If you are tired of eating cornflakes and toast every morning, amp up the most important meal of your day with these easy, but fun breakfast recipes, says Shirley Mistry
A Fruit Bowl
No, we aren’t trying to market a bowl of cut fruits. A fruit bowl, usually made with Acai berries, is the best way to start your day, as it packs in proteins, fibre, vitamins and antioxidants, without weighing you down with too many carbohydrates. It keeps you full for hours (we speak from personal experience), tastes like frozen yoghurt and keeps your sugar cravings at bay — well, temporarily at least. Acai berries aren’t easily available in India, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t whip up a similar fruit bowl!
Ingredients
- 10 chunks of any frozen fruit such as bananas, mango, peach or pear.
- 4tbsp (heaped) of thick yoghurt.
- A selection of fresh fruits, cut into small pieces.
- A handful almonds and walnuts.
- 1tbsp chia seeds.
Method
- Purée the frozen fruit and yoghurt in a blender, until the consistency resembles thatof gelato.
- Spoon the mixture into a bowl and top it with fresh fruit pieces of your choice.
- Sprinkle sliced almonds and chia seeds and serve.
Apple Quinoa Porridge
Quinoa belongs to the spinach family, so it is no wonder that it has made it to everyone’s list of superfoods in the past few years. It fights cholesterol, keeps infections at bay, contains all nine amino acids that your body needs to repair itself, is gluten-free and also contains omega-3. The apples in this recipe provide fibre and sweeten the porridge naturally. So, if you are fed up of eating oatmeal porridge, try this recipe instead.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk (almond, soy, or regular).
- 1 cup water.
- ½ cup quinoa.
- 2 apples, grated.
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon.
Method
- Combine the water and quinoa and bring it to a boil. Cover it, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, till the quinoa seeds become translucent.
- Add the milk, apple and cinnamon and stir well.
- Simmer for another 2-3 minutes, until all the ingredients are combined. Serve hot.
Stuffed Sweet Potato
A breakfast of champions, this recipe will put a stack of pancakes to shame. Since it takes longer to make than the other recipes, you should save this one for a leisurely weekend breakfast. This recipe is packed with protein, vitamins and minerals, since the eggs, tomatoes and avocados and the sweet potatoes contain nutrients such as iron, vitamin B6, C and D, as well as magnesium.
Ingredients
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half.
- 4 sweet potatoes.
- 4 eggs.
- 2 avocados, chopped.
- A handful of spinach.
- 1tbsp olive oil.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Method
- Clean the sweet potatoes thoroughly, wrap them in foil and bake them till they are fully cooked. This should take around 40 minutes at 180°C, depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.
- Pour some oil in a skillet and cook the spinach till it wilts and all the water has evaporated.
- In another bowl, break the eggs and whisk them with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add the eggs to the pan and scramble them with the spinach till they are fully cooked.
- Next, slice each sweet potato lengthwise (but not all the way through) and spoon the scrambled eggs equally into each potato.
- Top each potato with a few cherry tomatoes and avocado pieces before you serve them.
Breakfast Egg Bowl
Easy to put together, this recipe puts an interesting spin on the classic egg breakfast. While you can use any ingredients that you have on hand, these are the healthiest options.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs.
- A handful of spinach.
- A handful of sliced mushrooms.
- 8-10 cherry tomatoes.
- 4 slices of lean ham.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Method
- Arrange the ham, spinach and mushrooms in a bowl and crack the eggs over them. You can also place them side-by-side.
- Bake the egg bowl in an oven for 5-7 minutes, or till the eggs are cooked to your liking and the spinach has wilted. You can also microwave the bowl for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve by itself, or with crusty bread to sop up the eggs.