Some time towards the end of last year I realised I needed to eat better breakfasts, sugary processed cereals were not doing me any favours. I tried out incorporating more fruit, had yogurt with my cereal and experimented with bagels. Nothing really hit the spot.
What do I want from a breakfast?
It needs to be reasonably quick and easy, tasty and filling and above all it needs to contribute to my overall healthy, active lifestyle and support my running plans.
I want my breakfasts to incorporate plenty of fruit and/or veg, clean carbs and ideally a good dose of protein as I feel I am not getting enough in my diet.
So thinking about breakfast ideas I came across some great recipes from Tess Agnew (@fitbits) which you can see here.
I used these along with some other ideas as my own inspiration for making my own awesome breakfasts!
Nutty banana protein breakfast smoothie
Using my new Breville blend active smoothie maker and a few basic ingredients I devised a great tasting protein packed smoothie that kept me full all morning.
Ingredients: A splash of orange juice, a handful of brazil nuts, a banana, half a dozen spoonfuls of natural yogurt and a dash of milk.
Method: Chuck it in the blender and blend until smooth, simples!
Inspired by +FitBits Brighton Veg omelette muffins but without access to any muffin tins (I really need to buy some!) I went freestyle and used the same ingredients and just threw it all together in a omeltte/frittata style. Awesome! So quick! So easy and so amazingly tasty!
Ingredients: two eggs, a big scoop of spinach, and some mushrooms and baby/plum tomatoes.
Method: Chop up the veg, throw in a wok/frying fan with a bit of oil, lightly fry for a bit then chuck in the eggs and scramble. Serving on a piece(s) toast optional.
So they are the two breakfast stables at the moment, a nice balance of a sweet option and a savoury one as well, I had each twice last week setting me up for the day ahead and plenty of training. I need to work on a few more options but these two options will serve me well I feel and they are both versatile enough to incorporate a range of ingredients, e.g. peppers instead of mushrooms and a variety of nuts in the smoothie.
Other healthy eating meals from 2015:
I am a big fan of stir frays, and why not? Loads of veg, and plenty of flavoursome sauces to use, my downfall is a large portion of prawn crackers that I usually accompany a stir fry with.
Earlier in the week I whipped up a veggie stir fry with extra mushrooms, minus the prawn crackers and with the healthier option of rice noodles instead of the usually wheaty noodles.
As it seems spinach only comes in large family sized gigantic packs I had a lot of it going spare! So I used it with some tomatoes, mushrooms and courgettes along with brown rice for a tasty nutritious lunch time pack up for work.
On a Friday you need something a bit decadent and enjoyable, it doesn't need to be healthy and fatty though, sweet potato! What is more tasty, luxurious and so enjoyable to eat than sweet potato?! Through in some kidney beans for a bit of substance and protein and you have a healthy clean eating great tasting lunch!
Evening meals:
Its too easy to eat some rubbish in the evening when you are tired after a long day and I am too find of throwing a pizza in the oven as a quick, filling, satisfying meal especially after training.
So here we go an easy homemade healthier pizza:
Here I made too different types of pizza both using wholemeal pittas as a base. The standard pizza using ketchup as a base with a topping of cheese and then mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers. My even healthier option then used homemade guacamole (Mashed avocado with a squish of lime) as a base with a little cheese and courgettes and peppers as a topping. So tasty, so enjoyable and surely so much healthier than a takeaway pizza or a frozen pizza. At the weekend I even tried just a pitta with guacamole and courgettes with n cheese and this worked out really well and was obviously so much healthier without any cheese. I hope you enjoyed looking at these recipes and are maybe even inspired to try these or something similar out yourself?! Happy 2015, hope its a healthy one!
