Stuck in a breakfast rut? This week You! has a bunch healthy ideas for you to try for your most important meal of the day…
food
What’s the best thing about waking up early in the morning? Breakfast! If you are a foodie, you would know this feeling all too well. Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day but we usually don’t give it much thought unless it’s a weekend, and almost every house in the neighbourhood is either feasting on Halwa puri or a wide range of parathas.
Most of the time, people end up skipping breakfasts, it may be because they are running short on time or the idea of having breakfast makes them want to gag. Sadly, breakfasts are usually associated with eggs, boxed cereals or parathas and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of variety. And if you are trying to find yourself a healthy and delicious option, it is like finding a needle in a haystack. You will find the humble pocket-friendly anda-paratha available in every nook and corner, but a healthy breakfast doesn’t come cheap. This week You! took matters in its own hands and compiled a list of healthy breakfast that are easy to make and delicious to devour…
Most people think of salad as a lunch or dinner food, but salads are actually great for breakfast! Salads are such an easy way to load up on fresh vegetables (and/or fruit). You can toss them together pretty quickly and they’re light and fresh while still being filling. As long as you have a good source of protein and some healthy fats on there, the salad will keep you full until your next meal without weighing you down.
This salad takes one of the most convenient forms of meats, combines it with hard boiled eggs and savoury veggies like tomatoes, avocados, corn, maybe some boiled potatoes and makes it into a dish that can fit into anyone’s weight loss diet plan. If you typically don’t have much time to cook in the a.m, boil the eggs and cook the meatballs the night before. Then, all you have to do when you stumble into the kitchen half-asleep is combine everything in a bowl. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. You can always switch up the vegetables and the protein to have some variety every now and then.
One of the easiest, healthiest, and tastiest breakfasts out there is a classic fruit and yogurt parfait. The best part? It can be made with any toppings you like. Choose fruits that are in season to get the best flavour. But in a pinch, (thawed) frozen will do, too.
One of the best things about this is that you can prepare this a night before and just grab out of the fridge whenever you feel like having breakfast. It is a low-fat, nutritious and delicious jar of goodness.
Smoothies are a perfect on-the-go snack any time of day. But this smoothie is like a full-on meal that you can whip up in no time. Blend frozen bananas, peanut butter, milk, Greek yogurt, honey, and a few ice cubes and you’ll swear you’re sipping a milkshake. You can have this as a morning snack, especially if you are heading for a good workout. Pro-tip: Add a scoop of your favourite chocolate or vanilla protein powder for an extra shot of protein.
Quick, easy, and packed with nutritious fillings, a breakfast quesadilla is the answer to your ‘make-ahead breakfast’ hopes and dreams. The best part is that the recipe for this is pretty flexible and you can tweak it accordingly. Also, this is probably the most flavoursome of all, as you can add different spices and sauces to make it more interesting.
For the filling you can try scrambled eggs with spinach, beans and some cheese. You can add some meat to it to make it more full-filling too. It doesn’t matter whether you are using it minced or in chunks. Heat the tortilla on a pan, add your toppings, cheese and some fresh veggies and then cover it with another tortilla. Let it toast on both sides and then cut it in quarters. You can either freeze the prepared quesadilla and heat it in a microwave or a pan, or just freeze the fillings and then put it all together when you want to have it.
For people who love to have their toasts in the morning with a steaming cup of chai, but don’t like the regular bran or brown bread. You can switch up your white bread with a healthier version i.e. banana bread. This bread is loaded with fibre and nutrition. You can either toast it or just enjoy it with a little spread of butter.
All you need is 75 grams of melted coconut oil (or extra-virgin olive oil), ½ cup of honey or maple syrup, 2 eggs, a cup of mashed ripe bananas, ¼ cup milk of choice or water, a teaspoon of baking soda, vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt, ground cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top, and 1 ¾ cups of whole wheat flour. You can also add some toppings of your choice like chopped walnuts or pecans, dark chocolate chips, raisins, chopped dried fruit or fresh banana slices. Mix all the ingredients and bake for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Rather than having a soggy bowl of cereal, this is much healthier and delicious. We are encouraged to eat a variety of different foods and a rainbow of colours as both help with our gut health, and this is a quick and colourful breakfast that you can whip up in a jiffy. There are no right or wrong combinations here, although maybe stick to fresh, whole foods here and think about variety! You can add oats, nuts, fruits and roasted grains so it provides you with full nutrition. And if you are a chocoholic, you can add some dark chocolate, sugar-free chips. Have it with a milk of your choice or some greek yogurt, this will serve as a fulfilling breakfast bowl.
Move over, Avocado toast, there is a new toast in town. Well, hummus isn’t exactly new to breakfast (the whole Middle-East has been having it for ages) but it’s not common here. We are basically using a deliciously healthy dip as a spread. Hummus Toast is easy to make as a quick breakfast, lunch, dinner or a healthy snack. It’s totally customisable with your favourite toppings. And as you can imagine, it’s also scrumptious. All you need it bread, any kind will do, toasted to your desired level of crispiness, and hummus. You can then top it off with whatever you like egg, olives, mix veggies, feta cheese or you could just have it as is!
