January is the ideal time to reboot your morning routine and give yourself the healthiest possible start to your day. So if you’ve let your breakfast routine slide, why not make it your New Year resolutionto give one of these tasty options a go to ensure that your 2016 has a fresher, brighter start!
Cereal and toast are the two most common breakfast meals; they’re both quick and easy and can be eaten practically running out of the door. And we are not all suddenly going to be able to find an extra hour to prepare that first meal of the day. But below are just a few different options to pep up your morning meal, without having to prepare a full English breakfast.
Grab & Go – If you really do have to have your morning meal on the run, instead of grabbing a sugary breakfast biscuit or breakfast bar, have a couple of ounces of cheese as a portion, chuck in a few
walnuts and a piece of fruit and provide yourself with a much healthier, fibre and protein rich start to the day.
Tantalising Toast – Usually stick with butter or marmite on your toast? Think about adding a couple of tablespoons of ricotta and some halved cherry tomatoes instead, or slice some banana on top of a thin layer of peanut butter, for the same amount of time but a more satisfying and filling breakfast.
Savoury Muffins – Eggs and bacon can be time-consuming when you have to get to the office after dropping the kids off at school. But while you’re making dinner one night or when you have a spare half an hour, mix together some pieces of bacon, mushroom, a bit of cheese, spinach or tomato (let your imagination guide you!), put your chosen ingredients in a cupcake or muffin tray and then add as many whiskeduncooked eggs as required to cover each portion and put into the oven for 10/15 minutes. Once cooked and cooled, they can be frozen or kept in the fridge for a couple of days and grabbed by all the family on their way to school or work.
Eggs in Bulk – Eggs are a very healthy start to the day but if you don’t have time to sit down to boiled egg and soldiers of a morning, you can again make them in advance in bulk in the oven without having to watch a pan. Just put a batch of eggs in the oven for roughly 30 minutes (put them on a baking tray or keep them steady in a cupcake tray). Once baked, add them to iced water to finish off and peel for a batch of hard-boiled eggs ready to be eaten in the car, at your desk, or as needed! (Of course, boiling them in a pan takes much less time but if you fancy being able to add them to the oven whilst you look dinner or take the dog for a walk, this is a handy alternative).
Super Smoothie – If you have a blender and enjoy smoothies, you can add pretty much any fruit combination and/or any nuts or cereals you fancy and blitz it into a nutritious drink in no time. If even chopping up a banana and strawberries may take up too much of the morning, you can pre-cut the ingredients and store them into individual portions in freezer bags and freeze them. Using frozen portions will also make for a thicker smoothie.
Written by Danielle Lade