BREAKFAST
Start your day off right with some plants! Skip the classic American breakfast fare of cereal and milk, eggs, sausage, bacon, yogurt, french toast, etc. and try some of these plant-based recipes instead. Enjoy!
1. Vegetable and tofu breakfast scramble
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| Prep your ingredients then throw them in the frying pan...done. Total prep and cooking time? Maybe 10 minutes. |
Use extra firm tofu for this delicious creation. Just cut it into cubes, pat it dry with a paper towel and throw it into the pan. Scared of tofu? Stop being a baby try something new or just use beans instead.
For those of you who are worried about your protein intake FYI tofu is a complete protein and packs about 8g into every 3oz serving. Also, stop worrying about protein, seriously. The food industry created the protein craze not the medical community. We certainly need protein in our diet, but many Americans double their daily requirements. So slow your roll on the protein. You can get all you need from a varied diet rich in whole foods and plants.
Now you just have to season it up. A pinch of salt and pepper will do, but for some extra anti-inflammatory benefits (and a yellow color) I threw turmeric powder into this batch. Don't like turmeric or don't have any? Chill homey...try cumin, chili powder, curry, Chinese 5 spice, or whatever else you come up with.
Now eat it!
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| Salsa, siracha, chili and garlic sauce, ketchup, or hot sauce all make for great toppings for your scramble (salsa verde used above). Serve your breakfast scramble along side some fruit and a whole grain toast and you have yourself some breakfast. |
2. Acai Bowls
Acai bowls are kind of like breakfast sundaes. First you make the acai smoothie. If you can't find any acai berry puree don't sweat it. You can use any kind of frozen fruits you like. I've made these with everything from strawberries and bananas to mangoes and pineapples. Do yourself a favor and put some bananas in your freezer (peeled and cut into pieces first), they make your smoothies extra creamy. |
| Throw 1/2 of a frozen banana, frozen cherries, and frozen acai berry puree into the blender with some almond milk (unsweetened people, please!). You want this to come out like a thick smoothie so add just a little of the almond milk at a time. |
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| Pour your smoothie into a bowl and then find some fun toppings....done! |
Top your smoothie with whatever your heart desires. I topped this one with nectarine slices, raspberries, pecans, granola (look for one that is low in fat and sugar), and chia seeds. Again, feel free to use whatever you want for toppings, just stick to whole food and plant based items (duh).
3. Avocado toast
Seriously, I took the time to do a post about toast. |
| Smush avocado onto to toast and top with a tomato slice and some fresh cracked pepper...done! |
When you are in a rush, keep it simple! This is one of my go to breakfasts for those days when I am running out the door (easily eaten in the car). All you do is toast up some bread, use a fork to spread the avocado on to the toast, and then top with a slice of tomato and cracked black pepper.
3 quick things about bread:
1. Look for options that say that they are 100% whole grain. If you find some with added seeds like the one above, even better!
2. Many breads have some kind of animal based products in them. Usually butter, milk, or eggs. Keep in mind that the goal here is to eat a whole food and plant BASED diet not plant ONLY diet. You don't have to drive yourself crazy looking for a "vegan" bread that is probably made with some kind of chemical substitute for the dairy. The tablespoon of butter that went into making an entire loaf of bread is not going to give you heart disease.
3. Beware of those super large loafs of bread. A single slice of bread should have somewhere between 80-100 calories in it. That doesn't mean you can't buy those larger loafs, just be thoughtful about how much you are eating. I can't be responsible for your expanding waistline.
4. Banana oatmeal
Here is another quick and easy one for you. In the last recipe we used a toaster and for this one we are moving on to harder things...the microwave. All you need is a banana, quick cook oats, pecans, chia or flax seeds, and honey. I used a cinnamon spun honey that I picked up from the Savannah Bee Company on a recent trip, yuuummmm :) Put everything but the honey in a bowl, put enough water in to just cover the oats, and pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes. |
| If you are like me you are spending your 2 minutes of microwave time putting on your shoes and gathering your things for the day so that as soon as the microwave beeps you can run out the door. |
Then drizzle with honey and eat.
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| Keep and eye out for more oatmeal recipes to come. |
5. Nut butter and apples with granola and raisins
This breakfast is portable and doubles as a great pre-workout snack (take the hint: GO WORKOUT!)
Grab your favorite apple (pink lady below), your favorite nut butter (almond butter below), some granola or oats, raisins, and cinnamon. Core the apple first with a spoon, then spread on a layer of the nut butter, and fill with the granola and raisins. Sprinkle on a little cinnamon and enjoy.
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| Seriously go workout now. |
Hopefully these recipes will give you enough inspiration to skip the donuts, sugary cereal, and 5 egg omelets stuffed with a pound of cheese that have been clogging up your arteries morning after morning. Be creative, have fun, and try something new.
Happy eating and best health,
Dr.G
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