Vegan Breakfast Treats!

With my new job has come a new routine - namely, having to wake up & be out the door at 8:30AM to start the drive down to our factory in Faridabad and be in at 9:30 sharp. Despite my best efforts, I'm not much of a morning person, and I found myself skipping breakfast more often than not the first few weeks. I finally resolved to change that, and have been having fun trying out some fast & easy breakfast options - all super healthy, and vegan too!

Why vegan? Well, I'm not one. Not even a vegetarian. But I was a vegan for about five years (from the ages of 15-20), and I do like to incorporate a lot of meatless, dairy-free items in my diet. I find when I go easy on dairy, my skin is clearer, and I also like the health benefits that dairy alternatives like soy (in moderation) and coconut milk give. But I definitely love my butter, dahi, and cheese too (and yes, chicken and seafood and all that), so don't expect me to go 100% vegan again any time soon!

Breakfast option #1: peanut butter oatmeal granola bars. Adapted from this recipe. I used coconut milk and a pat of coconut oil, and evaporated cane juice as the sweetener. I also added in chia and flax seeds (about a tablespoon of each) and about 10 finely chopped dates, and used muesli as my crunchy addition. They came out very moist and they break relatively easily, but they're super yummy and very filling. I've been taking one in the morning along with an apple and it keeps me going until lunch! One batch seems good for about a week's worth of bars.

Breakfast option #2: triple berry smoothie! I've been eyeing these boxes of frozen berries at La Marche for a while and finally decided to try them out. I add equal parts of blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries along with unsweetened soy milk and litchi juice (50-50 each), as well as a sprinkle of raw sugar to add a bit of extra sweetness. It's all fairly eyeballed, I add in maybe a 1/2 cup of liquid and start blending and then gauge if I need to add more to get it to the right consistency.

Makes a nice big glass and is a great way to get lots of fiber + antioxidants in for the day! I've also been enjoying this as a post-work snack. My biggest recommendation with this would be to use good quality juice that doesn't have a ton of added sugar - Ceres is the brand I use, and they have a massive variety if you can find them in stores! And avoid using white sugar whenever possible - the more unprocessed the sweetener, the better.

Hope you feel inspired to have something healthy. :) Let me know if you try any of these out!

x

Neemly