Stuck in a breakfast rut? Try these simple, healthy and delicious recipes that will leave you full until lunchtime. Remember, eating “breakfast like a queen, lunch like a princess and dinner like a pauper” is the ideal way to maximize your metabolism.
1. Eggs with white beans and greens
Scramble or fry your eggs in butter (down with margarine and that nasty spray stuff!). Saute a can of white beans and some greens of your choice (spinach and chard work well) with broth and salt or a boullion cube for flavor. Serve the eggs piping hot in a bowl over the white beans and greens. This keeps well – leftovers can be reheated for lunch, or for tomorrow’s breakfast.
2. Power-packed smoothie
Start with a blend of milks – try raw milk or almond milk – and then throw everything you can think of in there. Remember, you want a good amount of protein and fat. For protein try a raw egg yolk (from a trusted source) or protein powder. A bit of avocado or some shredded coconut can add both fat and a creamy texture. Frozen or fresh berries and bananas provide flavor so that you can sneak in spinach without tasting it. Go to town with whatever booster foods you like – spirulina, chia seeds, bee pollen – and feel super-virtuous about all the healthy stuff you managed to consume before 8 am!
3. Whole grain pancakes
Lots of people have a hard time digesting gluten, including me. I’ve experimented quite a bit with pancakes and my fave flours to use are teff (an ancient Ethiopian grain) and almond (yeah, the nut). If you live anywhere within striking distance of a natural grocery store you’ll be able to score at least one of these. While teff is a grain, almond, being a nut, offers more protein and fat. So if I’m serving teff pancakes I usually supplement them with yogurt (or bacon). Oh, and don’t forget the maple syrup – one of nature’s most delicious treats, as far as I’m concerned.
4. Japanese style breakfast
Serve cooked or raw fish, such as salmon or tuna, over brown rice mixed with some seaweed. Seaweed is one of the most mineral-rich foods on Earth, and sheets of nori are super easy to find. Sprinkle with Gomasio – a blend of sea salt and sesame seeds. If you’re really motivated, toss a dollop of miso in a bowl, pour hot water for it and stir. Now you’ve got two courses!
5. Eggs a la sweet potato
Did you serve sweet potatoes last night? Got some left over? Heat them up in your stove while frying or scrambling a couple of eggs. Don’t forget salt and butter or coconut oil.
What’s your “crack”?
You know…that food that you’re most likely to pound after a hard day, or a sad day. Your kryptonite.
For ages and ages, mine was…
a warm…
chewy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside…
strings of chocolate stretching as you broke it apart….
chocolate chip cookie.
(Or ten).
(Or raw cookie dough…there was that one time in my early 20s when I was returning from my evening GRE class, got off the subway, purchased a roll of uncooked cookie dough from the supermarket, and proceeded to eat about 1/2 of it.)
These days, I may have conquered my sugar addiction, but that doesn’t mean I skimp on desserts. No, ma’am. I just use a harm reduction principle – the concept that if you’re going to engage in a dangerous activity, you should do so as safely as possible. (Same principle behind distributing syringes to heroin addicts, or condoms in school. I call it common sense). Is cookie consumption dangerous? Well, you and I know it can be.
Therefore, harm reduction + chocolate chip cookie = finding the least allergenic and most nutrient-dense recipe around. There are a couple of reasons for this, which all boil down to the principle that if you eat good quality stuff, you’re less likely from a physiological standpoint to binge on it. By George, I think I’ve finally found it! And now I happily share it with you. Here are some important informational pieces about why I chose the ingredients I did:
It’s gluten-free. I’m ok with eating a burger on a wheat bun if I’m out on a date night, but I avoid using gluten at home. I’ve found that most people don’t digest it well. When I eat more than a little bit of it a few times per week my belly swells up and I look like I’m in my second trimester.
