Homemade muesli from rolled oats with added pumpkin seeds/ sunflower seeds/ linseed with dried sultanas or cranberries. Add lowfat milk or yoghurt (can be soaked overnight for a Bircher style muesli) and fresh or canned fruit.

Wholegrain Toast with smear of peanut, almond or hazelnut butter and piece of fruit

Wholegrain Toast with vegemite/marmite spread with thin slice of low fat cheese such as edam or Colby or cottage cheese.

Wholegrain toast with poached, scrambled or fried (no oil) eggs with grilled tomato or spinach.

Fruit salad with plain low fat yoghurt and tablespoon of mixed nuts or seeds

Breakfast smoothie with low fat milk, yoghurt, frozen berries, half a banana, small amount of cereal (e.g. 1 weetbix or ¼ cup of muesli/bran) and teaspoon of flaxseed oil. Can also add Spirulina powder.



Healthy ways to get creative with toast!

I like to be creative with all my meals, it is always fun to try something new every day to keep breakfast or lunch fun, interesting and of course healthy!

Savoury

Poached, fried, scrambled or eggs on top of wholegrain toast with steamed spinach and sliced tomato

Eggs on top of wholegrain toast with smear of lite cream cheese and avocado on grain toast.

Lite cottage cheese with sliced tomato on toast

Baked beans on toast with sprinkle of Edam or mozzarella cheese

Lite cream cheese with tin of salmon or smoked salmon, try tomato too on top.

Breakfast Burrito- You can use any tortilla but Mountain Bread is very nice for a low calorie wrap. Slice tomato and place in centre and/or spinach. Then add scrambled eggs on top. Fold each side up so ingredients are enclosed- best to use knife and fork to eat this.

Sweet

Honey and peanut butter with sliced banana

Any fruit e.g. sliced banana or tinned peaches or defrosted berries with few tablespoons of yoghurt(I love plain yoghurt) on top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and pumpkin seeds

Honey, lite ricotta cheese and tinned peaches or grated apple (steamed apple goes very nicely)

Breakfast burrito- Mountain bread wrap with honey smeared over it with sliced apple and banana (can use other fruits) placed on one side with 3Tblsp yoghurt and 1Tbslp seed mix (pumpkin, sunflower and linseed) on top. Carefully role the wrap so all ingredients are enclosed. Best to use a knife and fork to eat this.
Can also use a wholegrain pita bread to add all ingredients into.

French toast- You can still use wholegrain toast for this. Whisk two eggs and little milk together then dip bread into the mixture until well soaked. Place on hot pan and grill each side for about 2mins. At the same time grill banana. Smear abit of honey over toast and grilled banana. You can make this a savoury option with adding a Tuscan seasoning to the egg mixture and then grilling tomatoes or mushrooms with the bread.

Banana and date pancakes

1 well- mashed banana
1/2 cup finely chopped dates
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup trim milk
1Tb flaxseed oil (optional- to boost omega 3 intake)

Mix together and dollop about 2Tb of mixture onto a non stick frying pan on med heat (or use a bit of spray oil) and pan fry for about 2mins on each side or until golden brown.
Serve with low fat plain yoghurt or vanilla. Makes about 6-8 pancakes
You can also make savoury pancakes-

Breakfast pancakes – Baked beans and creamy corn;

1 tin creamy corn
1/2-3/4 tin baked beans
2Tb tomato sauce
1 beaten egg
1 cup wholemeal flour
(don’t need salt as there is enough sodium in the baked beans and creamy rice for flavour)

Mix together and dollop about 2Tb of mixture onto a non stick frying pan on med heat (or use a bit of spray oil) and pan fry for about 2mins on each side or until golden brown.
The mixture makes about 10 pancakes.

10 healthy ways to get creative with porridge!

Porridge or rolled oats is one of the best breakfasts you can have. Jam packed with essential nutrients and fibre and more nutritious than most cereals you can buy. You don’t have to get bored with porridge when you get creative and add something new every day!

1. Add sliced banana to the rolled oats before you put them in the microwave, then once you cook your porridge for 1-2mins you will bake the banana too. Give the softened banana a stir through the porridge after and you have banana flavoured porridge!
2. Once your porridge is cooked, add sprinkle of cinnamon and roast chopped nuts (you find in baking section of supermarket
3. Add different types of fruit to the top of your cooked porridge. Tinned fruits are very nice as well as grated  apple or sliced kiwifruit.
4. Add baked cinnamon apple to your porridge with a couple of tablespoons of warmed low fat custard. (To bake an apple quickly, dice into small-medium sizes pieces and put in glass or ceramic bowl with a 1cm of water in the bottom. Then generously sprinkle with cinnamon and put a plate or plastic wrap on top of bowl. Put on high for 2mins in microwave. )
5. Add tsp of honey through warmed porridge and sprinkle over two tsp shredded coconut. Shredded coconut goes well with the baked banana too.
6. For an omega 3 and 6 boost add 2Tblsp of mixed seeds such as linseed, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
7. To sweeten your porridge and add fibre, dice a couple of dried apricots or dates to your rolled oats before you cook them. The natural sugar from the fruit will sweeten the oats once cooked.
8. Add low fat custard or yoghurt to porridge to cool it down instead of milk, this sweetens the porridge and makes it decadent and exciting but still low fat and gives a calcium boost!
9. Instead of porridge, make yourself some Bircher- style muesli the night before. Just add your rolled oats and milk together, then cinnamon, chopped dates or sultanas/raisins with sliced almonds or seed mix and let soak overnight in the fridge. All set to go for the next morning!
10. Make yourself a porridge sundae! Bake the banana through the porridge, pour over warmed low fat custard or vanilla yoghurt then….. sprinkle with cinnamon, coconut and chopped nuts. Yum!

11. Banana Nut toasted Muesli recipe;