How many days do you wake up and consume only a cup of coffee before heading out to work? We all know that eating breakfast is the right choice – but how often do we just live our lives skipping that oh-so-important meal? If you aren’t in the habit of eating breakfast – start now! Here are eight of my favorite breakfasts – ranging from traditional, to not so traditional.

1. Oatmeal: Cook a pot of steel cut oats at the beginning of the week. Serve yourself 1/2 a cup of cooked oats, with an optional 1/2 cup of milk (or almond milk), a tablespoon of nut butter. When you get into the habit of eating oatmeal, you can have a lot of fun with it. Sometimes I add coconut butter, or dried fruit, or maple syrup, or fresh berries. I’ll stir in a spoonful of nutella for a sweet kick, or go savory and add spinach, garlic and soy sauce.

2. Open faced sandwich – A slice of whole grain toast, topped with a tablespoon of nut butter (peanut, or go peanut free – I like Barney Butter) and a large orange. Or, instead of nut butter, I might top it with hummus, and serve it with carrot sticks or red bell pepper.

3. Whole Grain Pancakes – Make your own pancake mix, or use a healthy (just add water) mix such as Bob’s Red Mill, or Kodiak Cakes flapjack mix. I like these because I can make myself a single pancake, and not have to crack open any eggs. Top with 1/2 cup of fresh berries such as raspberries or blueberries, and a tablespoon of real maple syrup.

4. Eggs – 2 egg omelet with 1/2 cup chunky salsa. If I’m hungry, I’ll add a half cup or so of cooked beans as well. Also tastes delicious with a boatload of spinach.

5. Yogurt cup – 1/2 cup of plain, full fat yogurt. Top with 1/4 cup granola or rolled oats, a tablespoon of jam, and if desired some sweetener such as a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup. Add fresh berries if you have any.

6. Cereal -  If you adore cereal, look for cereals with HIGH FIBER (5 grams per serving or more), and LOW SUGAR. A favorite of mine is Trader Joe’s High Fiber Oh’s. Stick to the serving size, and actually portion out the cereal rather than pouring directly into the bowl.

7. Overnight Oats – The night before, add half a cup of rolled oats (raw), 1/4 cup of yogurt, and 1/4 cup of milk or almond milk. Top with a few dashes of cinnamon, and stir. In the morning, take it out, give it a stir, and eat! Sometimes I pour some real maple syrup or honey on in the morning as well, and top with fruit if I have some.

8. Turkish Breakfast - a small slice (1 ounce or so) of Turkish white cheese (brands such as Valbreso or use feta), a few slices each of cucumber and tomato, a few olives. And a hard boiled egg if desired. Serve with a slice of toast or pita, and honey or jam to drizzle.

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, healthy breakfast, morning

I ate one of these:

A little on of these:

A little bite of one of these:

And two bites of this:

Technorati Tags: Breakfast

I ate my way through some food leftovers, which leads to some of my odd food habits:

For breakfast, the last of my Goan Black Eyed Pea Curry, from ‘5 Spices, 50 Dishes’  which I added a few squirts of sriracha. I wanted a little bit of fire!! I also had a cup of gingerbread coffee. I know that curry sounds a little wacky for breakfast, but it’s really quite satisfying.

I continued on my clearing out the fridge project with:

The last of my steel cut oats topped with two eggs, and some papalote salsa. This might sound awfully weird, but I assure you it tastes good.

These are just the beginning of my odd food habits. What are some of yours?

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, Oatmeal

Nevertheless, we still have a little shelf of decent selection: Trader Joe’s High Fiber O’s, Kashi Go Lean Crunch, Raisin Bran, Gorilla Munch, Cocoa Puffs, and Cracklin’ Oat Bran. When choosing a cereal, I look for high fiber per serving (5+ grams), and of course it has to taste delicious.

This morning I woke up and had a cereal craving. I poured a bowl of Trader Joe’s High Fiber Oh’s. This stuff is really, really good. Nutty and flavorful, they have this great texture that only stands up to the milk, and don’t get easily soggy. I poured in a cup of Straus whole milk – including the cream top.

Whole milk you say? Isn’t that fattening? Unhealthy? Well, no. I don’t drink all that much milk, but when I do, I drink whole milk because it is more filling, and I find that the fat content actually keeps me satiated for longer when I add it to my cereal. Plus, a cream top is absolutely delicious.

