breakfast – happy & we know it

Smoothie Operator

November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 by happycatie, posted in Happy, Nutrition, Recipes

Day 9 of the Mindful 21 challenge & it’s all about that smoothie. I wrote yesterday about how breakfast just isn’t my thang….and it still isn’t. You have little time in the morning (especially after yoga and 5 minutes of meditation in the morning), lunch and dinner are so much cooler, and you have so many other things to do in the morning!

So, smoothies are usually my go to in the morning – they’re fast, packed with plants, and full of nutritional goodies. Today, wake up and be sure to drink at least 8 ounces sit before you meditate for 5 minutes. Then, head to the kitchen and pack the blender with the following:

1 apple (with the skin – that’s where the fiber goodness lies)
1 carrot (a big one)
1 cup of kale or spinach (kale is a bit courser – both are awesome!)1 cup of soy, almond or coconut milk
1 scoop of vegan powder or 2 tablespoons of chia seeds or 2 tablespoons of flax meal
1/2 cup of ice
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Mix all and enjoy!

Happy Breakfast

Fat for Breakfast

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 by happycatie, posted in Happy, Nutrition

It’s Day 8 of the Mindful 21 challenge and it’s the kick off of the mindful eating portion. For the next 7 days I’m going to be incorporating 5 minutes of meditation to start my day plus sharing nutritional tips, plant-based recipes, and conscious eating facts. I believe food should fuel us, should aide in our physical and mental activity, should help assist in our health instead of contributing to our sickness.

Let’s start with breakfast!

I’m not a huge breakfast fan. Lunch, bring it. Dinner, I’ll take seconds. Breakfast I can take or leave it. That being said, it’s the most important meal of the day. For real. It gets your brain functioning and stores energy you use for the rest of your day.

Some Fat Facts:

60% of your brain matter is made of fats that create all the cell membranes in your body
Fat supplies 60% of the bodies ongoing energy needs during rest
Good fats help promote fat burn

Fat totally gets a bad rep and there are plenty of good fats you can start having for breakfast. Avocado being one of them. I often have avocado toast or avocado on a brown rice cake sprinkled with raw sesame seeds (which have omega-6 fatty acids and are FULL of protein) & pumpkin seeds (full of anti-anxiety properties and vitamin E).

Plant-based breakfasts are full of live enzymes, vitamins, minerals….the list goes on and on. I say if you want to start your day on the right foot, drink some water upon waking, meditate for 5 minutes, then eat some avocado, beans, saute some spinach in some coconut oil and top it on your toast, eat some healthy fat to get your body movin’.

Happy Breakfast!

Vegan Peanut Butter & Banana Pancakes

June 13, 2015 by happycatie, posted in Happy, Nutrition, Recipes

I’m not the best baker, in fact I’m pretty bad at it. It’s an exact science, you need to measure, have the exact ingredients. Just not how I usually operate in the kitchen. With baking, you are balancing acids with bases and when you miss a step, the whole thing falls apart. No thanks!

But you don’t get better at something unless you practice, right?! What better venue and day to do that then at home on a Saturday, one of my favorite days of the week! So I decided to try some vegan pancakes for breakfast…knowing I wanted peanut butter to add some protein punch. Well, they came out delicious & I followed my own recipe, that I actually wrote down, so am passing it on to you!

Enjoy!

Vegan peanut Butter Pancakes

2 ripe bananas

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tablespoons raw coconut flakes

2 pinches of sea salt

1 tablespoon chunky, natural peanut butter (I use earth balance)

1/2 cup of wheat pastry flour

A sprinkle of cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 tablespoons warm water

Mash bananas in a big bowl, add peanut butter, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, coconut, baking soda, flour. Mix with a whisk until blended. Add warm water and mix.

Get a pan really hot, grease with vegan butter/spray. Dolup about 1/4 cup cakes onto the skillet and cook 3-5 minutes per side.