HAPPY FRIDAY!
My muscles have been feeling a bit tight this week! It is no doubt due to being back to work baking + hunching at my desk! I tell you, I didn’t have one twinge of muscle pain while on vacation, even with all the running I did! I think Florida is good for the body… ;)
I decided to start my morning off with 20 minutes of Yoga Sculpt #1 over at yogadownload. I definitely worked up a sweat by the end. I capped it off with 10 minutes of Yoga for Runner’s. I felt so good, if someone would have offered me a free massage I would have passed them by! hehe…not really, but I did feel really good!
This morning I had one thing on my mind after yoga…KEEN-WAAAH.
PB, J, & B Breakfast Quinoa
Ingredients:
Into the pot goes…
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 mashed, ripe banana
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of cinnamon (optional)
- pinch of sea salt (optional)
Directions: Stir together above ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and stir frequently for about 8-10 minutes being careful not to burn. If it dries out, add a bit more milk. Pour into a bowl and add toppings!
My toppings:
- Crave Glo Bar (Peanut butter, cacao nibs, and cherry)
- Strawberry jam
- 1 tablespoon roasted peanut butter
I used half a Crave Glo Bar on top.
I forgot about the jam in the back of the fridge! I love jam!
On the spoon: Organic strawberry jam, peanut butter, Crave Glo Bar + quinoa mix!
A great start to Friday!
I like to spread the goodness all around!
I should be good for a solid 4 hours on this.
While I enjoyed this bowl a lot, I still prefer the Vegan overnight oats– and I admit I was kind of wishing I had those instead of this! Total…BREAKFAST ENVY! :mrgreen:
My breakfast story:
My breakfasts used to be a sad sight. When I was struggling with disordered eating, I would have the same tiny breakfast day in and day out. I remember being just 12 years old (that is when my struggle with food really took hold) and only allowing myself half of a packet of instant oatmeal. Sadly, my approach to breakfast didn’t improve throughout my teenage years when I would often have just 1 apple for breakfast. I was hungry all morning and never had any energy. I never thought that I deserved a balanced and hearty breakfast like other people did.
Then I started reading food blogs a few years ago. I saw other people eating delicious breakfasts each morning and something inside me started to change. I started to think that I was worthy of a filling and energizing breakfast too. I started experimenting with green monsters, oatmeal, pancakes, cereals, and I fell in love with healthy breakfasts and how they make me feel…energized and full of energy for the day’s tasks. I also realized that I didn’t gain weight by eating a big breakfast which was something I always feared previously.
Some of my favourite breakfast foods now include: Healthy Spelt Pancakes For One, Peanut Butter Banana Bomb Muffins, green monsters, Creamy PB + J Oatmeal Parfait, Energize Me Creamy Fruit Dip, Glowing Sunshine Juice, and Healthy Peanut Butter Coconut Swirl Pancakes.
Breakfast is FUN for me now…it took a long time to get here, but it was worth the fight!
Today’s question- Do you approach breakfast differently than you used to? How so? What did you used to eat for breakfast 5-10 years ago and what do you have now? Are you inspired by blogs to change up your breakfasts?
In high school I usually ate something on the go, but remember having a “snack time” midmorning with a granola bar stash in my locker. Disordered eating set in during college, when I started having a nonfat yogurt with half of a banana. This was supposed to last me from 730 until 12, and I remember being starving around 10 :( Thank god I’ve wisened up!
When I was a kid, breakfast usually consisted of a bowl of sugary cereal + milk. I would always be starvinggg by the time lunch rolled around (in school, we weren’t allowed to eat in class!)
A few years ago, I was going through my crazy “I want to be healthy” phase and I’d have a 100-calorie pack of instant oatmeal in the morning. Craziness
In high school I would go from the time I woke up until the time I got home from school without eating ANYTHING.
Needless to say, I was obese.
I used to never eat breakfasts, because I was never hungry in the mornings. Once I started trying to lose weight and cut my dinner portions down I started eating breakfast, because I woke up hungry.
Blogs have inspired me to “beef” up my breakfasts and it’s awesome.
I would never have thought to have quinoa for breakfast! Awesome.
Big breakfasts in the morning tend to make me very tired, so I start out with coffee and a piece of fruit, but I always have a midmorning snack, which has been green monsters lately(thankyou!) I find it easier to space out my food to keep my energy stable.
I cannot wait to try those overnight oats though, count me in! :)
First off…I have to take a moment and acknowledge the quinoa breakfast. I heart quinoa and could have it at every single meal! And my fiance is obsessed. Every night he begs begs begs for quinoa. It’s so cute!
Oh hun I can totally relate to the breakfast deprivation club. I was so horrible to my body up until a few years back. If I could skip breakfast I always would and when I did sit down to eat- slim pickings! I remember convincing myself that 1 fat free scary eggo waffle was plenty to hold me over until dinner. Oh the lessons learned!!
Now I have a breakfast of champions every morning! Currently I’m drinking a chocolate-cherry-banana-green monster. Oh my gosh is it perfect!
I’ve actually always eaten a HUGE breakfast, but when I was younger that would mean 3-4 bowls of sugar cereal….not the healthiest! Now I eat only high fiber/high protein cereals during the week and green monsters/oatmeal on the weekend. I just LOVE breakfast!
Your blog inspired me yesterday (as it often does!) to make Vegan Overnight Oats…I’m eating them right now (Toppings= peanut butter, hemp hearts and berries) and I’m LOVING it!!
