Good morning sunshine! ☀️☀️☀️ Happy Sunday, everyone!
Hubby is still running his 21km marathon now but should be finishing soon (flagged off at 4.30am today). Go LG go! Hope he achieves his best time and breaks his last record. ? He keeps saying he’s running for me (as if, haha) and he always passes me his medal after he finishes the race. Now these medals end up sitting everywhere in the house as we have no place to display them. ?
Anyway, I’m up early today as usual to prepare a nutritious post-run breakfast for him as he will need to replenish his calories and energy from all that hard work.
And suddenly it just come to my mind that I should share some of these healthy breakfast ideas.
I’ve been getting a lot of email enquiries from my readers who have asked me all sorts of questions – healthy ingredient substitutes, cooking how-tos, kitchen gadgets, menu planning, food plating and so on. Thank you all for taking time to write to me. I may not be able to respond to all of you but keep your emails coming in because they never fail to give me inspiration to explore different topics to feature on my blog. ?
Therefore in this particular post, I’m going to share some of my favourite breakfasts to make at home. Not so much of step-by-step recipes but more of giving you ideas on how to add vibrancy and colours to the most important meal of the day.
I must admit, I’m not a creative person and I generally don’t beautify my dishes much. But it’s quite easy to spruce up a dish by using different coloured ingredients and/or arranging them in particular order while plating. Nothing complicated, really.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas
Overnight Oat and Chia Pudding
Probably one of the easiest thing to make for breakfast. You can make this in bulk in advance and keep it chilled in the fridge for a couple of days so that saves you the time and hassle to make breakfast everyday.
Have it with different toppings of your choice everyday, just so you wouldn’t be bored of eating the same old thing. I always keep a range of different nuts, seeds, dried fruits and fresh fruits in my pantry and fridge so I can decorate my oat and chia pudding in any way I like. You can also change the flavours by using different flavours of milk or add cocoa powder, matcha powder, etc. The pudding can be served up in a bowl, glass, mason jar or whatever vessel you deem fit.
An extremely good way to eat more fruits and definitely one of the best ways to start off a brand new day too. Packed with lots of fibre, vitamins and all the good stuff. ??
Even for those who are watching your diet and weight, I’m sure you know that frequent consumption of chia seeds goes a long way. Not only it keeps you satiated for longer, it helps control blood sugar level as well so it’s very suitable for diabetics too as such breakfast meal contains no added sugar.
Fruit Toast
Fun way to dress up toasts. Pop sliced bread or sandwich bread into the toaster, slap on some non-fat Greek yogurt, low fat peanut butter or jam with no added sugar and then arrange your favourite fruits on top.
I really love the cheery colours of the fruits. Great perk-me-up in the morning.
For maximum health benefits, go for wholemeal or multigrain bread that are lower in GI.
Sandwich
Old-fashioned sandwiches work with everyone, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are endless possibilities of sandwich combinations so you can easily prepare a different one everyday with whatever you crave, really.
I like mine with just toasted multigrain bread, (extra) lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cheese and ham. Sometimes with a little reduced fat mayonnaise or Dijon mustard (it’s a low calorie spread). Will then wash that down with a cup of English breakfast, Japanese green tea, peppermint or black coffee. Pretty substantial to last me the whole morning.
Don’t forget to also include some fruits for a more balanced diet.
Full English Breakfast
That is if you have the time and are willing to go through the hassle of preparing every component of this breakfast.
There’s something about the English breakfast that makes it so appealing. I can’t say this is super healthy as a big plate of this does contain a whopping amount of calories (not for dieters of course). However, as I will only make this on a weekend for brunch, calories-wise, it really isn’t that bad when you combine both breakfast and lunch.
Some tips to keep the English breakfast (slightly) healthier:
- use less oil and less salt to fry up the baby spinach leaves, mushrooms and tomatoes (use herbs & spices like thyme, rosemary, etc to boost flavour instead)
- use a healthier oil like olive or sunflower
- opt for low GI, high-fibre toast
- use skimmed milk for your scrambled egg (if you do add milk)
- use baked beans with no salt
- use lean chicken sausages
- use turkey or chicken ham instead of regular pork ham
- use turkey bacon instead of regular pork back or streaky bacon
Seriously, all these healthier substitutions above will not alter the look or taste of the English breakfast. In fact, I feel less guilty indulging in my own homemade English breakfast than having one at a cafe outside. Because I know exactly what I put into my body. #youarewhatyoueat
Other healthy breakfast ideas and recipes
Overnight Oats with Assorted Fruits
Ham, Egg & Cheese Muffin
French Toast with Caramelised Bananas
Pear and Peach Muffins
Healthy Cranberry Walnut Bread
Apple Pear Bread Pudding Muffins
Blueberry and Guava Muffins
Hope these healthy breakfast ideas will inspire you to start dressing up your breakfasts. You know, have a little fun in the kitchen at the same time.
They are all hearty, comforting and delicious. Pretty insta-worthy too, haha. Enjoy! ?