Breakfast Time!
- Liz Fender
- Sep 21, 2016
- 4 min read
Good morning, people! If you are a morning person, which I am not, or if you love breakfast time, which I do, then this post is for you!
I love starting my day with energy and a breakfast full of flavours and colours is always a good idea. Well, I'm also very hungry when I wake up, so I cannot possibly omit my first meal of the day! I will be giving you four yummy options for breakfast today - variety is always good and this way, you have more than half a week covered, so that you know how to treat yourself when lots of energy for the day is needed! Here we go...
Yesterday, I made Scottish porridge. If I am having Scottish breakfast, then this is it - canned beans are not for me, especially in the morning. If you google ''Scottish breakfast'', the results will be either porridge, pancakes or the ''Full Scottish breakfast'' with eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms and black pudding. So it depends on your own taste really.
I always opt for the Scottish porridge, because it's so filling and fuzzy warm that it gives me the energy I need to start my day.
Oatmeal has a long history in Scottish culinary tradition because oats are better suited than wheat to the country's low temperatures and high humidity. As a result, oats became the staple grain of Scotland. The ancient universities of Scotland had a holiday called Meal Monday to permit students to return to their farms and collect more oats for food. (Unquote dear Wikipedia, thank you, I can take over now!)
Hm, it would be nice to still have this holiday I reckon!
In order to make Scottish porridge, you will need:
a few spoonfuls of oats
some milk
fruit/toppings (optional/to taste)
The traditional way to do it is to put the oats in a saucepan, pour in the milk (or water if you want it lighter) and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Well, this is the tricky part. Do not leave it there and go dress up or anything. You have to watch it carefully so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, because, trust me, this happens way too fast and way too easily.
If you are in a hurry, you can do this in a microwave. Mix the oats, milk or water in a bowl or mug, then microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring halfway through. Leave to stand for 2 minutes before eating, it does get extremely hot and I've burnt myself quite a few times, unable to resist the yumminess.
Then, the best part is the toppings and any other addition you want to make in order for it to be your very own personaLized porridge. Some like it plain, perhaps with some honey or cinnamon. I like both and... even more!
For me, it's usually fruit that do the trick. I just love using banana and blueberries, but this time I went for strawberries and passion fruit. I'm really passionate about getting all the vitamins I need.
Other toppings you could use: honey, cinnamon, nuts, dessicated coconut, chocolate drops, etc.
Fun fact: the politician who likes this the most is Porridge Johnson.
So, as I usually eat my porridge scalding hot (don't try this at home), I decided I should give it a shot as a cold dish. I tried Mocha Overnight Oats (or MOO!) and wasn't disappointed! I was mooing with happiness indeed.
You will need:
oats
a shot of coffee
milk
nutella/peanutbutter (up to you)
some fruit
yoghurt
cinnamon (optional)
Basically, we need a few layers in a bowl for this and then finish with our favourite toppings! Can you tell that I love topping dishes?
First, brew your coffee as you like it - I used a shot of espresso. Add the milk and then your oats to the mixture - let it sit and, as it absorbs the coffee, it will start looking like porridge, only brown this time! Transfer to a bowl and spread evenly at the bottom, so that we have our first layer.
Second layer is some nutella or peanutbutter (or both, as in DeLiz's case), because we didn't add any sugar to the coffee. Then, top with some yoghurt and add your favourite fruits at the end. I used strawberries, but anything could do really: bananas, peaches, blueberries, kiwi, you name it! Again, some cinnamon, nuts or dessicated coconut would do just as nicely, too.
Pop it in the fridge, sleep tight all night and in the morning you're good to taste the goodness! I love how it becomes extra cool with the yoghurt addition. A refreshing start to your day!
My craving for cool stuff (literally & metaphorically) continued through the week together with the good weather and a bit of lovely sun. So, I sat by the window and tried to absorb as much sun, vitamins and good mood as possible. I think it worked, sun is always good here.
I decided to accompany those sunny moments with a juicy yummy strawberry smoothie.
It's really simple and fast, you just need to have a blender. Use:
some milk
a few strawberries
honey
Just because I like it extra smooth, so that it lives up to its name as a smoothie, I don't pop everything in the blender at once. This is my secret to extra smoothness: allow three separate blends. First, go with the fruit, then add the honey and only at the end add the milk for a final blend until everything looks well incorporated. Ready to enjoy in so little time!
As you might have noticed, I've been into yoghurt a lot lately. It's the yoghurt craze... Or should I say the yoghurt... graze? Well, I ordered some snacks from an online shop, www.graze.com/uk, and I absolutely love them. You can get anything from flapjacks to slices of cake and tea or savoury snack bites with dips and sauces. And all this, in a small container that you can pop in your bag and have a light snack with you wherever you go.
This time, I used strawberry and cream yoghurt cereal topping with some peach and honey.
It was pure yumminess. The way the flavours blend together in every spoonful... It's just grazy!
So, here you have four options for yummy breakfast. Don't just have some coffee and go out on an empty stomach! I hope you have a nice day full of energy!
I'm saying goodbye with a lovely view of river Kelvin, as seen from Kelvinbridge (in Scots: Kelvinbrig, and in Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Chaol-Aibhne). Enjoy, folks!
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