So I’m always experimenting with gluten-free flours, and the almond flour I use below is one of my faves for baking. If you’ve never worked with almond flour before, you’re in for a serious treat. It’s cakey, not too dense, slightly sweet, and packed with minerals. (Remember that almonds grow on trees whose roots reach deep into the ground, accessing all of that mineral-rich soil.) It’s also very low in carbs, and while I’m certainly not anti-carb, it’s just a fact that carbs spike the blood sugar…and the subsequent crash can trigger sugar cravings. In contrast, the fat and protein found in almonds work to keep your blood sugar nice and stable.
It’s refined-sugar-free. Also notice there’s no refined sugar of any kind in this recipe, for obvious reasons. Don’t be fooled by “evaporated cane juice”, “brown sugar”, and “beet sugar” – all euphemisms for the legal white powder. I use honey instead, which is also rich in minerals, and has anti-bacterial properties – how cool is that?
It’s easy. Best of all, this recipe is super-simple and super-quick. All the better to shove healthy cookies in my mouth, STAT.
The Perfect (Healthy) Chocolate Chip Cookie
(recipe adapted from www.elenaspantry.com)
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c blanched almond flour (I buy the Honeyville Farms brand in bulk)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c melted butter (make sure it’s not hot when you mix it in with the other ingredients)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 c honey
1 c bittersweet chocolate chips (you can also use grain-sweetened if you can find them)
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir.
3. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, stirring (or, if the dry ingredients’ bowl happens to be bigger, you can do it the other way around. Doesn’t really matter).
5. Form 1/2 inch balls and press gently onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 7-10 minutes (tops of cookies will be slightly golden-brown when ready).
7. Cool and feast!
Know someone who would love this recipe? Please share the love by forwarding.
Last Sunday I held the first ever Reconnect with the Magic of Food workshop up at Lyons Farmette. The misty autumn air, bounty of vegetables and flowers, and gang of fantastic women made for a truly memorable day – or, as one participant put it, “pretty amazingly awesome”.
After a morning spent doing body-centered practices and magical meditations, we harvested, cooked, and feasted on a four course farm-to-table lunch. While all of the recipes were delicious, this one got the most oohs, aahs, and rolled back eyes. It’s simple, hearty, and at a wood-and-chrome joint in downtown Boulder, would probably be slapped with a $15 per bowl price tag. It can be yours for the price of one butternut squash, a can of coconut milk, and a handful of herbs. Enjoy.
Butternut Squash Soup
(recipe adapted from Darshana Weill)
This recipe works well with butternut squash, but can also accommodate pumpkin, sweet potato, acorn squash, and even carrots and parsnip.
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 can of coconut milk
Vegetable or chicken broth, or water
Seasonings: salt, pepper
For a sweet soup, add nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice.
For a savory soup, add sage, rosemary, and a bit of thyme.
Instructions:
- Peel and chop up butternut squash, and discard stringy innards and seeds. Place chopped pieces in large pot.
- Cover with coconut milk and water/broth until the liquid level comes to just above veggies.
- Boil until squash is very tender: about 15-20 minutes.
- Let cool and add small amounts of seasonings.
- Blend in blender. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Yay October!
Autumn is an awesome time of year for eating seasonally. If your relationship with food is tough, steeping yourself in traditional recipes that match your mood and the season can be really healing. Thick bowls of squash soup, heavy casseroles, and harvest pies nourish the soul as well as the body and make binging on candy a lot less appealing.
Here’s one of my favorite gluten-free and refined-sugar-free fall recipes. Toasted and slathered with butter, cream cheese or yogurt, these muffins are great for breakfast or a healthy and satisfying dessert.
If you try ’em, let me know what you think of ’em in the comments below!
Pumpkin Muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 c honey or maple syrup
1/2 tsp liquid Stevia (derived from a South American herb and available at most grocery stores)
1/2 c melted butter or coconut oil (note – please do not sub margarine, vegetable oil, etc! Margarine is very fake and vegetable oils get rancid very easily, particularly at high temps.)
3 eggs
1 1/2 c pureed pumpkin (you can make it from scratch or buy a can)
1/2 c water (more if needed)
3 1/2 c gluten-free flour (try teff, almond flour, or brown rice flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease muffin tins.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Spoon mixture into muffin tins – do not overfill!
