Healthy breakfast bowl with millet, plums, pumpkin seeds and walnuts

Healthy breakfast bowl with millet, plums, pumpkin seeds and walnutsVegan, gluten free

Breakfast, for some people, is the most boring meal of the day. Many find it dull because they have been reaching for the same ingredients to make the same boring dishes for the most of their lives. Typically, in America breakfast consists of a toast with jam, eggs, yogurt, orange juice or a store bought cereal served with cold milk. Pancakes and waffles with fruit on holidays. Very predictable, not exciting and not so healthy at all.

But when you discover that there are other alternatives – both healthy, exciting and easy to make – you may change your mind and decide that the first meal of the day is not so boring, after all.

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, breakfast should be healthy and well-balanced to restore glucose level after its drop at night and provide energy for the body and mind. It shouldn’t be huge or too heavy because in the morning, our digestive system is not ready to break down and absorb nutrients from a heavy meal. It reaches its highest potency later, at a lunchtime, so lunch should be the largest meal of the day.

I find breakfast bowls a great alternative to those other traditional foods typically prepared for breakfast. They consist of cooked grains, possibly gluten free, mixed with nuts, seeds, spices and dried or fresh fruits. Such combinations make them nourishing and easy to digest. Whole grains that provide complex carbohydrates are important component of a healthy breakfast because they take longer to break down into blood glucose and offer indigestible fibers that aid in gut health and prevent constipation. Adding a small amount of clarified butter (ghee) to the cooked grains will increases the absorption of nutrients. Ghee is also anti-aging.

When you find yourself feeling bored thinking of reaching for a box with cereal again to mix it with cold milk, think again and change your breakfast routine. A breakfast bowl prepared with cooked grain of your choice combined with your favorite nuts, seeds and fruits will transform your perception of the first meal of the day. You don’t have to eat a bowl of grains every day, but try it once to see how many different options there is. Creativity kills boredom, that’s one sure thing.

In this recipe I used millet, but it can be replaced by other grains, such as: oats, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth or  rice, depending on what you like and what serves you best. To the millet I added fruit, which according to Ayurveda, “is like gold in the morning” because at this time of day we can best absorb the nutrients it offers. I chose plums, presently in season, which have excellent nutritional qualities and will lend sweetness and slight tartness to the nutty flavor of millet. 

Some nutritional facts about plums:

• Great source of vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, vitamin C, E and potassium
• Supply dietary fiber and are low in calories
• Help increase absorption of iron into the body
• Destroy breast cancer cells
• Are full of antioxidants that improve brain memory and slow down the progress of Alzheimer's disease

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 11/2 cup cooked millet 
• 8-10 fresh plums, lightly stewed
• 2 tbsp clarified butter or olive oil
• 3-4 tsp agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/8 cup raw pumpkin seeds 
• 1/8 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
• 1/8 cup hemp seeds (optional)
• pinch of salt 

Preparation:

Divide the millet and other ingredients between two bowls - about 3/4 cup of millet per bowl. Add olive oil or clarified butter and agave nectar, salt and turmeric to the millet and stir well. Slice the plums (I used Italian plums for this bowl) into halves, remove pits and place the plums in a small saucepan with about 3 tbsp of water. Stew the plums over low-medium heat for about 2 minutes. Set aside, spoon out the juice and add it to the millet. Stir it well. Adding the plum juice will enrich the flavor of the millet and make the mixture lightly moist. Arrange the plums on top of the millet, sprinkle the hemp and pumpkin seeds in the middle and toasted walnuts around the plums. I sliced the plums thinner - into quarters -  but this is totally optional.
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Tip: Millet can be cooked a day before and warmed up before breakfast with about 1/8 cup of water. Bring it to a simmer, turn off the heat after about 30 seconds. Cover and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Fluff it up with a fork. It should be eaten warm.

  

Warning: Millet, regardless of its great nutritional value, should be eaten in moderation, preferably once a week or less. It contains goitrogens, substances that suppress thyroid activity and when eaten in large quantities may lead to thyroid imbalances. Millet is not recommended for people with hyphothyroidism.

