National Breakfast Week

This week, in the UK, it is National Breakfast Week, which this year aims to have us making small changes to make our mornings healthier. With this in mind, I thought I'd share a few of my personal favourites. I'm still quite a fan of fruity things for breakfast, although I do try to throw in some veggies as well. I actually wrote a similar post to this last year, which is here if you fancy seeing some other ideas, including juices and smoothie bowls! I'm giving some specific examples and recipes here, using meals that I have shared over Instagram over the last few weeks.

Smoothies

Carrot Cake Smoothie
I love carrot cake-inspired breakfasts, including this carrot cake porridge here. Here, I blended up a grated carrot, banana, around 100-150ml almond milk, two tsp goji berries (pre-soaked in almond milk), a teaspoon of chia seeds and almond butter and a pinch of both nutmeg and cinnamon. It was delicious, more like a treat than breakfast!

Smoothie and Chia layered Pudding
Possibly one of the coolest looking things I have ever made. This is a two step process. Firstly, make the chia seed and oat pudding by mixing 25g (1/4 cup) of oats with a tablespoon of chia seeds and 125ml (1/2 cup) of almond milk. Add in honey, cinnamon or vanilla extract to taste and leave overnight in the fridge, making sure that there is room for your smoothie on top. For the smoothie, I blended up some strawberries with frozen summer fruits and a banana. This should come out much thicker than a traditional smoothie and is nicknamed a "thickie" as it can be eaten with a spoon. Pour the  smoothie over the top of the chia pudding and either eat separately, or mix the two up!

Green Protein Smoothie
My final smoothie has already featured in my blog -for suggested variations and nutritional information, click here. In essence, I blend 100g (two handfuls) of kale or spinach with a banana and/or 1/2 avocado, 70ml almond milk and almond butter together. Natural sweetener and wheatgrass powder can also be added. I've started using Provamel's almond milk recently, which goes really well with the "green" flavours.

Hot Breakfasts

Avocado Porridge
It's no secret that I am a big fan of porridge. It's my go-to breakfast -smoothies are actually what I have after a gym session most days because I otherwise crave warm, comforting foods first thing when it is cold. Adding avocado was a new one to me though, but it really works. You slowly add water to oats and chia seeds in a pan to create a creamy base, adding in soft fruit such as peach or banana to gently cook through. Half a ripe avocado is added as a topping along with your choice of nuts and seeds. For the full recipe, see Honestly Healthy's recipe on Grokker here.

Mushrooms and Avocado on toast
Finally, for a savoury option, I have to use avocados again. The avocados are mashed with lemon juice, salt and pepper, while the mushrooms are gently cooked in a pan. If you eat dairy, cream cheese, or a small amount of cream really benefits the mushrooms as they cook. Alternatively, leave the mushrooms raw as well; they taste so good! Depending on your preference, use good quality whole grain bread, or choose a gluten/yeast free option. I like both, so switch between both types on any given week!

Are you cleaning up your breakfasts this week, or this year? Let me know below!