Hi friends! When I originally started this Sunday Series, I mentioned I wanted to share real, practical tips for living a less stressed out life. And today’s post is that! I have learned over the last year of pursuing answers for my health that your mind and body are so incredibly interconnected, which is kind of a duh right? But what I mean is that food really does matter… not just for a healthy body, but also in how you feel mentally. The gut brain connection is so real and it’s true that a healthy gut can equal a healthy mind. As I’ve begun the slow process of healing my gut I have found myself escaping the “fog” I had been living under more and more. Plus I have so much more energy than I’ve had in years, my cycles have been more manageable, and my emotions have been more “leveled out.”
P.S. I’m not a nutrition or dietary expert, and this is all information based on my own limited ability to do research on the internet (i.e. an internet expert is not the same thing as an actual expert ?) This information is meant to be a look at what I have found useful and nothing more.
All that to say, one of my biggest tips for finding peace and rest is to heal your gut… or to eat foods that lower inflammation. I personally worked with the company Zoe to figure out which foods were good for my own personal gut health and I do highly recommend doing the same thing – everyone’s gut bacterias/gut health is different so something that may be beneficial to me may not be as much to you and vice versa.
But with that said, the thing I have learned in pursuing long term gut health (as opposed to a quick gut reset… I chose to make small changes over time for a long term reset) is that the best way to improve your overall wellbeing is to eat lots of fruits and veggies, to eat a variety of fruits and veggies and to pair those fruits and veggies with other yummy carbs, fats, and proteins. You don’t have to cut out foods you love to have a healthy gut, it’s more about adding in a variety of healthy grains, fruits, veggies, proteins and fats that will keep you full and taste really good.
I’m not a believer in cutting out any food if it brings you joy, but with that said part of my own personal journey was discovering I’m intolerant to a lot of foods I was previously eating: eggs, chicken, tuna, wheat, GARLIC (I’m Italian too ?), almonds… just to name a few. Those foods aren’t “bad” (no food is bad by the way), but they don’t make me feel good so I choose not to incorporate them in my diet as part of my own journey of healing my gut/my relationship with food.
So today I wanted to share my rotation of easy, go to meals that I know I enjoy, keep me full, and are easy to pull off on crazy weekday mornings.
So that’s what I’m sharing with you today! 7 easy, gut friendly breakfast ideas that will keep you full and feeling good PLUS your kids will like them too. 🙂
All of these recipes serve 1
- Apple pie oatmeal: cook one apple in 1 teaspoon of earth balance butter substitute and a sprinkling of cinnamon and stevia until soft and caramelized. Meanwhile cook 1/3 cup gluten free old fashioned oats in 1/2 cup of unsweetened organic soy milk (I use soy for the extra protein, but you can use whatever plant milk you like). Top the oatmeal with the apples and optionally a spoonful of vanilla yogurt on top (I use coconut yogurt).
- Cinnamon toast: gluten free cinnamon raisin bread, a tablespoon of peanut butter mixed with 1 tablespoon of PB2 (TRUST me: it turns into a whipped texture and it’s divine), and a cup of berries on the side.
- “Sausage and Eggs”: cook 2 Beyond Meat Breakfast Sausages (a lot better for your gut than regular sausages) then remove them from the pan. Cook 2 tablespoons of chopped shallot in a tiny drizzle of olive oil until browned and crispy. Add 1/2 cup of chopped cherry tomatoes and 1/4 cup Just Egg Plant Scramble (you can use real eggs, but I can’t eat eggs) and cook until almost set. Add 2 cups of spinach over the top and keep scrambling until wilted and incorporated into the mixture. Chop the breakfast sausages and toss with the rest of your mixture. Top with green onions and sriracha!
- Yogurt and granola: Greek yogurt or other higher protein yogurt mixed with stevia, 1/2 cup of raspberries, 1/2 a banana, and 1/4 cup of Purely Elizabeth Granola.
- Waffles or Pancakes: 1 serving of gluten free pancakes cooked with blueberries OR 1 Van’s Gluten Free Blueberry freezer waffle topped with 1 tablespoon of cream cheese (I use this dairy free version) mixed with 1 tablespoon of PB2 and 1.5 cups of strawberries
- Green smoothie: 1 packet of frozen kale and fruit from Costco (or you could just do your own frozen mixed berries, banana, and kale mixture… I always freeze my kale or spinach that’s starting to wilt to add to smoothies), 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, and 1 scoop of Vega Choco Cinnamon Banana Blender Free Smoothie with Probiotics.
- Avocado Toast: 1 slice of gluten free bread, 1/2 an avocado mashed with 1 teaspoon of lime juice and topped with salt, black pepper, and 1/4 cup of sliced cucumber and drizzled with sriracha. Pair with 1 cup of grapes.
That’s it! 7 easy to pull off, gut friendly breakfast ideas. I hope you found this roundup helpful, and if you have any go to breakfast ideas to share, please do so in the comments!
Until next time,
Karin
