What's for Breakfast?

Eating a healthy breakfast can keep you going all morning. Here are some ingredients to have on hand:

• grainy breads
• whole grains such as rolled oats, puffed rice, bran cereal
• seeds and chopped nuts to sprinkle on cereal
• fresh fruits
• low fat yoghurt and milk
• low fat ricotta
• honey or maple syrup (just a little)
• cinnamon
• tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, asparagus, spinach
• stewed dried and/or fresh fruits
• protein powder
• eggs

These can be combined to create great breakfasts:

1. thick toast with mashed banana/stewed dried fruits/fresh figs, ricotta and cinnamon
2. bowl of cereal with fresh or stewed dried fruits, and yoghurt
3. cooked oats (porridge) with cinnamon, banana or honey
4. thick toasted sourdough with avocado and slices of tomato
5. grilled mushrooms and tomato on toast
6. fruit platter with ricotta/yoghurt
7. fruit smoothies with protein powder
8. scrambled eggs with parsley or poached eggs with pureed spinach
9. asparagus and avocado on toasted sourdough

You could extend this to a brunch and have your table groaning under:

1. a fruit platter sprinkled with crumbled ricotta with separate bowls of yoghurt
2. plates of grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, and slices of avocado
3. steamed asparagus served with poached eggs
4. piles of toasted bread and a variety of cereals

Here are a some recipes you can use for breakfast, brunch, lunch or a snack. Asparagus and Avocado on Toasted Sourdough, Apple and Sultana Muffins, Fruit bread and Berries, Breakfast Fruit Rice, Low GI muesli.

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Asparagus and Avocado on Toasted Sourdough

1. Blend 1-2 avocados with lime juice, crushed garlic, tabasco with a fork.
2. Steam asparagus briefly
3. Spread avocado mixture unto toasted sourdough, top with asparagus, sprinkle with coriander (cilantro), salt and pepper to taste.

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If you have time, muffins can make a difference to breakfast, and kids love them.

Apple and Sultana Muffins makes 12

• 1 large apple (Granny Smith)
• 3 tbs sultanas
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbs honey
• 1½ tbs nut oil or extra light olive oil
• ¾ cup low fat milk
• 1½ cup wholemeal self-raising flour

1. Spray muffin tray lightly with olive oil
2. Preheat oven to 200C/400F
3. Peel, core and dice apple. Put into a bowl with sultanas, cinnamon, honey, oil and milk, and mix gently to combine ingredients.
4. In another bowl, place flour. Pour apple mixture into the flour, stirring until combined.
5. Spoon mixture into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes
6. When muffins are ready, remove from oven and turn them out
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7. Serve hot or cold

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Try poached fresh fruits with fruit bread as with the next recipe. You can prepare the fruit mixture the night before.

Fruit bread and berries (serves 4)

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tbs honey
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 punnet blueberries
• 1 punnet strawberries (halved)
• 375g (13oz) low fat ricotta
• 1 tbs orange rind (finely grated)
• 4 thick slices fruit bread

1. In a saucepan, combine orange juice, honey, cinnamon and ½ cup water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat. When syrup has cooled a little, fold through berries.
2. In a large bowl, whip ricotta with orange rind until smooth
3. Toast bread
4. Spread toast with ricotta mixture, top with berry mixture

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Breakfast Fruit Rice (serves 2-4)

• 2 cups cooked Basmati rice
• 2 cups soya milk
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup dried apricots (chopped)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ cup flaked coconut (toasted)
• ½ cup pepitas seeds (hulled pumpkin seeds)
• ½ cup maple syrup

Put first 5 ingredients in a saucepan and warm slowly. Place in a bowl, top with coconut, pepitas and maple syrup. Add extra milk if needed.

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Compared to most mueslies this one is low GI because prunes rather than sultanas or raisins are used.

Low GI Muesli

• 2 cups coconut chips
• 1 cup almonds, raw
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup rye flakes
• ½ cup barley flakes
• ½ cup rolled rice
• ½ cup triticale (combination of wheat and rye)
• ¾ cup pepitas (hulled seeds of a pumpkin)
• ¾ cup sunflower seeds
• ¾ cup golden flaxseeds (linseeds)
• 125 grams (4¼ oz) pitted prunes

1. Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
2. Lay the coconut and almonds on separate baking trays and roast in the oven, turning regularly, until the coconut is slightly toasted and the almonds are evenly roasted (7 - 10 minutes). Set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl combine the grains with the seeds. Using a pair of scissors, cut the prunes into small pieces and stir through one at a time to distribute the fruit evenly throughout.
4. Toss the cooled coconut and almonds through and store in an airtight container.

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