Breakfast Bowls

Since I changed my diet last year, I have tried to eat real breakfast foods in the morning. I know that nutritionally it doesn't matter what you eat when, and that cake in the morning is just as healthy as cake in the evening. But I think eating a proper meal in the morning gets things off on the right foot for the rest of the day. I rotate between cheerios and yogurt, cheerios and fruit and rice milk, and an egg mug of some sort with a multi grain thinwich.

During the summer, I ate a lot of fruit--strawberries, peaches, raspberries, blueberries--in my cheerios, and I still get veggies in my egg bowls. Sometimes I use leftover veggies from the night before in my eggs in the morning, but lately it has been harder to get my fruit and veggies in my morning meal. I miss fresh berries, but I'm not willing to pay 6 dollars for a small thing of berries that will not last few mornings.

This morning I was out of bread and had nothing to eat my cheerios with, so I found another bowl meal and gave it a whirl. It is sort of a dish in between the eggs and cereal and should be easy to experiment with different variations. This recipe comes from the author of the Make Your Someday Today blog, though I couldn't find the recipe there--he posted it on the lose-it forum. So go read Trevor's blog, this isn't the first yummy thing I've made from him--his zucchini pancakes are a favorite of mine!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup rolled oatmeal (not instant)
1/4 cup berries (any type, fresh or frozen0
1 tablespoon milk
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Cinnamon



Just like with an egg mug, you really need to start by spraying your soup bowl or mug with cooking spray. Otherwise it will stick and be hard to clean up later--unless you let your dog lick the bowl. Which never happens. Never. Like I let her do anything.

Mix together all the ingredients--you could also add peanut butter, or chocolate. I substitute honey for the brown sugar when my brown sugar was too hard.Once it is combined, it goes in the microwave for between 90 seconds to 2 minutes--or until it is set and not liquidy. I've found adding too many berries can make it more liquid, and if they break can give it a grey cast--but that is easily disguised with some whipped cream. You can eat it in the bowl, or turn it over on a plate and top it with goodies.

It comes out like a very soft pudding cake--less mushy than regular oatmeal, which I hate the texture off, and more like a proper breakfast. I think it would be good with some fresh fruit on the side as well!

The Verdict: A nice hearty breakfast that is lower in calorie, while still providing protein, whole grains, and some fruit as well. It really hits the spot--though I just calculated this as under 200 calories per serving, so I may increase the quantities so I'm fuller longer. This will be joining my other breakfast bowls in the morning rotation!