what's for breakfast?

 I really struggle with breakfast foods.  I am adamant about not eating sweet breakfasts because I know that messes with me and ruins my whole day.  I don't understand people who can eat oatmeal - that makes me so hungry so soon.  (It's tasty how I make it, with an apple and cinnamon and no sweetener, with some whole milk, but it does not sustain me.)  I need protein, but I don't care for meats, and eggs in the  morning wreak havoc on my digestive system for some reason I haven't figured out.  Yogurt with fruit doesn't sustain me.  

The only thing that has consistently worked for me is a slice of whole grain sourdough toast with cheese.   Then I found some not very expensive whole grain pitas at Trader Joe's with five grams of fiber in each, no preservatives or weird additives, and I slap some cheese on them (no need for butter) and call it good.  But I'd rather not eat so much cheese.  Sometimes is fine, but every day as a staple?  That's a lot.  

A dear friend from Australia was here visiting recently and she said that her go-to is to make several salads for the week that she eats each day for lunch.  I'm intrigued by this idea and have been implementing it, focusing on plant-based proteins such as legumes and quinoa, with various vegetables. 

So recently I've been stuffing the whole wheat pita with one of those salads for breakfast, and that has worked out great!  It's a quick meal to prepare, and I like getting some vegetables with breakfast, and heaps of fiber and protein.  This morning has some mint and that is a lovely morning flavor I'm not accustomed to.  

We'll see how long this works out for me!  Here's hoping that Trader Joe's keeps the pitas around a long time; I can make my own but they don't always poof up.  They are good from the counter for a few days and then I put them in the freezer and lightly toast to thaw them. 

vegetable breakfast bowls

 Sweet potato-kale-zucchini breakfast bowls from here, with some adjustments.  It's ... very tasty.  Almost too much because I had a heavy hand, worried about vapid vegan fare.  It also took over two hours to get together and it only made enough for 2-3 meals, so definitely not something to do on a work morning, but a nice Saturday morning activity (and I wonder if I could roast vegetables at my office kitchen).  It's just about restaurant quality, TBH. 

#1 - savory granola (I omitted everything in italics and it still turned out great)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or hemp seeds
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup golden raisins optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup aquafaba or liquid from a can of chickpeas; substitute an additional 1 1/2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 1/4 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons safflower grapeseed, or olive oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F and line one or two baking sheets with parchment. Mix the flax, oats, buckwheat, all of the seeds, coconut flakes, raisins, and all of the spices/seasonings together in a large mixing bowl.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the aquafaba, oil, and maple syrup. Pour this wet mixture over the granola mix and stir well to combine everything evenly.
• Bake the granola for 20-25 minutes, stirring a few times during cooking to ensure that the granola at the edges of your baking pan doesn't burn. Allow the granola to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight storage container.

 

#2 - turmeric tahini dressing

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon tamari or nama shoyu
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated finely on a microplane, or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 small clove garlic grated on a microplane or finely minced (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1/3 cup water (to desired consistency)
  

Mix together. Note: the flavor is intense.  This will be good on a salad with chickpeas and the savory granola.

 

#3 - roasted vegetables

I did sweet potatoes and zucchini per her recommendations.  Other vegetables could work.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop zucchini, mix with oil & salt and pepper, put on pan.  Peel and chop sweet potato, toss with oil and salt & pepper (other spices as desired).  I put it all on one pan and roasted for 30 minutes.  That was a little too long.  

 

#4 - sauteed kale - from here.

Heat oil in skillet and cook 2 cloves garlic until soft (not colored).  Add in 1/2 c. stock and chopped (young, soft) kale and bring to a boil.  Cover and let cook 5 minutes. Remove cover and cook until liuid evaporates.  Add 1T red wine vinegar (2T was too much) and salt/pepper to taste.

 

#5 - Assemble bowls with vegetables, granola, and dressing. 

baked oatmeal

This was super tasty, though I found it too sweet with 1/3 c. maple syrup and 1 T sugar over the top, and more desserty than breakfasty (I never have sugar for breakfast).  Excellent with yogurt!

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup roughly chopped pecans
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (or ½ teaspoon regular table salt)
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 ¾ cups milk
• ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 large eggs or flax eggs
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 12 ounces or 1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries (or 2 ½ cups of your preferred berry/fruit, chopped into ½” pieces if necessary), divided - I used 3small gala apples on bottom and blueberries on top and it was super tasty.  I think it might be good with carrots and apples, too. 
  
• 2 teaspoons raw sugar (optional)
• Optional toppings for serving: plain/vanilla yogurt or whipped cream, additional maple syrup or honey for drizzling, and/or additional fresh fruit

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish. Once the oven has finished preheating, pour the nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 4 to 5 minutes, until fragrant.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, toasted nuts, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
3. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup or honey, egg, half of the butter or coconut oil, and vanilla. Whisk until blended. (If you used coconut oil and it solidified in contact with the cold ingredients, briefly microwave the bowl in 30 second increments, just until the coconut oil melts again.)
4. Reserve about ½ cup of the berries for topping the baked oatmeal, then arrange the remaining berries evenly over the bottom of the baking dish (no need to defrost frozen fruit first). Cover the fruit with the dry oat mixture, then drizzle the wet ingredients over the oats. Wiggle the baking dish to make sure the milk moves down through the oats, then gently pat down any dry oats resting on top.
5. Scatter the remaining berries across the top. Sprinkle some raw sugar on top if you’d like some extra sweetness and crunch.
6. Bake for 42 to 45 minutes, until the top is nice and golden. Remove your baked oatmeal from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top before serving.
7. I prefer this baked oatmeal served warm, but it is also good at room temperature or chilled (I’ll leave that up to you!). This oatmeal keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 to 5 days. I simply reheat individual portions in the microwave before serving.