Healthy Eating Part Two: What To Eat – Breakfast!

Finally the second part to my healthy eating posts.  I wrote the whole thing out the other night and . . . crash.  Lost the whole post when my computer crashed and of course, I had not saved the draft yet.  So, here we go again!

I will post this in three parts and I will start with breakfast!  If you see asterisks*** it means you will find the recipe below.  Enjoy!

Yes – this is tofu!

Quick breakfasts:

1.  Whole grain cereal with milk – prefer homemade cereal*** as homemade will have less possibility of acrylamide. Also prefer plain soy milk or homemade milk***

Prefer plain organic soy milk but there are lots of plant based milks on the market.  Unlike dairy which contains growth hormone, aflatoxin, antibiotics and pus these plant based milks do not contain those things.  I try to avoid rice milk because of the arsenic and I try to avoid milks with carrageenan because that is a questionable ingredient – you can research that for yourself.  And of course the almond milks may contain some aflatoxin – I don’t know that those have ever been tested.  Good old straight up unsweetened soy where the label says soy and water seems the best bet.  But I do drink all the others as well.  I just prefer the soy milk because it seems the best option with regard to my own health.  Let me know if you have information about plant milks that I am not aware of – learning is a process that works best when you have other people to help you!  You can also make your own milk.***  

Note:  Children love the chocolate almond milk – I admit it is delish!  So is the Very Vanilla Soy!  Not the healthiest options but at least it does not contain the questionable hormones, antibiotics or pus.

2. Fresh fruit

3. Organic vegan granola bars

4. Fresh fruit smoothies***

5. Granola to go***

6. Bagels or other breads- prefer whole grain and untoasted or very lightly toasted with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a tiny bit of sea salt - real sea salt - click on that for my post about salt versus REAL unprocessed salt.  Oh the things they do to salt!!!!  Prefer oil to margarine – fats that are solid at room temperature contribute to atherosclerosis.  Think of it this way – liquid oil flows, solid oil does not and can clog something up.  There is more to it than that but I think it helps to understand why solid fat is not good for your vascular system.

7. Hot oatmeal – I just make it with water and drizzle real maple syrup on top.  Delish!  Don’t go for quick cooking – I find that regular oats cook just as fast and contain more nutrition!  Your oatmeal will not be as gloopy either!

8. Orange Juice or any fresh squeezed or whole fruit juice – WHOLE!
Try to limit to four ounces – kids love it when served in a fancy glass with a fresh fruit garnish!  Add ice and water or bubbly water to fill an 8 ounce glass!

Weekend Breakfast

Tofu Scramble***

Omelet no Omelet***

RECIPES***

Homemade cereal / Homemade granola:  30 minutes start to finish

2 cups whole oats

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup organic sunflower oil – loaded with vitamin E!

1/4 cup real maple syrup – contains calcium, iron and potassium unlike white sugar which contains . . . nothing!

You can also add some black strap molasses – loaded with potassium and also contains calcium, iron and other minerals!  If making for children add extra sweetener to entice them!  Add a quarter cup of this on top of the maple syrup for a sweet treat!

Add as many fresh preferably raw (not roasted in cottonseed oil) nuts as you like!  You can add them whole, halved, diced, slivered, or even powdered from a coffee grinder if you have a child that does not like nuts, they will never know they are in there!  You may also add any nut butter you like – about a half cup.

Bake on oiled cookie sheet (I use Misto – click here to learn about Misto opposed to Pam) in thin layer at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.  After cooled add any dried fruit you like in any amount you like.  For the kids you can add dark chocolate chips!  That does not pair well with milk for cereal so you may want to leave the chips out of some of it so you can have it for breakfast with milk.  Store it in the oatmeal container – use within one week.  You can eat this raw and it’s wonderfully delicious that way but you can’t store it that way so you have to cook it.  It’s kinda like eating the cookie dough as you bake cookies!

Homemade milk or cream:  Two to four hours but so easy to make!
Easy to make but takes time to soak the nuts

2 cups or so raw cashews

Soak the fresh nuts in boiling water that has just been taken off the stove for 2 to 4 hours or until the cashews have a lavender hue.

Drain off water and place in blender with fresh water.  The more water you add, the more milk like the final product will be.  The less water, the more cream like for use in recipes.  Blend water with nuts, adding water to achieve your desired consistency.  You will now have a white liquid.  Pour through strainer to remove nut pieces.  Use these in your next batch of fresh homemade granola cereal!  Store milk in refrigerator.  If making cream you can store that in the freezer.  I have not tried this with other nuts but why not try it!!!

Fresh Fruit Smoothies: 5 minutes start to finish

Whole fresh frozen or store bought frozen fruit – if using bananas peel them before freezing

Fresh whole fruit, peeled and seeded

Place any fruit you like, at least some of it frozen, into blender

Add liquid and blend to desired consistency – more liquid for spoon style and less for drinking style smoothie

Liquids I use are coconut water, water, orange juice and soy milk.  Use any liquid you like!  Sometimes I squeeze in fresh citrus fruit.

My favorite fruit combination is fresh banana, frozen blueberry, and frozen mango with coconut water, orange juice and soy milk.

You can also add kale, spinach and/or broccoli or anything else you can think of.  It will turn it green.  But the taste will still be the same, nice and sweet.  If not sweet enough for kids add some real maple syrup!

Tofu Scramble:  20 minutes start to finish

Extra firm tofu cut into tiny dice cubes

Extra virgin olive oil or organic sunflower oil

Garlic, onions, fresh spinach, diced tomatoes or peppers or any other vegetables you like

Put tofu into pan with oil and saute until just turning yellow, not quite brown.  If adding onions throw onions in before it yellows.  If adding garlic throw that in once it yellows.  Garlic burns if sauteed for too long.  If adding tomatoes, peppers or other vegetables, throw those in at any point in time depending on how soft you want them.  Add the spinach one or two minutes before done cooking if adding spinach.  It wilts quikly.  Tada – tofu scramble! Top with sea salt or olive oil drizzle if desired.  Serve with Omelet no omelet – YUM~

Omelet no Omelet – Up to 30 minutes depending on if the potatoes are fresh steamed or from frozen (thaw them first overnight in fridge)

Steam potatoes in any shape you like – takes about 20 minutes – or use frozen potatoes that you have thawed.

Throw potatoes in pan and use the same recipe as above for tofu scramble.  Add any veggies you like.  Top this with salsa at the end – delicious!