Healthy Breakfasts

Sooo, how did your Thanksgiving go?  Of course, as usual, I overate -- especially in the sweets department. The disappointing part this year was that we ate dinner at someone else's house, and there really wasn't a lot left over to take home (my favorite is leftover turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce).  We did, however, bring home half a pan of apple crisp, which I proceeded to eat for breakfast for the next 3 days.  And it was delicious.  In an amazing display of self control, I did NOT put ice cream on top.  :-)

But now it's time to get back on track, as I am determined not have a replay of last winter, where I gained 7 pounds and had a devil of a time working it off.  Some of you might think that 7 pounds isn't that much, but when you're short (not quite 5'2"), even a pound can make a big difference in how your jeans fit. Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, but so many more parties and celebrations ahead, I'm going to make a point of eating healthy on most days, so I don't feel so guilty when I (inevitably) indulge at the parties.

Part of that healthy eating is starting out the day right with breakfast.  My three go-to breakfasts are my homemade granola with sliced banana and almond milk, Almond Joy Oatmeal, or a chocolate almond smoothie.  Seriously, who doesn't want to have chocolate for breakfast??  But, surprisingly, the only added sugar in the oatmeal is from the chocolate chips and there is no refined sugar in the smoothie (unsweetened cocoa powder adds the chocolatey taste).  However, if none of those float your boat (I understand that not everyone likes a sweet breakfast), here are some other ideas:

This one is simply whole grain bread (thinly sliced) with peanut butter, apple slices and raw honey drizzled over the top.  It would also be yummy with a sprinkle of cinnamon.  I realize that this probably qualifies as "sweet" in many people's books, but I use natural peanut butter (no added sugar, just straight peanuts) and you can adjust the amount of honey to your taste.  Pay no attention to the glass in the background.  Beer is not part of my healthy breakfast plan (Although I did date a nationally-ranked shot-putter who would go on a strict beer diet when he had to lose weight.  True story). For the record, it is actually water, which is what I usually drink first thing in the morning.

This breakfast was made with a whole grain breakfast mix from Wegman's (if you have a store near you, it's found near the rice), but you could totally make it with quinoa or oatmeal (follow package directions).  I then just added pecans and fresh blueberries.

Sometimes I just want an egg sandwich.  Since I rarely eat actual bread anymore (especially English muffins, scones and such), this was a bit of an indulgence, but you could use gluten-free or whole grain bread to health-ify it (or do away with the bread all together). It's just herbed goat cheese, a couple of slices of avocado, and a fried egg on top (I cook the egg in a non-stick pan and don't add any extra oil or butter). It was so delicious!  But if you don't do dairy, it would taste just as good without the goat cheese. Honest. You could even do a tapenade or roasted red pepper spread instead of the cheese and get some amazing flavors jumping around your mouth first thing in the morning.

I hope this inspires you to start your day off with something healthy and delicious!  Please share your favorite breakfasts with us!

Water, Water, Everywhere!

Here we are, in the dog days of summer, and in Virginia it is HOT and HUMID.  Not a surprise, really, but it does become nearly unbearable for a person who grew up in Minnesota.  We spend a lot of time either inside or at the pool these days.

To stay cool and hydrated,  I try to drink a lot of water throughout the day.  It's good for you, and I rarely have juices or sodas in the house (we never had them in the house as a kid, so I don't really think to buy them).  But sometimes a person wants a little flavor, you know what I mean?  Water is just so...watery. Most of the time, that's enough, but every once in a while I need a little more, and a measly lemon slice just won't cut it.  Unfortunately, I'm also trying to limit sugar and prepared foods, so what's a girl to do?

Enter Sassy Water.  This is a recipe I got from the Flat Belly Diet Book, but I've changed it up a little, using limes sometimes instead of lemons and adding more ginger, and thinly slicing the ginger, rather than grating it.  The pitcher I use has a built-in strainer at the spout, but the grated ginger sneaks through and (for me, anyway) is too strong, plus the ginger pulp gives the water a little extra texture that I don't prefer.

You might want to spring for organic ingredients in this case, because everything's sitting in the water, infusing it with their flavors, which means any residues left even after washing them will also be leaching into the water as well. Just something to think about, but it's not like I'll be checking up on you or anything.  For the record, this time I did not use organic, 'cause sometimes I like living on the edge.    :-)

For those of you paying close attention, you'll probably notice that the ginger is in chunks, more than slices.  Sometimes I'll do it in long, thin-ish slices as well.  The best way to get this all done quickly is if you have a mandoline to get the slices nice and thin, but sometimes I just can't be bothered to drag the thing out, so there you go. And look at me, trying to get fancy with garnishes and such.  Unfortunately, it looks pretty weak.  Sigh.  It tastes really good, though, so let's focus on that!

The Flat Belly Diet's Sassy Water Recipe

2 liters of water (about 8.5 cups)
1 inch (or 2 inches if you can spare it) fresh ginger, sliced thinly
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced (the original recipe has you peeling the cucumber, but I didn't see the point, really, especially if you have organic)
1 medium lemon or lime, thinly sliced
12 mint leaves

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher, chill in the refrigerator, and let flavors blend overnight. I can usually get two pitchers-full out of the ingredients (filling the pitcher back up once the first batch of water is gone, but you have to drink it within 3 days, otherwise everything gets a little too water-logged.

The version I made, shown in the pictures here, is just lime, cucumber and ginger.  Feel free to change things up, depending on your taste and availability of ingredients.