Welcome back to Peppermint Wellness, Lisa Roukin! So many of you really enjoyed reading about Lisa’s journey in her recent guest blog and I’m thrilled to be featuring another post from her. This time, it’s all about better breakfasts and Lisa has very kindly provided a recipe from her collection for us all to try too – thanks Lisa!

If Lisa’s posts have resonated with you, don’t forget that the lady herself will be coming up to Manchester to share her tips and expertise (and demonstrate a recipe or two) at two charity events. These are on the 1^st and 2^nd March in aid of The Big Birthday Appeal to help local children with special needs. If you’d like more info, or to buy a ticket, please contact me.

Now, I’ll hand back to Lisa…

I like to change up my breakfast every day. I find that becoming too reliant on the same foods day in, day out means that you don’t manage to incorporate enough nutritional ingredients into your diet.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; you should start as you mean to go on. As they say, you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and dinner like a pauper!

Too often, people skip breakfast because they have no time and, often, that results in reaching for processed foods. ‘Grab and go’ food contains too many unhealthy, refined ingredients and additives, which will weigh down your body and leave you feeling sluggish throughout the day.

I find that by planning ahead the night before, and thinking about which ingredients I can play around with, I can make breakfasts that are quick and easy. I always keep fruits in my freezer to have at hand when time is tight.

At the moment, my go-to breakfast is my Matcha Smoothie Breakfast Bowl. I’ve provided the recipe further down this post, so you can try it out for yourself.

It’s the basis of the dish that makes it filling and nutritious, and it consists of only four, natural ingredients: frozen banana (great source of potassium), avocado (rich in vitamin E and C), spinach (iron), and matcha powder (full of antioxidants). You can be as plentiful as you wish with your choice of toppings. Berries, banana, cashew butter, chia seeds and hemp seeds are all great options, and if you want to add a grain, you could sprinkle over some homemade granola.

One of the beauties of making your own homemade meals is that you are aware of what is going into them and you can control the amount of additional sugars. Be careful when buying pre-packaged breakfast goods – they can be deceptively high in white cane sugar and high-fructose cane syrup, both of which are highly addictive and can suppress the immune system. I like to be mindful about the importance of ensuring that each mealtime is nutritionally balanced.

This is one of my new recipes, but there are plenty of delicious and healthy breakfast ideas in my book, My Relationship with Food.

Matcha Smoothie Breakfast Bowl

A quick, healthy breakfast, supercharged to energise you with the natural benefits from green tea.

Serves two.
Preparation time: 5 mins. (Plus freezing time – 6-8 hours.)

Ingredients:

2 large bananas
2 tsp. matcha powder
2 tsp. agave nectar (optional)
1 ripe avocado
2 handfuls spinach

Toppings:

2 tsp. chia seeds
2 tsp. hemp
Banana chips
Coconut chips, toasted
Blueberries

Method:

1. Cut the bananas into one-inch slices, place in a freezer bag, and freeze for 6-8 hours.
2. Blend together the avocado and spinach, then place the sliced frozen bananas in your blender with the matcha powder and blend it together until you have a smooth thick texture.
3. Add the agave nectar if you would like it sweet and blend again.
4. Pour into two bowls and top with your favourite toppings. Be adventurous!

LISA’S TIP

Matcha is an alternative way of getting your caffeine boost in a healthier way. Matcha powdered green tea is full of antioxidants – it contains over 100 times more than regular brewed green tea. Be adventurous with your toppings. Adding a handful of spinach gives that extra boost and you can add a teaspoon of almond butter for extra protein. If you are not a fan of avocado, add 100ml of almond milk and choose another fruit of your choice. As it contains caffeine, I’d advise not serving it to children!

Lisa Roukin is a chef, teacher and writer who runs her own cookery school, Cook With Lisa, as well as being a prolific blogger for titles such as the Huffington Post.

My Relationship with Food is available from: www.myrelationshipwithfood.com.