My top 5 breakfast meals

I am one of those people for whom breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I always wake up looking forward to enjoying my breakfast, and I almost never skip it. My most common breakfast is oatmeal or porridge, which I make with different toppings. I'm also not an eggs-for-breakfast type of person, but I try to eat them every now and then. And I have a few other options to add some variety to my mornings. Here is a list of my favorite breakfast options.

1. Sweet oatmeal or porridge

Most of the days I eat gluten-free (GF) oatmeal or other grain porridge for breakfast. My favorite grains for a sweet breakfast porridge are GF steel cut or rolled oats, millet, whole oat groats or quinoa. Most of the time I make my porridge in the pressure cooker overnight. I can put all the ingredients in at night and set the timer and then wake up to a warm bowl of porridge. It is especially convenient as the whole grain variations, such as groats or millet, require longer cooking times (up to 1 hr). Also, I try to stay away from instant or quick oats - the less processed my grains are the better.

As I eat oatmeal and porridge very often, I like to experiment with toppings for a more satisfying and nourishing breakfast bowl. Here are some of my favorites toppings (amounts provided per 1/4 cup of dry oats or grains):

Option 1: 1/4 cup of raw nuts (mainly almonds, hazelnuts or cashews) + 1 tsp of raw honey
Option 2: 1/2 to 1 banana + 1 tbsp almond butter
Option 3: Raw cocoa nibs + 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

When cooking a porridge, I always add a pinch of salt to it, even if I'm going to eat it with sweet toppings. A little bit of salt balances out the sweetness and creates a more complete and full flavor.

 2. Savory porridge bowl

When I'm in a mood for a savory breakfast bowl, my go-to morning grains are quinoa or buckwheat groats. Both of them are considered superfoods as they are gluten-free, very light but feeling, nutritious  and rich in protein, calcium and essential amino acids. Some of my favorite toppings for the savory bowls are pine nuts, goat cheese or turmeric. I sometimes also like to add herbs, sauteed mushrooms, or some other veggies.

3. Baked oats

Baked oats is something that I have discovered relatively recently. I like to experiment with it and have it as an alternative to my regular warm oatmeal or porridge. The base list of ingredients that I use for it include mashed bananas, GF oats, and a little bit of water or non-dairy milk. Sometimes I also add an egg, which makes it a bit more fluffy. And there is no limit to what other ingredients you can add to it, such as cacao powder or cacao nibs, chia seeds, fresh or frozen berries, dried fruit or nuts.

Here is a recipe for my most recent baked oats:

- 1 banana mashed
- 1/2 cup GF rolled oats
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in a small ramekin for 15 min at 350 F. Serve it warm with some fresh berries, fresh bananas, peanut butter or anything else you like.

4. Avocado banana smoothie

I have discovered this smoothie when I was doing a 3-day liquid detox after the Christmas holidays. According the detox rules, 80% of daily food consumption had to be liquid (green juices, smoothies, pureed soups) and the other 20% could come from GF grains and other vegan gluten-, dairy- and sugar-free foods. So as I was looking for recipes of nutritious nut-milk based smoothies,  I discovered this combination of avocado, banana and green leaves, such as spinach, as a great source of healthy fats, fiber, vitamins and other essential nutrients. I use it as a base and experiment with adding some other ingredients, such as flax seeds, chia seeds or cacao nibs.

Since then I like to have this smoothie as my breakfast alternative in the mornings when I'm in a mood for something lighter but still packed with nutritious elements, especially when I had a heavier dinner or ate out the night before.

Here is my my most common avocado-banana smoothie recipe. Blend all ingredient below together until smooth:

- 1 banana
- 1/4 to 1/2 avocado (depending on how think you want it to be - you almost have to eat it with a spoon if you add 1/2 avocado)
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup almond milk
- a pinch of cinnamon

Banana and cinnamon give this smoothie enough sweetness. And avocado makes it extremely creamy, smooth and filling. I would suggest this smoothie as an alternative to your breakfast meal rather than a drink to go with it, given high nutritional value of avocado and bananas.

5. Overnight oats

Overnight oats is another breakfast item that I make probably once every other week to add variety to my morning meals. They are super easy to make and again can be very versatile. I really like to add chia seeds to my overnight oats as they add a nice pudding texture to it. 

Here is one of my recent versions:

- 1/3 cup GF rolled oats (Trader Joe's Ancient Grain and Super Seed Oatmeal)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 2/3 cup fresh blueberries (you can experiment with other fresh, frozen or dried fruit and berries)
- 1 cup cashew milk
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1/8 cup raw almonds

I put the first four ingredients above in the glass in that exact order, without mixing them, and leave it covered in the fridge overnight. I add honey to the mix just before I'm ready to eat it. I also like to add nuts in the morning to keep them crunchy.

6. Eggs and peanut butter bowl

Yes, I know I said there would be 5 breakfast items on this list. But I couldn't keep this one to myself. This recipe is inspired by my exercise and nutrition app, 8fit. To be honest, I was quite skeptical about it in the beginning for a couple of reasons. First of all, this recipe calls for a microwave as a way to cook this meal, and I prefer to use a microwave only to warm up my food, not to cook in it.  Secondly, I would never think of mixing eggs with peanut butter! But then I decided to give it a try and I liked it. It's a great option when you are really in a rush and are looking for a nutritious and protein-packed breakfast. Since I don't normally eat eggs for breakfast, I wouldn't eat it often but I would definitely make it again. Here is a quick and easy recipe for it:

- 1 banana
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp unsweetened nut butter (you can add more if you'd like it to be sweeter)

Smash the banana and mix it with eggs and nut butter. Cook the mixture in the microwave in a microwave-safe container for 1.5 min, mix it well and then cook again for another 1,5 min.

I hope you enjoy your breakfast as much as I do. What are you favorite go-to breakfasts?