Getting out the door on time has never been my strong point. Growing up, I was the sort of kid who would hit the snooze button multiple times and run out the door at the last possible minute, eating breakfast in the car as my mother drove me to the bus stop. Until I hit college, my weekday breakfasts were limited to a choice of a toaster waffle, a toaster strudel, or the occasional milk and cereal in a mug, if I had breakfast at all.
I’m still not a morning person, but I wake up in time to eat breakfast every day. It makes a huge positive difference in my mood and energy level for the rest of the day. I try to include a balance of protein and healthy carbohydrates. I also tend to eat sweeter foods for breakfast to sate my cravings for sugar during the rest of the day.
Some of my recent breakfast choices include:
- An Orange-Ginger Smoothie – Blend orange juice, a frozen banana, soft tofu for added protein, and grated ginger to taste and you have an instant breakfast. The ginger adds a tasty zing to the drink, plus it helps aid digestion.
- All-Bran with Milk/Soy Milk and Milo – Personally, I love the fiber content but find All-Bran on its own extremely bland. It’s not the most natural food in the world, but I like to add Milo to the milk for extra taste and nutrients all in one. If I were in the States I’d probably add fresh berries, here in Tokyo I chop up a banana if I want a fruit topping.
- Oatmeal with Milk, Honey, and Cinnamon – Steel-cut oats have more nutritional value, but instant is all I can find in the supermarkets here.
I’m also a big fan of non-cook breakfast bars, but it can be hard (and costly) to gather all of the necessary ingredients here so I haven’t been making them recently. In a future post, I’ll link to a few of my favorite recipes.