I never really used to pay attention to breakfast when I was in junior high and high school…not for the worry of gaining weight, but mostly out of pure laziness. Sometimes I’d have a simple bowl of cereal or a piece of toast with PB or jam, but I’m finding that now that I eat a more filling and healthy b-fast I’m full for hours and I don’t aimlessly snack at my desk all day!
It’s really a wonderful feeling :)
I can’t wait for your other V.O.N.O creations!
:) Nikki
I have always had a hard time with breakfast because I’m rarely in the mood for “typical” breakfast items. I like lunch-ey foods better. However, since I’ve started to read blogs, I have been experimenting with various breakfast foods and am loving it! :)
Thanks for the great recipes!
Do you start with raw quinoa or do you pre-cook it before it goes into the pot with the other ingredients?
My old breakfast would be a cup of Cheerios, a half cup of soymilk, and a piece of fruit, and then I wouldn’t eat for another 5 or 6 hours. Ugh. So glad I’ve moved onward!!!
Breakfast is really my most fave meal of the day. I get up early, so I can make something good, catch up on emails, news etc, and just have some quiet time. Breakfast was always eaten as a family growing up and it while it wasn’t like some of the fabulous stuff OSG is whipping up :), it was healthy options (fruit, juice, multigrain toast, boiled eggs, porridge etc). I truly credit my mum for making me appreciate the important of a good and filling nutritious breakfast (it warmed my heart to read how you felt you deserved a hearty breakfast, Angela). I still can’t understand how anyone can eat a donut for breakfast!
My breakfast is completely different now than it was in High School/College. Most mornings it was pop tarts or eggos, and then a Coke and a Cookie/Muffin in homeroom. It kinda grosses me out thinking about it now, so much sugar and empty calories!!
Now my breakfast usually consists of a Green Monster, oatmeal, or a mix of cereal/yogurt/fruit (annnd a few chocolate chips!). I’m currently experimenting as to what keeps me fullest longest, because I always end up starving at 10am!!
I’ve never restricted myself for breakfast. I do get into ruts where I can eat the same thing day in and day out… then I’ll change it up.
The quinoa looks yum! I’ve always eaten breakfast, because I get light-headed/nauseous/cranky. However, growing up it was cereal or Pop Tarts. Up until recently I would still grab a Pop Tart or sugary breakfast bar to. Yuck. Now I eat a balanced meal that lasts until lunch time. I feel SO much better!
Angela — I love your blog and all your awesome vegan eats…as well as your creative breakfasts. I still haven’t been able to take the plunge and try quinoa in the morning (I can’t get over the fact that to me, it’s a DINNER food haha), but your bfast bowls of it always look so good!
I’ve always loved breakfast. I often go to bed looking forward to breakfast and am hungry almost the second I wake up. I never understand how people can roll out of bed and run out the door without eating — I’d rather get up earlier so that I have time to fill up! However, I went through a phase where I was living in an apartment with 5 other women — all who ate teeny tiny bowls of cereal for breakfast every morning. I started feeling pretty bad about my huge bowls of oats, granola, etc and began to cut back for awhile. But I think in the end this just backfired — I was so hungry during the morning that I ended up eating more! I’ve loved reading blogs and seeing these amazing FULL, healthy breakfasts everyone eats! It’s definitely rekindled my love of oatmeal and made me realize that eating a good breakfast is NOT going to make me gain weight.
I have always eaten breakfast. I love breakfast. I try to make it as healthy as possible- usually a smoothie, or eggs or something else delicious! I always try to make enough time in the morning before work to prepare a balanced breakfast.
my breakfast habit 5-10 years ago was awful, particularly in college and a few years after college. I used to have a lot of sugary cereals which i have since eliminated from my diet now.. i also use to skip breakfast, which i real was so bad for me when i was trying to lose weight.. within the past few years, i have definitely started experimenting more.. i have to say, i have received a lot of inspiration from various blogs (including yours thank you for Green Monster) on different breakfast options.. i now experiment a lot more with oatmeal, i used to just have oatmeal with bananas but not any more :-)
My breakfasts have definitely changed! When I was growing up, breakfast was almost always cereal. At least my mom didn’t buy the super sugary stuff! During 12th grade, I decided to go low-carb and ate eggs everyday. Then in college, I discovered the wall-of-cereal in our cafeteria and all the sugary cereals I never had as a kid! Eventually though, college breakfasts turned into a teeny tiny Special K bar, non-filling tiny bowl of cereal, or an apple. Maybe an egg & cheese on an English muffin if I was hungover. Now? My breakfasts have definitely been blog inspired! My usual weekday breakfasts are oatmeal with fruit and nuts/nut butter or veggies scrambled with eggs and wheat toast. From experience, it’s true- eating a breakfast starts the day SO well. NOT being ravenous all day makes me a much less grumpy person & less likely to eat an ice cream sundae for dinner!
Breakfast has changed drastically for me over the last year. Before I started to embrace healthy living, I would have a bagel sandwich most days, or else skip breakfast all together. Since losing over 50 pounds, I have realized just how important breakfast is. Now I have a big bowl of oats or yogurt almost every day and load it up with toppings so it keeps me full for hours.
YUM! Your bowl looks amazing!
I love breakfast! I used to never eat breakfast, though. In high school I never ate breakfast.