The cereal kept me tided through until late afternoon, when I ended up having a “lunch” of Recchuti hot chocolate. Michael Recchiuti and Fran Gage were at Omnivore to talk about their book ‘Chocolate Obession‘, and kindly brought us all some delicious hot chocolate to sip on. Fran also made some olive oil truffles, but I didn’t get to try any!! The hot chocolate tasted rich and sinful, but made traditionally with just a blend of chocolate and water – so I deem it as “healthy”. (I know, I know, but I can pretend….)

After work I headed out for a quick walk, to get in more steps for the day. The past few days I’ve been pretty sedentary, and I need to get back into the swing of things. I’m not sure what was going on, but it seemed as though the crazy people were out this evening. I live in a pretty safe neighborhood, but I sat for a few minutes and watched a man gesticulating wildly on the top of a trashcan. He was having some sort of drug induced delusions, but didn’t seem to be harming himself.

And then I got complimented on my feet, and propositioned for a two hour foot massage from a gentleman watching the debacle with me. I wasn’t sure whether or not to be creeped out or not, but he seemed normal enough, and I politely declined.

I didn’t end up getting home until 6 pm, and got started on a quick dinner. I made a big leafy salad with balsamic vinaigrette, red peppers, and chickpeas. For our main dish, I made a bulgur pilaf with some fire roasted tomatoes, and fried up some chicken chorizo sausages and mixed them in. One pot, pretty satisfying stuff.

Tonight is a pretty relaxed evening – we are watching Sunshine Cleaning, and I’m already starting looking forward to tomorrow’s Candlelight Yoga (which I have already registered for – so I can’t back out now!).

Night everyone!

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, Dinner

A jar of Nutella!!

Ok, so it’s actually my oatmeal…

My Nutella jar was just about empty, with just a teaspoon or two of nutella still clinging to the sides. Rather than just tossing it into the recycling, I put my hot oatmeal in the jar, and then it melts the remaining nutella, and you get some chocolate hazelnut goodness in every bite!

This is also the perfect solution for peanut butter jars, jam jars, or anything else that might normally taste good stirred into oatmeal.

Now, normally if it is glass jar, I’ll just stick my oatmeal into the jar and microwave it. But this being nutella, which is a) plastic, and b) has tiny gold foil bits from the lid sticking to the rim, microwaving is not advisable and may cause sparks in your microwave. This I may or may not have learned from experience. Dumping the warmed oatmeal in works just fine.

Now, I know that Nutella isn’t the greatest food nutritionally, but in limited quantities – just a teaspoon or two! will add excellent chocolat-y goodness to your morning oats. I highly recommend it.

What are your favorite jars for oatmeal??

Technorati Tags: Breakfast

I woke up at seven, and made myself some of my already made steel cut oats, and stirred in a tablespoon of Justin’s Maple Almond Nut Butter, and some cinnamon. I moved it all around with my spoon until I couldn’t eat anymore, and then just popped it in a container and took it with me. (I’m actually still eating it as I type this). Sometimes, I just can’t get in very much breakfast, but I try to have even a little bit to wake up my metabolism.

I headed out to Valencia street for my class at the Yoga Tree over in the mission. I loved practicing this week at the Yoga Tree on Castro, but Valencia is a tad closer to where I live if I want to get in a session before work in the mornings, and I thought I’d check it out.

Getting in a little early though, I headed in to Ritual Roasters, to have a teeny tiny cup of coffee. I opted for a single shot cappuccino. Just a little one! Not too much caffeine for me!

Here it is:

Their foam art is so pretty!

The fellow across from me was reading the Financial Times. Aside from being an incredibly interesting newspaper, they print it on a salmon colored newsprint. I used to see a lot more of these on the East Coast, but apparently people in SF are less likely to be interested? A lack of investment bankers?

I read my copy of Runner’s World to give me some motivation to put lots of energy into my yoga practice. I’m not really a dedicated runner, but the incredible stories in that magazine are great for any sort of personal achievement motivation.

I love how my heart flower stayed at the top until I finished my coffee!

Energized, I headed over to Yoga Tree.

Candlelight yoga is a class where deep asanas are practiced with the lights off and the room lit only by candles. It’s a great way to start the morning and increase your presence and focus. There were about 40 people in the room, and we got cozy with one another! It was so beautiful!!

The class was led by Pete Guinosso, who is currently leading a 40 day consecutive practice of yoga. There were quite a few 40-day folks in today’s class, and I have to say, I’m kind of in awe of this dedication. I enjoyed Pete’s guiding of our session – but must admit that a few times found myself giggling because he is an entertaining fellow! (I don’t see anything wrong with some lightheartedness in a hard session – he led us well.)

