I’ve always felt that how I start the day is crucial to how the whole day goes. So what I have for breakfast is therefore crucial to what I eat during the rest of the day. A nutritionally sound breakfast gives me a good chance of a nutritionally sound day! That Full English breakfast sends the wrong signals to my brain. Although I’m not decrying the full English completely. Having a decadent breakfast once in a while has its place! Best to avoid those sugary processed cereals though!

So what do I go for!?. Here are my three favourite breakfasts!

Overnight Oats

Simply gorgeous and so easy! I’m not a fan of porridge (I’m not a fan of hot sweet things in general…. sadly I’m fine with cold sweet things!) so getting my oats on a morning (…stop it!) is difficult! But then I discovered Overnight Oats. I’m not one for measurements just go with what it looks like! So, take a pot of yoghurt, or a couple of good scoops, and mix in some oats until it’s ‘claggy’ (for those of you not from the north east of England go for ‘sticky looking’). There needs to be enough yoghurt, but not too much, as the oats are going to absorb the liquid in it to soften. I then add in some seeds – pumpkin seeds are my thing at the minute – and some soft fruit – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. And leave it in the fridge overnight. If you forget you can get away with doing it on a morning and waiting about half an hour. Not as good but not bad.

I also have a prepared mix to hand most of the time to make this even quicker. I get myself a decent sized jar and half fill it with oats. I then grab a range of dried fruits and nuts. Chuck the nuts in and chop the dried fruit up into small pieces if required. Chuck the dried fruit in and give it all a shake! My favourite dried fruits are apricots, cranberries, mango, and figs.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a particularly low calorie option. It’s healthy but fairly calorie ‘rich’ especially once you get some greek yoghurt (my favourite) on there. So if you are dieting then don’t have too much of this!

Scrambled eggs with mushrooms and ham

Chop the mushrooms however you fancy and put them in the frying pan with a little oil. Chop the ham and crack two or three eggs – depending on how fuelled you want to be – into a jug. Chuck the ham in the jug and give a good stir. Once the mushrooms are cooked turn the heat right down – this is the crucial bit as you want the eggs to cook really slowly so they don’t go rubbery – and then pour in the eggs gently stirring to combine them with the mushrooms. Gently does it with the heat – you can’t rush this bit. And once the eggs are just done…. serve. Lots of people tell me that of all the breakfast options out there eggs keep you full for the longest. I have to agree!

Smashed avocado on wholemeal toast

Easy, and lovely. Select two slices of your favourite wholemeal, granary, brown, seedy, nutty bread (or make your own!) and pop them in the toaster. Slice open a ripe avocado and mash in a bowl. Spread on the toast! How easy is that! Get fancy if you want! Personally I like a little splash of extra virgin olive oil in mine as it seems to ‘loosen’ the avocado while you mash it. And I love to chop in a little basil! …and for a nice ‘hit’ try some chilli flakes!

There you are – 3 great ways to start your day! I’m off for my overnight oats now which have been gently doing their stuff in the fridge!

See you soon!