Breakfast in a [time] crunch

Once again...Happy New Year! I feel like I just can't say it enough. 2011 is looking great so far :) Hope it is for you as well!

The new year is all about starting off on the right foot, re-evaluating yourself, your lifestyle and having a good attitude to bring a prospurous new year.
Our local restaurants seem to think the same thing; as seen in my previous post about Starbucks' $2.00 breakfast sandwich deal and now an offer from McDonald's!
Starting January 2011, McD's is offerring their fruit & maple oatmeal. Obviously another breakfast choice because we know breakfast is an important part of our daily eats providing essential vitamins and minerals and overall nutrition-related benefits to kick-start our day [and our metabolism] on the right foot! This is a great on-the-go choice for a busy morning at work or taking the kids to school. Now you have no excuse to miss out on the most important meal of the day! Suggested retailprice of $1.99, available anytime of the day at participating McDonald's in the United States.

The Skinny? 290 calories per serving (including brown sugar).
What else is McD's bragging about? it provides 2 of 3 daily recommended servings of whole grains, about a 1/2 cup of fruit, excellent source of dietary fiber (5 grams per serving) and vitamin C (130% of the daily value) and above all, it's made to order with or without brown sugar!

Assembly Required

 So I give you [as promised] my Yoplait Greek Honey Vanilla breakfast parfait. With a little love and assembly required, I have managed to put together a rather tasty, satisfying, rib-sticking breakfast. Preparing it in the wine glass adds a little flare- it makes it feel like a true treat... who knew yogurt parfaits could be so classy?

In the glass?

- 6 oz cup of Honey Vanilla Greek Yo

- 1/3 cup of local granola (any locals? I got this at Fresh Market; I went with the "Chunky Monkey" flavor...it's okay, I like my Bear Naked Fit a little better)!

- Chopped strawberries

- Drizzle of agave

The Skinny: ~ 313 calories, 1 gm fat, 12 gm protein, 30% calcium, 20% vitamin D
This will vary depending on the type of granola you use and variations of serving sizes





So why the greek yogurt parfait? It makes me feel like a 'Greek Goddess!' Check back tomorrow for some additional 'Greek Goddess' recipes and hightlights from one of Yoplaits latest events!



Re-use!

Having oatmeal every morning can get quite monotonous so why not spice it up and re-use (reduce, recycle!) while we're at it!?

Oh yeah guys, that's my usual morning oats in an almond butter jar! I had SOME almond butter left in the jar but it was too tedious of a task to scrape out [ and it's too good to throw out] so why not let it MELT into my morning oats, right? and then of course, your re-using the jar one last time!

In the jar:

1/3 cup oats
Splash of H2O and skim

Sliced strawberries and blueberries

Sprinkle of flaxseed

Drizzle of agave

Remnants of Justin's maple almond butter

...mmhmm is your mouth watering, yet?!

Complex carbohydrates, satisfying fiber, sweet berries and stick to your ribs-delicious almond butter filled with healthy fats!

My Take on Toast

Hey guys! Hope you had a wonderful week and are gearing up for a fun-filled weekend! I don't have much planned but it sounds just about as good as it gets, after the week I had!

So, I wanted to share my new, go-to breakfast. I got into a slump with my oats; I was feeling bored and unsatisfied. I decided to try My [new] Take on Toast.
It's a well-rounded meal; complete with a little taste from every macronutrient group (a little carbohydrate, fat and protein) for complete satiety, satisfaction and ultimately, it's something that holds me 'til lunch!

My Take on Toast is a spin-off your always faithful [open-faced] PB&J and PB&Banana Sandwiches. This is SO simple and can be made in 5 minutes flat!

My Take on Toast:
- Your favorite bread...toasted (I use a whole wheat or sprouted grain toast, depending on what I bought that week)
- Your favorite nut butter (I am using Justin's Maple Almond Butter)
- Fresh Strawberries

Toast your bread. Smear your nut butter. Strategically place your strawberries. Well, what are you waiting for? ENJOY!

I like this combination of flavors. It's like PB&J but the fresh strawberries reap the nutritional benefits (vitamins and minerals) that the sugar-loaded jelly doesn't. It's sweet and salty while offering energy filled complex carbohydrates and fiber from your toast, heart healthy fats and protein from your nut butter and additional flavor and nutrients from the fresh fruit! Great start to a summer morning!

Try it tomorrow morning : ) Let me know what you think?!...

Perfect Bowl for Breakfast

Are you the type of person that gets out of bed ultimately, for breakfast? Oh my gosh...I am! Especially when I have fresh berries and oatmeal to be eatin'!

My perfect bowl for breakfast includes:

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

H2O (eyeballed, usually until oats are covered)

splash of vanilla soy milk

1 Tbsp of flaxseed meal

1 scoop of Better n' Peanut Butter or other nut butter on hand (add at the end once oatmeal has been nuked, this will allow the nut butter to meeeeeeeeelt...ugh mouth watering)!

generous portion of berries

Relatively low calorie breakfast that sticks to my ribs for several hours...no morning snack necessary. With the satisfying nut butter protein, sweetness of the soy milk and berries and feeling of satiety from the oats, this breakfast is sure to please!
The approximate skinny: 243 calories, 10 g protein, 6 g fiber
(nutrition information using a 1/2 cup strawberries and my nutritional eye; nutrition information may be altered when using other ingredients than those listed above)

Obviously my 4 lbs of berries here are so necessary when it comes to grocery budgeting ; )

I also use these for snacking and a sweet after dinner snack/dessert!