New Breakfast & Weekend Fun

Since I did the Conscious Cleanse in January, I have been having a green smoothie for breakfast pretty much every day. Before the cleanse, I had a green smoothie once in a while, but during the cleanse I got used to starting every day with plenty of greens. In addition to providing the body with lots of nutrients, greens (because of the nutrients) are supposed to help with food cravings. I didn’t have any cravings during the cleanse, which actually surprised me a bit (because I couldn’t eat quite a few foods I normally eat), and I still feel great starting the day with a green smoothie.

My smoothies are similar most days, but I do make sure to rotate the greens I use. Here is what my basic smoothie looks like:

• A small banana (or half a banana)
• Plenty of greens (spinach, kale, Swiss chard, etc.) 
• Hemp seeds
• Frozen fruit (peaches, strawberries, blueberries, mango, etc.)
• A little stevia, if I use little fruit
• Water

While I love my smoothies, I also know that variety is good when it comes to food. Plus, it’s not always possible to make a smoothie as I teach some very early classes and sometimes (although not often!), the kid is still sleeping by the time I leave well before seven (and I don’t want to wake him up). While I don’t always eat first thing in the morning, I do eat something in the morning on teaching days. If I don’t have a smoothie, I usually have a banana, plain yogurt (sometimes with a few vanilla stevia drops) and walnuts for breakfast.

Last month, Jessie at Happiness in Health posted about a breakfast she had on a trip to Switzerland and that had become a favorite of hers: Bircher Muesli. It’s basically a version of overnight oats, something I have been meaning to make for quite a while. I decided to make the Bircher muesli one day, and we loved it. Jessie has measurements on her blog (as well as some of the muesli’s history), but I basically just poured some old-fashioned rolled oats in a bowl and topped the oats with some milk and yogurt. The mixture had quite a bit of liquid. By the next morning a lot of the liquid was absorbed, but the muesli was still quite liquid.

I added banana slices, strawberries, and walnuts. I believe apple, banana, and pineapple are more traditional additions.

We had a fun weekend filled with swimming, soccer, and a sleepover.

We also explored a small bamboo forest, with many different types of bamboo from all over the world.

The kid also got to have some fun in a small water pool in a giant bubble at a local arts festival.

Questions: What do you usually have for breakfast? Do you ever have overnight oats for breakfast? What’s your favorite breakfast? What was the highlight of your weekend?

Be well,
Andrea