Bake 15 min.
Let cool and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Rachel Jones.
Do you ever crave dessert, but don’t want to deal with the hassle of baking – not to mention the temptation of leftovers? Me too. So….I came up with this little beauty, which is kinda like a homemade Nutella. Last time I made it, it took me 32 seconds to make, from start to finish. It’s also tasty and easily titrated for your appetite (or cravings). Enjoy.
Quick and Easy Chocolate Nut Butter
Ingredients:
2-4 spoonfuls of your favorite nut butter (almond, peanut, hazelnut, sunflower, etc…)
2 spoonfuls of unsweetened cocoa powder (add more if you like, as with all of these ingredients)
Generous splash of milk of your choice (dairy, coconut, almond…just no soy, make sure it’s full fat, and no refined sugar added!)
Splash of vanilla extract
Sweetener of your choice (I usually use honey or Stevia)
Sprinkle of salt (to bring out the flavor)
Instructions:
Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix them. If mixture becomes too sticky, add more milk, or water.
Eat.
Here are three of my secret weapons for demolishing your sugar (and chocolate) cravings while simultaneously stuffing your body with vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. Yes, it can be done!!
Enjoy, and don’t hesitate to forward them to the people in your life who are struggling with sugar cravings, sugar addiction, or compulsive eating…or who just love healthy desserts. You never know who these recipes will help.
#1. Raw Chocolate Mousse
This is my no-fail knock-your-sox-off trick-u-into-eating-heathy dessert. I’ve brought it to bbqs where people compared it to brownie batter. I’ve brought it to baby showers full of gluten and sugar, and it still got devoured. Simple and quick, hypoallergenic and uberchocolaty, it’s sure to please. Serve it in martini glasses for a chic look.
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1 c cashews
2 c pitted dates
10 tbsp raw cacao powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
garnish: raspberries (optional)
Preparation:
- Soak dates and cashews for 30 minutes in water.
- Reserve soaking water.
- Blend all ingredients (except garnish) in food processor. Add splashes of soaking water as needed.
- Transfer to bowl, garnish, and serve.
Recipe credit: Alison Anton
#2: Dairy-free Mexican Hot Chocolate
I invented this back when I couldn’t digest dairy. Now I can, because I’ve done a ton of work on my digestion.
This Mexi cocoa is the perfect treat for your post-dinner chocolate cravings on a cold winter’s night. Feel free to use milk if you desire!
Ingredients:
8-12 oz almond milk and coconut milk combined (at least 50% almond milk, if not more)
3 drops liquid Stevia (then add more, to taste, gradually – stevia is strong!)
Cacao, unsweetened (at least 2 heaping tablespoons. Taste and add more if needed.)
Cinnamon and chili powder (to taste)
Preparation:
- Heat milks in a saucepan, SLOWLY.
- Add cacao while whisking gently.
- Add spices and stevia to taste.
- Whisk gently for a few minutes until cacao and spices are blended, and drink is heated to the appropriate temp.
- Taste and adjust seasonings
- Enjoy!!!
#3: Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate truffles are super simple to make. This recipe calls for coconut milk and coconut oil. Coconut has amazing properties – it’s anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and great for hair, skin, and nails. Amazingly, it also helps regulate your metabolism. Feast on coconut all you want – it’s an incredibly nutritious (and delicious) food.
Ingredients:
1 c cocoa powder
1/4 c coconut oil, melted
1/4 c honey
1/2 c coconut cream (the cream from the top of an unsweetened can of coconut milk)
Preparation:
- Mix ingredients in bowl.
- Cover and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Pour a little more cocoa, or shredded coconut or finely chopped nuts, into a shallow bowl (about 2 tablespoons) for the coating.
- Scoop out a small spoonful of the hardened chocolate, gently roll it in your hands, and drop it in the bowl with coating.
- Swirl it around to cover the ball with the topping of your choice.
- Place the covered truffles on a plate and repeat with the remaining chocolate.
Recipe credit: Health, Home and Happiness
