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.

Raw and delicious mango and coconut vegan dessert

I have recently noticed that the so-called traditional desserts are less popular even among the die-hard desserts lovers who not so long ago, without thinking twice, would have reached for a rich, egg and whipped cream loaded ice cream or pie. A few weeks ago I invited a few friends over and made a cake for them that looked and tasted great but, to my disappointment, some of them didn’t even touch it because it contained eggs, butter and cream. My lesson from that get-together is to always prepare tempting and delicious vegan and gluten free options that will satisfy any palate.

I started experimenting with vegan, plant-based desserts and have to admit that nuts, coconut cream and flesh of raw coconut make perfect ingredients for cream that can be served with seasonal fresh fruits, walnut or hazelnut crisp or homemade preserves.

This refreshing, easy to make dessert is fully vegan and gluten free so it doesn’t carry the guilt factor of regular desserts high in fat and calories. The main ingredient is ripe, sweet and juicy mango layered with coconut/cashew cream topped with toasted coconut chips and garnished with sweet and tart red currants.

Mangoes happen to be still in season, which lasts from January through August. They are available in most grocery stores and at this time of the year are quite inexpensive. If you are new to mangoes; they are ready to eat when soft to touch and yield to gentle pressure. Usually, in supermarkets they are still green, but you can ripen them at room temperature. Once ripe, store them in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Mangoes are not only juicy and sweet but also very healthy and highly recommended by Ayurveda. They are rich in cancer preventing antioxidants, such as beta carotene and vitamin C, low in calories and high in fiber and potassium. They also contain bioflavonoids, the compounds that help plants capture energy from the sun, and when digested they aid our immune system.

Vegan, gluten free

Serves 4               

Equipment: high-speed blender                                
                                                                        Ingredients:                                                  

• 4 ripe yellow mangoes, chopped                 
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1 cup raw young coconut flesh 
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coconut chips, lightly toasted
• 1/3 cup red currants, washed 
• peel of 1 orange, grated
• pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavors                 

Preparation:
Prepare the cream by blending coconut cream, young coconut flesh, cashews, agave nectar, vanilla extract and salt in a high-speed blender (like Vitamix) until smooth and creamy. The cream should have a texture of a pudding. You can adjust the amount of agave nectar if 1/4 cup is not enough for your taste.Divide 1/3 of the chopped mango between 4 medium dessert glasses. Spoon a layer of the cream on top of the first mango layer. Repeat layers to have two layers of mango and cream.  On top of the second layer of the cream sprinkle grated orange peel and spoon the remaining chopped mangoes. Top with toasted coconut chips and garnish with red currants or other berries.

Note: 
Imported mangoes may be irradiated or sprayed with chemicals banned in the United States. It's best to buy organic mangoes grown in the United States (in Florida or California). You can ask at the supermarket where the fruits are from.

Spectacular summer salad with apples, figs, mixed greens, radishes and pomegranate seeds

Vegan, gluten free

With its bounty of fruits and vegetables, the summertime is the best season of the year for salad eating and making. We can get out of our comfort zone and try new combinations of ingredients, introduce new herbs or spices and experiment with mixing our own healthy dressings. While we savor the weather and beautiful outdoors, we can easily enjoy the pleasure of these simple, healthy and affordable meal options.

In Ayurveda, salads are considered cold or cooling, which is one of the reasons why we crave them on hot or humid summer days. “Cold”, however is not beneficial for our digestive system, so adding healthy oils, warming herbs, lemon juice and black or cayenne pepper to the dressing will ease the digestion of the salad and improve absorption of its nutrients.

Please remember that salads should always be made from fresh, organic ingredients and eaten right away. If stored for more than six hours, they may become toxic and harmful to our health.

This refreshing salad offers plenty of nutrients and antioxidants and has lots of texture and crunch. It looks beautiful and I am going to make it this Sunday for a get-together with my girlfriends. I am planning to make the whole menu vegan and gluten-free, with an exception of the dessert – a cake that I saw last week in a great eatery in Three Oaks, Michigan. The recipe for the cake, if it comes out as great as it looked in the store, I may post on another occasion.

Here is the recipe for the salad.                              

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of mixed greens, tightly packed
• 2 apples (Gala, Granny Smith, Braeburn), thinly sliced
• 8 fresh figs (or 10-12 dried), cut in quarters
• 1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup red currants, separated from the stems (optional)
• 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup sunflower sprouts
• salt, pepper

 Dressing:

• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt, black pepper

Combine fig quarters, pomegranate seeds, red currants and sliced radishes with the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix them well together. Add the greens and apple slices and mix again. Place the salad on the plates. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and sunflower sprouts.