Breakfast is hands down my favorite meal of the day. I never, ever skip break or skimp out. It’s always a meal full of tasty nutrients. I am a huge believer in starting your day with a healthy meal to set the tone for your food choices the rest of the day. I am also the type of person who wakes up starving. If I skipped breakfast I would be miserable. Here are some of my favorite breakfast choices.

Oatmeal

I LOVE oatmeal. I could eat it all day long. There was a point in time where I ate oatmeal for breakfast every day for at least a year. I only eat real oats. None of that instant oatmeal non-sense here. While instant oats are a good attempt at eating a healthy breakfast they are loaded with unnecessary sugars. If you are short on time in the morning and like the efficiency of instant oatmeal opt for the plain kind. I order my gluten-free  Bob’s Red Mill Oats from Amazon. They usually cost around $30 for 4 bags and I use about 1 bag per month. It’s the best value I’ve found.

Now, for some gluten-free clarification. Oats technically are gluten-free. If you compare Quaker Oats to Bob’s Red Mill you probably can’t tell them apart. Oats are not gluten-free if they are grown in a field and processed in a factory with wheat, barely and rye gains. If you have a gluten intolerance or allergy make sure you buy gluten-free oats.

I have tried so many different ingredients in my oatmeal, but I always use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cinnamon and flax seed as my based ingredients. I actually prefer the taste of Almond Breeze almond milk, but have stopped using it because this brand contains carrageenan. I now only use the Silk brand. Cinnamon is good for your metabolism and flax seed is an excellent source of fiber. About 4 months ago I started making overnight oats. I fell in love with oatmeal all over again (overnight oats post coming soon!). Letting the ingredients sit over night really infuses the oats with flavor.  Overnight oats are also a time saver in the morning. You can eat them cold or quickly heat them up. I learned from following the Acid Reflux Diet from The 30 Day Heartburn Solution that soaked oats are easier on your body to digest. Right now my go-to combo is banana and almond butter. Here are my other favorite combos:

Banana & walnuts

Blueberry & walnuts

Apple & walnuts

Banana & peanut butter

Eggs

You really can’t go wrong with eggs for breakfast. They are full of awesome nutrients including a good serving of protein. If I am having eggs without toast or a waffle, I always have 2 whole eggs. I like to have my eggs scrambled with a sprinkle of cheese and bacon or breakfast sausage. If I don’t feel like adding meat to my breakfast, I will add spinach, feta and tomatoes to my eggs. I love the runny yolk of an over-easy, but I have to have something to dip in it! Nothing beats a perfectly cooked over-easy egg with a slice of toast. Lately, I have really been enjoying heating up left rice or potatoes and veggies with an egg over easy.

Waffles

Sometimes I like switching up my breakfast and I will have gluten-free frozen waffles. I like to top my waffles with slices of banana, walnuts and organic pure maple syrup. When I buy gluten-free waffles I usually opt for the Van’s or Nature’s Path brands. One of these nutty waffles goes great with scrambled eggs.

Pancakes

When I have a little extra time in the morning I will whip up oatmeal pancakes. They’re pretty easy, filing and of course gluten-free. I like to top them with walnuts or sliced almonds and banana  with organic pure maple syrup.

Ingredients 

-1/2 cup of dry oats

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1 TBSP flax sead

-1 egg or 2 egg whites

-1/2 medium banana

-1/8 to 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

– Dash of baking soda

-Dash of vanilla or almond extract

Directions

Warm your oven on a low heat (my oven actually has a warm setting) and place an oven-safe dish inside. Using a blender (I have a magic bullet)  blend the oats and cinnamon into a fine powder, about 10 seconds. Next, add the rest of you ingredients and blend until smooth. Heat a small frying pan on low/medium head and grease with coconut oil or gluten-free cooking spray. Cooking your pancakes 1 at a time just as you would with a normal pancake. You will know it’s time to flip when you see bubbles in your pancake. As you finishing cooking each one, place them on the warm plate in your oven. If you skip this step I find these pancakes cool quickly. Once you’re done, top with your favorite toppings.

xo Miss Alyss