Those of you who have been reading me over the years know that breakfast is always a struggle for me. I know that it is an important meal and that if there is one meal you should eat, it is breakfast. The body needs the fuel for the day’s activities. I have been trying different ways and different things to motivate me to have breakfast and most of them work only for a short period of time. However, for the past 4 months (and that is quite a record), I have been making myself a liquid breakfast that suits me just fine and sustains me well throughout the day.
I call this liquid breakfast, morning shakes. The base ingredients are always the same – fresh whole milk, raw rolled oats, bananas, a little sugar and crushed ice all blended together. Depending on the season and whatever fruit puree I have in the freezer, they get added to the shakes to vary the flavour. For added health benefit, fresh root ginger is added to the shakes.
If you are someone that cannot handle eating early in the morning or dislike the task of preparing breakfast, try making the shakes, it is simply adding ingredients to a blender and pureeing.
Here is the recipe for the standard shake I make. Below you will find fruits you can add to vary the flavour.
INGREDIENTS
Banana-oats & Blueberry Shake
Photo by Cynthia Nelson¼ cup raw rolled oats
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 large banana, peeled and chopped
- Sugar to taste
- 6 ice cubes
DIRECTIONS
- Add the oats and milk to the blender and let rest for about 10 minutes to soften the oats (you can busy yourself doing other things while this gets done, if you can leave it longer, the better).
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour into a jug and drink.
ADD-INS
(1/4 cup)
Guava pulp
Photo by Cynthia Nelson
Mango pulp
Soursop pulp
Pawpaw (papaya)
Star-apple pulp
Sapodilla pulp
Avocado (pear)
Frozen or fresh berries such as blue berries, strawberries, raspberries
NOTES
- You can adjust the sugar added to the shake depending on the sweetness of the fruit.
- Spreads like Nutella and peanut
butter make for delicious additions too.
