These two recipes contain similar ingredients but can each be used to create different, healthy breakfasts which will last you throughout the week. Home made granola and museli are brilliant alternatives to packaged cereals, white-bread toast, fried food or leftover pizza (although THIS pizza recipe is definitely worth saving for when you fancy leftovers for breakfast….)
Mix these ingredients up to create your very own healthy breakfasts and store in a recycled jar to make extra use of what you’ve already got at home!
Multigrain & Coconut Monday Morning Muesli
Cereal might be quick and easy, but so is McDonalds and takeaway pizza…. While there are some cereals which are pretty healthy, others are extremely high in sugar and artificial preservatives. (Click here for the good and the not-so-good).
When it comes to looking after our health, half an hour extra in the kitchen could be the difference between a week of healthy, wholesome & home made breakfasts, and a week of eating something which comes with a long list of unpronounceable, undesirable ingredients.
Making our own meals leaves space to get creative, use what we have to hand, and to adapt recipes so they suit exactly what it is we fancy at the time… Use this museli recipe as a base, and add in your own favourites to make something that is truly yours .
Ingredients:
Rye flakes
Rice flakes
Oats
Coconut flakes
Sunflower seeds
Cashews
Raisins or chopped dates
The three grains included in this muesli recipe all come with their own nutritional values: Rye is a very good source of fibre – essential for a healthy digestive system, rice flakes are filling and high in Omega 3s, while oats are a kitchen favourite, with their natural mood and energy boosting benefits. Coconut flakes are a great addition to breakfast as their natural healthy fats encourage healthy metabolism, and are another way to boost good-mood hormones and brain chemicals, and sunflower seeds are high in vitamin E and magnesium, which is calming for the nervous system.
Cashews are lower in fat than most other nuts, but still give us those heart-healthy benefits, and raisins are sweet enough to satisfy a sweet tooth without adding any refined sugars to your breakfast bowl.
HOW TO:
- In a dry pan, toast the Rye flakes on a medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously. Do the same with the rice flakes and add both to a large bowl.
- Next, toast the coconut flakes and add them to the bowl
- Toast the sunflower seeds and add them in too
- Finally, add the rest of your ingredients; the oats, cashews and dried fruit, and mix everything together well.
- Use this as your base, and add in any favourite ingredients, or leave it as it is – since it’s delicious just like this!
- Serve with non-dairy milk or soy yoghurt and fruit for a light and refreshing breakfast
Monday Morning Maple – Cashew & Coconut Granola
If you fancy a change from toast or porridge, this recipe will keep for a couple of weeks, so you can prepare a big batch on Sunday and have it for breakfast – or use as a yoghurt or smoothie topper – throughout the whole week.
Another tasty granola recipe full of healthy sweetness from pure maple syrup – which is high in antioxidants and can used as a vegan alternative to honey in any of my recipes – sustainable energy from oats, and a long list of benefits from the coconut and coconut oil, including strengthening the immune system, preventing high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and aiding the healthy functioning of the thyroid and endocrine system.
Heart-healthy cashews are also full of magnesium, while flax is brilliant for maintaining high mood levels, and is also beneficial for keeping the liver healthy (If you’re fit and healthy – and male – yet still consume a few too many beers at the weekend, recent research shows that flax can reduce the risk of developing liver disease, so add a spoon or two to your hangover smoothie….)
Ingredients:
2 cups oats (Can also use rye flakes, rice flakes and quinoa flakes)
½ cup cashews + 1 handful
½ cup pure, organic maple syrup (you could use honey, agave, date syrup or another natural sweetener if you prefer)
¼ cup flax seeds / lindseeds
Handful of raisins or chopped dates (or cranberries, apricots or figs – any dried fruit of your choice, or none at all!)
½ cup coconut flakes
3 tbsp coconut oil
pinch of pink salt
HOW TO:
- Preheat your oven to 165C
- Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well
- Add all wet ingredients (coconut oil and maple syrup) to a pan and melt contents on a low heat – make sure nothing boils or burns!
- Add the dry indredients to the pan and take off the heat
- Mix everything together until well combined
- Spread everything out onto a baking tray lined with baking paper
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring and shuffling around every so often (every 12-15 minutes) to ensure it bakes evenly
- When you take this out of the oven it’ll still be a little soft, but leave this out over night, and when you come to eat it in the morning, it’ll be nice and crunchy!Serve with non-dairy milk, or as a topping for yoghurt, vegan nicecream and smoothies.Simple ingredients and creative ideas combine to make interesting breakfast alternatives that you’ll be able to adapt according to whatever you feel like at the time…. Much healthier than supermarket cereal and much, much more fun than wandering around the aisles looking for it!
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