Alternate Breakfast

We need variety in life in one form or another to keep things interesting.  That includes a lot of things, but it is especially important in what we eat; although steak and eggs with toast, juice and coffee every morning would not be a bad way to start.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have found a healthy and filling breakfast that carries me through to lunch without any feelings of hunger.  But sometimes it is nice to change it up a bit.  Making sure I have all the individual ingredients for my usual breakfast does not always line up and I am out of one piece of the menu or another, or I want to change it up, or when we are on a travel day and I want something a bit easier to prepare so I can focus on getting things sorted.

I have always liked yoghurt and have come to find a few variants that I quite enjoy that I can blend with a cereal and fruit combination to provide a healthy, filling start that is just about as good as I get with the rice and beans meal.

A high fat or high protein yoghurt is my yoghurt of choice and I prefer plain Greek.  Down in the US it is hard to find yoghurt I like and the Greek is almost always flavoured.  If I have to get flavoured I will get Raspberry as my first choice; otherwise blueberry or strawberry in that order.  If I get plain yoghurt I will add a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter and stir thoroughly.  Back home I always get Oikos plain with protein.

I make my own granola and found a recipe on line that I have modified slightly, but provides the horsepower to get me through the morning.

Granola

• 1 Cup rolled oatmeal
• 2 Cups coconut flakes
• ¼ Cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 Cup chopped hazelnuts or walnuts
• 2 Tablespoons cacao nibs
• 3 Tablespoons liquid honey
• 2 Teaspoons dark cocoa powder
• ½ Teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Small box Bran Buds

Mix all dry ingredients (except the Bran Buds) in a large bowl and turn out onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Mix the coconut oil, honey and vanilla together and drizzle over the mixture.  Bake in the oven at 275 for 30 minutes.  When you remove it from the oven leave it on the sheet to thoroughly cool before the next step.

Once it has cooled you can put it back into a large bowl to break up into smaller pieces.  When that is done mix in the Bran Buds and store in an airtight container.  The Bran Buds were not part of the recipe initially but I have found them to be an excellent addition.  I tried Bob’s Mill Bran but found it too fine and ends up shaking to the bottom of the container.  The Bran Buds do contain some sugar and salt but the amount is not that great in my opinion for what benefit you are getting otherwise.

When it is time for breakfast I get three large spoonfuls of yoghurt in a bowl, add one heaping tablespoon of peanut butter and mix thoroughly.  To that I add the granola mixture to cover the yoghurt and turn that over to blend.  Finally add a few tablespoons of fresh or dried fruit of some sort.  I typically use cranberries, dates, or figs.  Fresh bananas work well also.  Enjoy.

This meal is not as calorie dense as the rice and beans, but does a fairly good job of carrying me through to lunch.

Try it out if you like granola.  Thank you for reading.