Kick off day three with a warming protein and complex carbohydrate-filled porridge. Raw or toasted walnuts, chia seeds, and tart dried cranberries create a balanced and delicious way to start your day.
Integrating breakfast into your daily routine is critical for optimal weight management, sustained energy, and is an achievable goal for 2016. It is the meal that breaks your overnight fast. For all of you breakfast skippers out there, you could be going ten to sixteen hours without adding any fuel to your system - enough time to put your body into starvation mode and slow down your metabolism.
The ideal breakfast should be balanced with protein and complex carbohydrates in order to sustain you until lunch or your snack break and to give you the energy that you need to plow through your morning workload.
Starting the day with a nutrient dense meal is linked to weight control and performance improvement and motivates you to continue making healthful choices throughout the day. If you skip breakfast and are not properly prepped at work or at school, your inner hangry beast may easily succumb to a not-so-nourishing pick-me-up simply out of convenience and desperation.
Quinoa and Oat Porridge
1 serving
- 1 cup milk of your choice
- 1/4 cup extra thick rolled oats
- 1/4 quinoa, rinsed
- 1 tbsp apple juice sweetened cranberries or raisins
- 2 tsps cinnamon
- 2 tsps maple syrup
- 1 tbsp raw or toasted pecans or walnuts
In a small pot over medium heat, bring milk of your choice to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add oats, quinoa, cranberries, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Cover and cook for 10-20 minutes depending on preferred texture. Garnish with raw or toasted walnuts or pecans and an additional splash of milk. Porridge can be made in advance and eaten cold or reheated with some additional milk or water.
Broccoli and Kale Frittata with Greens
Enjoy a slice of leftover frittata with 2 cups mixed greens tossed with 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar, and freshly ground black pepper.
Maintain your energy all day long with some mineral-rich pumpkin seed crackers topped with two tbsps leftover kale pesto. No time to make crackers? One serving (10 crackers) of Mary's Gone Crackers makes a great alternative.
For dinner, turn to this plant-protein based stew filled with greens and immune boosting anti-inflammatory spices.
harira
makes 6 servings (freeze any leftovers for easy, seamless dinner during the week)
lightly modified from Pamela Salzman
- 2 tbsps unrefined coconut or olive oil (Pamela prefers coconut)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4-5 grinds of black pepper
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped OR 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with the juice (Pamela recommends using ½ box of Pomi since she is not a fan of canned tomatoes)
- 1½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
- ½ cup dried green lentils
- ¼ cup long-grain brown rice
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- A couple handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
method
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook until softened. Add all the spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Add the tomatoes with their juice and 1½ teaspoons of sea salt. Cook until fragrant.
- Add the stock, lentils and brown rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 50 minutes.
- Add chickpeas, cilantro, and parsley and cook uncovered for 5 minutes until the chickpeas are warmed through. Stir in the spinach leaves, if using. Ladle into individual bowls and serve with a wedge of lemon.
Check in tomorrow for day four!