Heavenly breakfast bowl with millet, banana, stawberries and mango

Gluten free, vegan

An old saying goes: “Eat like a king in the morning, like a prince at lunchtime, and like a beggar in the evening.” This is still true for us today: a healthy, well-balanced breakfast provides the energy required for the day. We often skip breakfast because we get too busy in the morning or do not feel hungry. If we forgo the first meal of the day, our blood sugar will be low, we will feel tired and have shorter attention span in the morning. That's because after 8-10 hours of fasting at night the glucose levels significantly drop and they have to be restored in the morning so we can normally function. Glucose generates energy for the body and is vital for the brain.

Huge breakfast consisting of heavy, hard to digest foods is equally bad as not eating anything at all. In the morning, our digestive system has not yet reached its maximum strength and is not ready to break down and absorb nutrients from a heavy meal. It reaches its highest potency later, at a lunchtime. That’s why lunch, not breakfast, should be the largest meal of the day.

Breakfast needs to be balanced and healthy to refuel our bodies and bring the sugar levels back to normal. It should be easy to digest, nourishing, lightly spiced up, and include a variety of ingredients. We need carbohydrates that will be slowly released into the blood stream over a longer period of time. Whole grains that provide complex carbohydrates are important component of a healthy breakfast because they take longer to break down into blood glucose and offer indigestible fibers that aid in gut health and swift bowel movement.

A bowl of fully cooked, possibly gluten free whole grains mixed with seeds, nuts and dried or fresh fruits will be a great, nourishing and balancing the body and mind breakfast choice. A small amount of clarified butter (ghee) added to the grains, will stimulate the digestion and increase the absorption of nutrients.

In this recipe I used millet, but it can be replaced by other grains, such as: oats, buckwheat, quinoa, rice, amaranth, or a combination of two or three different grains mixed together, depending on what you like and what serves you best. I added fruit, which according to Ayurveda, “is like gold in the morning” because at this time of day we can absorb the maximum nourishment from it. I chose strawberries, now in season, mango and banana, which have fantastic nutritional values and amazing tastes.

A few facts about the key health benefits of these fruits:

·         

    Mangoes provide vitamins C and A, dietary fiber, potassium and protective nutrients. The antioxidant compounds in mangoes fight against cancers.

·   Strawberries are believed to help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. They are low in calories and high in vitamins C, B6, K, fiber, folic acid, potassium and amino acids.

    Bananas are a great source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6 and C, and various antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Topping the bowl with a handful of crunchy toasted almonds will not only enhance the meal’s taste but will also enrich it with unsaturated fatty acids, dietary fiber, protein, vitamin E, riboflavin, magnesium, manganese, copper, antioxidant flavonoids and phytosterols.

Ingredients:                                                            

• 11/2 cup millet, cooked and fluffed                                        
• 10-12 small and sweet organic strawberries, cut in quarters
• 1 medium yellow mango, chopped
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• 1 tsp agave nectar or honey
• 1 tbsp clarified butter or olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp shredded coconut
• 1 tsp black sesame or poppy seeds 
• pinch of salt
 

Divide the millet and other ingredients between two bowls - about 3/4 cup of millet per bowl. Add olive oil or clarified butter and honey or agave nectar, salt and turmeric to the millet and stir it well. Sprinkle the shredded coconut on top of the millet and arrange the sliced banana, chopped strawberries, mango and toasted almonds. Sprinkle the mango with black sesame
or poppy seeds.

Tip: Millet can be cooked a day before and warmed up before breakfast with about 1/8 cup of water. Bring it to a simmer, turn off the heat after about 30 seconds. Cover and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Fluff it up with a fork. It should be eaten warm.

  

Warning: Millet, regardless of its great nutritional value, should be eaten in moderation, preferably once a week or less. It contains goitrogens, substances that suppress thyroid activity and when eaten in large quantities may lead to thyroid imbalances. Millet is not recommended for people with hyphothyroidism.