During my yoga, I thought about my health, being thankful that I’m able to move and push my body more and more every day. I noticed a marked increase in my flexibility, even from last week. I also thought about my friends and family, and even the people who I have struggles with.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes of some hard practice, I was sweating up a storm! (There’s no after shot today, because I had to get to work!) I’m really hoping that this is something I will do more often. The high after the fact is pretty wonderful.

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, Exercise, Oatmeal, Yoga, Yoga Tree

I’ve had this poor little guy since my junior year of high school, and it doesn’t work so well anymore! Or maybe I’m just spoiled with my new camera!

Breakfast this morning is simple – a cup of gingerbread coffee from Trader Joes – black. And a toasted english muffin with lemon curd on one half and smoked salmon on the other. A little sweet, a little salty because I couldn’t decide.

Technorati Tags: Breakfast

Good morning gray skies!!! It looks like we are in for another day of dreariness. Although, I probably wouldn’t have been so inclined to get in my yoga workout yesterday had it not been so overcast, so I’m not going to complain any more about it.

Yesterday afternoon I picked up a new mug at Starbucks – I’m still on the lookout for a really nice hand thrown ceramic mug, but I was so sick of drinking out of UC Irvine mugs that I just went ahead and got this one (neither of us actually went to UC Irvine, but the mugs are leftover from old housemates).

I like it because of it’s pleasant weight, the brown ceramic interior, and this handy dandy rubber hand grip in the middle, so you can hold your mug in your two hands without scalding yourself.

And finally back to steel cut oats this morning! After doing a bit of research, I found the easiest overnight steel cut oats recipe, that takes much less than 1/4 of the time it would take to cook a pot on the stove. All you do is boil water, add in the oats, bring back to a boil, turn the heat off, and cover, leaving it overnight. In the morning, the oats are practically finished! Just heat for a few minutes, and serve!

Overnight Steel Cut Oats

makes 6 1-cup servings

In a large saucepan, bring six cups of water to a boil, and ad 1 1/2 cups of steel cut oats. Stir until boiling, then cover, and turn off the heat. Let the pot sit on the stove overnight. (About 9 to 10 hours, so i’d make the oats right after dinner to give them enough time to soak unless you plan on sleeping in).

In the morning, give the oats a stir, and turn on the heat. Cook until warm, or 7 to 10 minutes if they need a little bit more cooking. (When I woke this morning, the oats were ready even before I had to cook them, so I just heated them up).

You can eat a serving or two warm, and then put the rest in the refrigerator to heat up over the next week.

Look at that texture!

Today I’m doing some more errands, roasting an acorn squash, cleaning the house, and getting in some undetermined exercise. I’m a tiny bit sore from yoga, but it’s the good sore!

I also signed up for this summer’s Self Challenge. It’s a great way to kick start yourself into gear, particularly if you have gotten a little sedentary over the summer. There are some good menu and fitness suggestions. I’m planning on following the program pretty loosely, but in the past I’ve stuck to it and lost between 10 and 15 pounds a summer.

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, Oatmeal

While I used to wake up late and just wait for lunch, I’ve been making a concerted effort to actually eat breakfast on a regular basis. I know that even if I’m not hungry, it’s important to start my metabolism, and give my body the energy to fuel my day.

The Mix:

Kashi Go Lean Hearty Honey Cinnamon Oatmeal

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon Navitas Sprouted Chia Seeds

topped with: 1 tablespoon Crunchy Barney Butter

I just love the way the Barney Butter melts on to everything. So creamy!

I also made myself a cup of the Blue Bottle Bella Donovan coffee which I’ve been enjoying this week, and added in two tablespoons of Straus half and half.

It’s already late and I’m still not sure what to do with myself today! Errands, cleaning the house, some work, and maybe if the weather perks up, I’ll head over to Japantown to continue my tea mug mission.

Technorati Tags: Breakfast

Breakfast is back to oatmeal today:

The Mix:

1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, 1 fresh walnut, about a tablespoon of toasted sliced almonds, a sprinkling of coconut, and a tablespoon of maple syrup. (Tasty!)

I usually like mixing a little bit of milk or soy milk instead of all of the water, but all I had is half and half, and that’s even a little too indulgent for my taste. After a few weeks of eating almost exclusively steel cut oats, going back to my quaker was a little bit gloopy for my taste… I love the bite of the steel cuts!

While eating, I watched a Tivo’d Dr. Oz – I find that when I listen to him in the morning I’m more likely to make good healthy choices throughout the day. And, I find the show highly entertaining. Particularly the middle aged women swooning like schoolgirls. I guess it doesn’t hurt to have your doctor be handsome – you probably are more likely to listen to them…

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, Oatmeal