very young i wasnt allowed much sugar...but my dad would let me indulge in some Honey Vanilla or Carob Haagan Daz (their classic flavors back then), and i could put 'sprinkles' on it...you guessed it WHEAT GERM!
04
NUT 'MILK'
Is it a little extra to make my own nut milk? Sort of, but not really. I drink about 40 oz a day so it really is an economy issue. WHY do i use so much? Well i need to 'water down' every 'meal' so this is a great way to layer in some extra healthy calories. Pistachios, sunflowers, cashews, almonds, hazlenuts, pecans, walnuts... i blend them all and mix and match! Diversity is our friend!
Prior to investing in my milk machine (and when I'm short on time or traveling), i looked for nut/oat/seed milks that had a few ingredients as possible. Some of the best i found were MALK, Elmhurst and Forager.