Peas and Thank You

Pealightful Plans: Breakfasts

This is the first post in the vegan meal planning series.  Look for a Snack and Treats post and the Week 1 Pealightful Meal Plan/Shopping Guide later today.

When I sat down to talk to our friend Pea Pal, I learned that breakfast wasn’t an issue in his weight and high cholesterol problems.  Turns out, for the last twenty years or so, he’s been eating Overnight Oats for breakfast.  He “soaks” his oatmeal overnight with some water or milk and frozen blueberries and enjoys it the next morning.  Every morning for twenty years.  And he has no intention of changing.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix tofu scrambles, right?

But in order to show you a variety of breakfasts that you can enjoy on a veg-based weight loss plan, I put together a list of great options you can use all month long when creating your own meal plans.  You’ll notice in the weekly meal plans I’m putting together, I’ll suggest you have a  ”Breakfast of Your Choice” and link back to this list.  I’ll try to add more options as the weeks go on, so check back to beat breakfast boredom.

1)  1/2 c. oatmeal cooked with 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. non-dairy milk (we like organic SILK vanilla and unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze)

Add some fruit such as:

• 1/2 sliced bananas
• 1/2 c. berries OR
• chopped apple
• 2 T. raisins or other dried fruit

Add some healthy fat such as:

• 1 T. almonds
• 1 T. walnuts
• 1 T. pecans
• 1 T. natural peanut butter OR 1 T. almond butter

You can stick the combo in the fridge without cooking and let it soak overnight like Pea Pal does.

Oatmeal is also offered at Starbucks and Jamba Juice (just omit the Brown Sugar Crumble at Jamba which contains dairy)

2)  1 serving high fiber/low sugar breakfast cereal such as:

• Cheerios
• Crisped Brown Rice
• Shredded Wheat (not Frosted)
• Grape Nuts
• All-Bran (unsweetened variety)
• Fiber-One (unsweetened variety)
• Kashi Go Lean (not Crunch or Crisp) OR
• Bran Flakes

Add some fruit such as:

• 1/2 sliced bananas
• 1/2 c. berries OR
• chopped apple
• 2 T. raisins or other dried fruit

Add some healthy fat such as:

• 1 T. almonds
• 1 T. walnuts
• 1 T. pecans
• 1 T. natural peanut butter OR 1 T. almond butter

Top with non-dairy milk such as:

• 1/2 c. soymilk (we like organic SILK vanilla) OR
• 1/2 c. almond milk (we like unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze)

3)  Smoothies

• 1 c. non-dairy milk

Add 1-2 c. frozen fruit of your choice, such as:

• berries
• bananas
• cherries and/or
• peaches

For extra staying power and nutrition, add: (optional)

• 1/4 c. of oats
• A handful of spinach
• vegan protein powder (i.e. soy, hemp or brown rice) for extra staying power

For extra flavor, add: (optional)

• cocoa powder
• extracts, like almond or vanilla
• 1 T. of  nut butter

You can also get All-Fruit Smoothies at Jamba Juice (stick to the 16 oz. size) and even add a soy protein boost

4) Whole grain breads such as:

• 1-2 slices of toast made from 100% whole grain bread (I like Ezekiel Sprouted Grain or Dave’s Killer Bread) OR
• 1 100% whole wheat English muffiin (i.e. Thomas)

Add toppings such as:

• 1-2 T. of nut butter
• 1-2 T. of all-fruit preserves (i.e. Smuckers’ Simply Fruit)
• fruit slices, such as bananas, apples or berries

5) Green Juice (Pea Pal has an underutilized juicer!)

You can also get fresh-squeezed orange and carrot juices at Jamba Juice (I like to get a combo of the two with a shot of wheatgrass)

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There are certainly other nutritious vegan breakfasts, but these are the options I’m suggesting for vegan weight loss (and I reiterate, I’m not an expert, but just an informed friend helping a friend).  Have fun with rotating the breakfasts or eat the same thing every day.

You might just want to do it for twenty years.