Monday, June 11, 2012

A new breakfast

I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday.  Before the start of June, I was on a pretty good streak of almost two years of eating Maple and Brown sugar instant oatmeal every morning.  And I never got tired of it.  Every once in a while (or on mornings when I would go to the gym) I would eat eggs, but most often I would eat oatmeal. 

At the beginning of this month I decided to make a change because I thought I was not getting enough fruits and vegetables per day.  I would always have a banana with breakfast but that didn't seem like enough so I decided to try something new.

Breakfast Smoothies.

I thought this would be a great way to get more fruit (and possibly vegetables).  So I did a little research and found a regular berry smoothie to try last week.  I decided that after my morning runs I would whip up this recipe and give it a try.

Most recipes called for some type of milk and I try to stay away from regular milk because the dairy doesn't always sit well in my stomach, etc etc.  I went to the store to try and find some alternatives and I was overwhelmed by all my options.  I decided to go with the coconut milk because that is the only one I had sampled before.


The night before I had slicked up a fresh banana and put it in the freezer.  Then after my morning run, I took out all the ingredients and placed them in the blender. This was the perfect post run smoothie and the best part was that it kept me full until my morning snack at 10am (adding the greek yogurt helped with the protein). At first it was a little difficult getting used to a cold breakfast but I made sure to drink this with my morning coffee. 


Berry Smoothie
1 cup Coconut Milk
1/2 cup Chobani plain greek yogurt
1 thinly sliced frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Easy Directions
Place ingredients into blender and mix together!  So easy!

Over the weekend, I decided to try a different smoothie.  A GREEN smoothie.  I decided to try it on a weekend because I worried I would not like the "green" part of the smoothie and I wanted to have the time in the morning to make a second breakfast (oatmeal) if this first one didn't turn out.

I added all the ingredients to the blender and whipped them all together. (I actually ended up doing the blending part in the laundry room.  Brian was still sleeping since I made this on Sunday morning so I didn't want to wake him.  After I put all the ingredients in the blender, I took the blender into my laundry room, closed the door and plugged the blender in and blended everything.  The things I do for love, and a well rested husband!)


I poured it into the glass and took a little taste.  I was very skeptical at first - I thought the spinach would make it taste really gross but it was actually delicious! I could not even taste the spinach (thanks to the peanut butter!)  Now I have two new and very easy breakfast options and they both help me to increase my fruit and veggies intake each day. 

Green Smoothie
1 cup Coconut milk
1 thinly sliced frozen banana
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 cup (a heaping handful) fresh spinach

Easy Directions
Place in blender and blend until you no longer see spinach flecks. (Or blend slightly less if you don't care!) 



What is your typical breakfast? Do you always eat the same thing?

9 comments:

Marlene said...

Yummy! I need to get back on the smoothie wagon.

I used to make smoothies after night runs when Mark was in ed already. I'd bring the blender down to the basement! LOL

KellytheCulinarian said...

I have a standard rotation of breakfasts, but my current favorite is half of a Rollout whole wheat tortilla crisped up under the broiler with chia seeds, 2 Tablespoons of natural peanut butter and a banana. I also really like this Green Monster Smoothie: 1 cup baby spinach + 2 ounces OJ + a mug full of ice + three large strawberries + half a banana. Blend and enjoy!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Woohoo - welcome to the green smoothie world!! Aren't they delish? Yours look tasty. I need a new blender badly after mine bit the dust a few months ago.

Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's Blog said...

I usually eat the same thing. Either oatmeal or toast with peanut butter. Those smoothies look really yummy!

Laura said...

If you miss eating your breakfast instead of drinking it, I've also tried not adding as much liquid, blending it, and eating it out of a bowl with a spoon. Kind of like breakfast soft serve :)

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Yum, those both look delicious! I just ordered a magic bullet. When I get home from run club, a lot of the time I am nauseated (when it's hot) and don't feel like eating so my plan is to eat smoothies for dinner on run club nights. I can't wait to start experimenting!

I eat eggs for breakfast almost every day. Some days I scramble, some days I have them over easy.

Jamie said...

Both of those sound really good! I have cereal, oatmeal, bagels, etc. for breakfast. I do get stuck in ruts though! I need to have smoothies for breakfast more often, we usually just have them as snacks or for dessert.

Nicole Orriëns said...

I always have one piece of bread. And that's it really. I'm more of a 'hot meals' kind of girl.

Mom's Home Run

Allison said...

I love smoothies after long runs, but I've never made them during the week for breakfast. I think I feel like it will take a long time, but that's clearly not the case. I'll have to try this soon.