With most of us working from home for the foreseeable future, the importance of a nourishing, easy breakfast to kickstart the day has never been more paramount. By enjoying a delicious, sustaining meal, you’ll feel more focused (which is a lot harder to do when working from home), and will be less likely to grab that not-so-desirable snack lurking in the fridge by 11am.
The below recipes make use of non-perishable food such as frozen fruit and tinned goods. Of course, fresh is generally better, but in these trying times it’s a good opportunity to make use of what you’ve already got. This whole foods recipes below are also really interesting for children, who may wish to be a part of the cooking process, and, since I’m also a qualified primary school teacher, I’ve included some useful teaching points too!
Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are one of my favourite breakfasts as they’re so easy to prepare. Just follow these steps the night before and you’ll have a satisfying, healthy breakfast to look forward to the following morning. It’s a great way to get the kids involved too – take a picture ‘before’ and ‘after’ and discuss the change in consistency!
120ml almond milk or as much as you need to get your desired consistency (unsweetened)
120g oats
3 tablespoons chia seeds
Maple syrup to taste
Dollop of cashew nut butter
Simply mix everything together and leave in the fridge overnight. Enjoy in the morning!
Fruity Smoothie Bowl
Smoothie bowls are another favourite of mine, and in these challenging times they can actually limit your trips to the grocery store as you can use frozen fruit. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got loads hanging around in the bottom of the freezer that you’ve completely forgotten about! If you increase the amount of liquid, you can also enjoy this favourite recipe of mine as a traditional smoothie during the day. Again, it’s a fantastic way to teach younger children about viscosity!
Frozen blueberries
1 Frozen banana
2 or 3 ‘pieces’ of frozen spinach
Frozen mango
Almond milk (no added sugar) until container is full to the maximum level
Optional extras: Oats, cashew nut butter, spirulina powder, seeds to top such as flax seeds and sunflower seeds.
Blend everything together, top with any extras, and enjoy! As most of the ingredients are frozen, you’ll need a strong blender. I also don’t particularly ‘measure’ my ingredients, as I prefer to adjust according to taste and consistency on a daily basis. It goes without saying that if you want a thicker smoothie, add more fruit and veg and use less milk. Do the opposite if you want a thinner consistency.
Oat & Flax Pancakes
A healthier twist on traditional pancakes, this oaty variety is absolutely yummy and will teach children about changes of state, since the mixture turns from a liquid to a solid.
Cup of oats, blended to a powder
2/3 of a cup of ground almonds
2 mashed bananas
1 cup of water
¼ cup of ground flaxseed
Blueberries to top
Maple syrup to sweeten
Cinnamon (optional)
Add all the ingredients to the blended oats and blend everything together. Cook as you would normal pancakes. Whilst cooking, add the blueberries to a pan with a little boiling water and allow to stew. Once the pancakes are cooked, top with the stewed blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Leftover Breakfast Burritos
One of the things we all need to do during this pandemic is ensure that we do not needlessly waste food. These breakfast burritos are a savvy way to reuse left over curry or any other suitable dish from the night before. The rule is that there are no rules! Have fun experimenting with what works and what does not. It’s a great way to introduce the concept of food wastage to children, and to help them understand that just because we don’t finish something in the first sitting, it doesn’t mean that the uneaten food should be thrown away. I have my sister to thank for this recipe!
Mild vegetable curry from the previous night
Tin of black beans
Scrambled egg
Diced Tomatoes and onion drizzled with lime to make a basic salsa
Grated cheese
Avocado
Oat wraps
Drain the tin of black beans and add to the leftover vegetable curry. Gently reheat whilst you cook the scrambled eggs and make the salsa. Once everything is cooked, place it in the wrap and add cheese and avocado. Enjoy this deliciously satisfying breakfast.
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