The Most Important Meal of the Day

Somebody once asked me, "If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?" My clever answer is breakfast. Maybe that's not a fair answer, but I like it anyway. Really, you can have anything you want for breakfast--bacon and eggs, cold pizza, quiche, cereal, tea, toast, muffins, or just plain fruit--yup, I could eat nothing but breakfast forever.

Here are some great healthy breakfast ideas to help you get out of that cereal slump.

Juices and Smoothies are always a refreshing way to start your day, and they even work for people on the go. Just blend it up, pour that cool, creamy concoction into a travel mug, and you're good to go! To increase the "full" feeling from a liquid breakfast, be sure to use solid fruits and veggies for their fiber content instead of just juice, and add a scoop of protein powder if you have it. You can really put anything you want into a juice blend or smoothie (try and resist the urge to add ice cream!) so here are some suggestions.





-Amazing Apple Smoothie: (serves 1)
half a honeycrisp apple (THE best kind of apple, I kid you not!)
1/4 c. apple juice
1/4 c. orange juice
2 tsp maple syrup or to taste
1/4 c. yogurt
a pinch each of nutmeg and cinnamon

-Green Tea Smoothie II: (serves 1)
1 c. vanilla soymilk
2 green tea bags
1 frozen banana
1 c. frozen mango
juice of one orange
honey to taste
For this one you want to steep the green tea bags in the soymilk, so to avoid watering it down with ice, you may want to make the soymilk tea the night before and chill it.

-Apple Carrot Juice: (serves 1)
1 whole apple, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
Depending on your juicer, this may not produce as much juice as you want. I think some juicers are more efficient than mine, but I know that I would have to put in at least twice this recipe to get a nice tall glass of juice.


Eggs are a French breakfast classic. I've never been a huge fan of sulphury-tasting eggs, but I can eat them if they've got enough yummy veggies mixed in so that I don't taste the eggs much. Here are two such recipes, both of which require a little bit of extra time in the morning. Save these ones for a special Saturday morning breakfast.

-Spinach & Potato Frittata: (serves 6-8)
6 sliced red potatoes
olive oil, to saute
1 c. torn fresh spinach, or 1/4 brick of frozen spinach, thawed & drained
2 Tb. sliced green onions
1 tsp. minced garlic
6 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
Cook potatoes first in a cast iron skillet. Add other veggies when potatoes are tender, then pour egg-milk mixture over, and sprinkle cheese on top. You can either finish it on the stove over low heat, or pop it in the oven at about 325 until the eggs are set.





-Zucchini Omelette (serves 1)
1 lb. zucchini, grated & drained
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
olive oil, to saute zucchini and omelette
1 tsp freshly chopped marjoram leaves & flowers
2 eggs
splash of milk
sour cream to garnish
Saute the zucchini a bit first before adding the egg mixture. I got this recipe from Gourmet magazine, and the chef who created this recipe insists that it tastes best about 30 minutes after it's been cooked.


Paninis are a relatively new trend for sandwiches, so why not replace that smelly old egg mcmuffin with a snazzy new breakfast panini?

-Peanut Butter Panini: (serves 4)
1/4 c. golden raisins
1/4 c. peanut butter
2 Tb. honey
8 round whole-grain waffles
1 apple, cored and sliced
4 Tb. jam
2 tsp butter, to saute
If you don't have a fancy sandwich press, you can always place a clean pot or pan on top of your panini to help press it down. This recipe came from Vegetarian Times magazine.


Fruit Salad is one of my favorite things ever, morning noon or night. You can spruce it up a bit with a sprinkle of lime juice and some chopped mint, or even with some Mexican cheese, as suggested in this recipe from Gourmet.

-Aurelia's Breakfast Fruit Salad: (serves 6)
1 pineapple, trimmed, cored, & diced
2 lb. mangos, peeled & diced
2 c. orange juice
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, to garnish
1/2 c. or 2 1/2 oz. crumbled cojita or queso fresco, to garnish
Put the fruit chunks into serving bowls and pour the juice over it like cereal. Sprinkle each portion evenly with the garnishes just before serving.


Now this is by no means a comprehensive list of my breakfast ideas--I figured I'd save some of the special ones and give them their own post. But for now, hopefully these recipes will help you pull through that morning fog in a healthy, bright, and delicious way!