by Peggy Kingery, from the March 2001 Newsletter

I've always been envious of people who bounce out of bed at the crack of dawn and head out for their daily run or workout at the gym. Although I get up early, I'm someone who needs to ease slowly into my day, giving all my internal systems time to wake up. When my stomach awakens, it calls out for healthy nourishment—food that is both gentle on my digestive tract and able to provide lasting energy for the activities that lay ahead of me.

American breakfast foods are generally high in fat, protein, and sugar. They jolt the body into a hyper-alert but artificial state of awareness, shock sleepy nerves, and stress a digestive system that's been snoozing for 8 or more hours. Foods that are difficult to digest make us feel irritable, sluggish, and lethargic—not the way I want to start my day!

The Japanese gently awaken their digestive system with a bowl of clear broth or miso soup. For Americans, soup for breakfast is definitely an acquired taste but its benefits make it worth considering. Miso soup energizes and warms the body, is a good source of protein and B vitamins, contains friendly microorganisms that replenish intestinal flora, aids digestion, and may even strengthen the blood.

If soup doesn't appeal to you, there are many other healthy options to choose from. Omelets, doughnuts, and yeast-containing foods like bagels are not recommended because they're too harsh on our systems. Grain-based foods, however, are ideal morning fare. They provide complex carbohydrates for energy that will last for hours, they're easily digested, and they're fast and convenient—especially with the creative use of leftovers.

When the weather is warm, leftover brown rice (or millet, barley, or bulgur) makes a tasty breakfast served cold with rice or soy milk and sliced seasonal fruit. During cold months, simply heat equal parts cooked grain and a liquid (water, rice or soy milk, apple juice, or a combination) until thick and creamy. Stir in dried fruit, chopped nuts, seeds, or brown rice syrup for a warming meal. Grains that have been flaked (oats, barley, rye, wheat) also make a quick and satisfying hot cereal. Many commercial companies make grain-based hot cereals with no added sweeteners. Check out the variety in the Co-op's cereal aisle.

Leftover grains can also be mixed with whole grain flour, soy milk, and a handful of seeds or nuts to make pancakes. Serve with barley malt syrup or an unsweetened fruit sauce. For brown bag breakfasts, make pancakes thin and store them in the fridge. Spread with a nut butter or unsweetened fruit preserves, roll them up, and you're on your way.

Speaking of grains and cereals, beware of packaged cold cereals and granola. Most are too processed and too high in simple sugars to make for healthy morning fare on a daily basis. Read labels carefully. Taking the time to make your own cereal using whole grains is a better alternative.

Vegetables can also be part of the morning meal. Leftover winter squash is delicious mashed and stirred into millet or blended with nut butter and spread on unleavened bread. Chopped carrots or other root vegetables are quite tasty when cooked with leftover brown rice. I especially like to top my morning cereal with sliced scallions when my tastes veer more to the savory than to the sweet.

Once I have a hearty, healthy, whole grain breakfast in my stomach, I'm ready to tackle my activities for the day—including my workout at the gym. I begin knowing I'll have plenty of energy to last me until lunchtime. Give these cereals a try and see if they don't help you feel more alert and recharged as you begin your day.

Mixed Grain Breakfast Blend
(from Mostly Macro by Lisa Turner)

3 cups leftover cooked grain
1 cup soy or rice milk
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit
1/4 cup sunflower or sesame seeds
3 tbsp. brown rice syrup or barley malt syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat over low flame until creamy and warmed through.

Bulgur Sunflower Cereal
(from The Self-Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner)

Make this "instant" cereal before you go to bed at night. It's perfect for a brown bag breakfast or those with little time to cook in the morning.

3/4 cup bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
pinch of sea salt

Place bulgur, sunflower seeds, and salt in a wide-mouth thermos. Pour in boiling water. Seal and leave to "cook" overnight. Serve with miso soup broth, amasake, or rice milk.

Peggy Kingery loves cooking, writing, exercising, and living the beauty of each day with husband Jim at their home in Moscow and farm in Deary.

 

Copyright: Copyright on articles, images, and recipes are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted.

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