Tag: Breakfast

Drink

Bone Strengthening Smoothie

Iā€™m loving being able to have green smoothies again, during the early stages of my pregnancy I couldnā€™t face green smoothies but really missed them! This smoothie is quick and easy to make as well as being delicious! The spinach provides a good source of iron and the lemon helps the absorption of the iron.

Apples, bananas and spinach all help to strengthen your bones. Apple skin contains the flavonoid phlorizin which may help to prevent bone loss associated with the menopause. Bananas contain high levels of potassium which slows urinary calcium loss associated with a diet high in salt. Whilst a single serving of spinach provides twice the RDA of Vitamin K, which is important for maintaining healthy bones.

Ingredients:

  • Ā½ a banana
  • Ā½ an apple
  • 1 handful spinach
  • Juice of Ā½ lemon
  • 1 tbsp almond butter
  • 250ml almond milk

Method:

  1. Peel the banana and remove the core from the apple
  2. Place all of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blitz until smooth
Drink

Super Energy Boost Green Smoothie

This smoothie is packed full of energy boosting ingredients and makes a great breakfast. It only has one piece of fruit in so won’t cause your blood sugar to spike. It’s super versatile so you can swap or remove any ingredients you’re not keen on.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large handfuls of spinach or kale
  • 1 apple
  • Small piece of fresh ginger root
  • 2ā€ piece of cucumber
  • 1 avocado
  • 10 raw almonds
  • 1ā€ piece of lemon
  • Water (the amount will depend on the consistency you like your juice to be)

Method:

  1. Remove the skin and pip from the avocado
  2. Simply put all of the ingredients into a blender and bend until combined
Breakfast

Granola

This granola is quick and easy to make and keeps in an airtight container for a few weeks. It has a lot less sugar than shop bought granola. For a vegan version replace the honey with maple syrup.  The recipe also works well with gluten-free oats if required.

Ingredients:

Makes 15 servings

  • 2tbsp/30ml of vegetable oil
  • 75ml honey
  • 75ml fresh orange juice (about 1.5 oranges)
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
  • 300g oats
  • 125g mixed seeds (I use sunflower, pumpkin and a few sesame seeds)
  • 100g dried fruit (I use sultanas and apricots)
  • 50g desiccated coconut

Method:

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2/150C

  1. Mix the oil, honey and vanilla in a bowl
  2. Add the remaining ingredients except the dried fruit and coconut
  3. Mix well
  4. Spread the mixture evenly on to two baking trays
  5. Bake for 15 minutes then add the coconut and mix it in
  6. Bake for a further 10 minutes
  7. Add the dried fruit and bake for a final 5 minutes (you can add the fruit at the same time as the coconut but I find it burns a bit)

 

Lunch

Frittata Cups Dairy-free and Gluten-free

These are my favourite thing at the minute, so quick and easy to make and they can be eaten cold as a breakfast on the go or taken to work for lunch. I tend to use whatever vegetables I have in the fridge so feel free to mix it up and add any herbs you like. If you like your vegetables crunchy then use diced vegetables, it you prefer them softer then grate the harder vegetables. You can easily double the recipe to make more so you have plenty left for lunch or switch it up by adding some grated cheese.

Eggs are a great source of protein and omega 3 they also contain Vitamins A, B5, B12.

Ingredients:

Makes 6

  • 4 eggs
  • Ā½ courgette
  • 1 small carrot
  • 5 mushrooms
  • Ā½ an onion
  • 5 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 large handful of spinach
  • Black pepper (to taste)
  • Fresh coriander leaves (or any herbs you like)

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200C
  2. Chop the vegetables into small pieces or if you prefer grate the courgette and carrots. Chop the spinach in to small strips and finely chop the coriander
  3. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add the vegetables and coriander and stir well
  4. Using a muffin tin, divide the mixture evenly between the muffin moulds
  5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until the egg is set
  6. Serve with salad
Breakfast

Rhubarb Overnight Oats

This recipe is great if you are short on time in the morning. You can make it the night before, leave it in the fridge and the next morning it is ready to eat before you leave the house.

Rhubarb is in season and it is packed full of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to help keep the body healthy. Rhubarb has a high fiber content and as a result is often used in Chinese medicine to relieve constipation and other stomach ailments. Rhubarb also has very high levels of Vitamin k which not only supports healthy bone growth but some research suggests that it may help with the prevention of Alzheimerā€™s. Among its many health benefits a key one that is often unknown is that rhubarb is a great source of calcium, it is up there with salmon and spinach!

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 30g fresh rhubarb
  • 1 orange
  • 1/4tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 130g jumbo oats
  • 50ml of dairy-free yoghurt or plain natural yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • Ā¼ banana
  • 1 tbsp pump[kin seeds

Method:

  1. To make the compote chop the rhubarb and place in a small saucepan with the juice of Ā½ the orange and the grated ginger. Simmer until the rhubarb is soft, about 15 minutes
  2. Leave the rhubarb compote to cool
  3. When the rhubarb is cool add the yoghurt, and stir well. Next add the oats and chia seeds and stir well. If the mixture is too thick add some more yoghurt
  4. Place the mixture into a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight
  5. In the morning remove from the fridge, top with banana, orange slices and pumpkin seeds