Now that I am in my second trimester of pregnancy, my appetite has increased somewhat. While I would not say that I have been eating a lot more than usual, I have been eating four meals a day instead of three. I eat breakfast an hour or two after I wake up, and a second breakfast three hours later after my morning walk/run. Then I eat lunch between 2:00pm and 3:00pm and dinner between 6:00pm and 7:00pm. I plan dinners before my biweekly shopping trip, so I never have a hard time coming up with something to eat then, and I usually have leftovers for lunch. Breakfast, however, I rarely plan (and I eat it twice), so it has been a bit of a challenge coming up with healthy options, especially as I am trying to eat at least one fruit or veggie with each meal.
I thought I would share with you some of the breakfast solutions that I have come up with. They are healthy and relatively easy to make. I often prep (or entirely prepare) breakfast the night before so that it is ready to go in the morning.
Classic Baked Oatmeal
Serves: 2
This first recipe is great because it includes fruit inside the baked oatmeal. It tastes delightful topped with strawberries, Greek yoghurt, and a touch of maple syrup. These are easy to make the day before and simply reheat in the morning. Or, you could make a large batch over the weekend and store individual portions in the freezer to heat up during the week.
Ingredients:
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 Overripe Banana
1/2 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Maple Syrup
Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease two small ramekins (or a small baking dish).
Mash the banana. Mix well all the ingredients.
Divide into the two ramekins and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Enjoy!
High Protein Breakfast Burrito
Serves: 1
This is my favorite second-breakfast meal. The egg and cottage cheese add a lot of protein, while the spinach and salsa provide some veggie-power. Plus, it tastes delicious.
Ingredients:
Butter/Olive Oil
Small chunk of frozen (or fresh) chopped spinach (about 1 teaspoon size)
1 Egg (Omega-3 enriched preferrable)
Salt & Petter (to taste)
1/3 – 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
2 tablespoons Salsa (fresh is best)
1 Whole Wheat Tortilla
Coat a small skillet with the butter or olive oil and put on medium heat. Add the frozen spinach to defrost.
Once the spinach is defrosted, add the egg to the skillet and scramble. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When the egg is cooked, put it in the center of the tortilla. Top with the cottage cheese and salsa. Wrap it up.
At this point, you can either put the burrito in the skillet to warm up the cottage cheese and salsa, or if you’re like me and don’t want to wait, just eat it cold.
Bon Apetite!
Overnight Oatmeal
Serves: 1
Overnight oatmeal is so simple to prepare the night before, and can even be taken with you on the go. It can be eaten cold, warmed up in the microwave, or you can even blend it into a smoothie as a creamy, high protein base. Feel free to play around with the ingredients–more or less milk depending on how thick you want it; more, less, or a different type of sweetener, or even leave it out; different blends of fruit and spices to dress it up.
Ingredients:
Old Fashioned Oats
Milk
Plain Greek Yoghurt
Sweetener – Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar, Honey, Agave, Jam/Fruit Preserves
Spices – Cinnamon, Pumpkin/Apple Pie Spice, Nutmeg, Allspice
Extracts – Vanilla, Almond, Maple, Cherry, Coconut…
Fruit – Strawberries, Apples, Mango, Coconut, Cherries, Mixed Berries, Peaches
Fill a pint-size jar 1/3 with oats. Add milk until the jar is just over half full. Add 2-4 tablespoons of yoghurt.
Add your sweetener, spices, and extracts to taste, close the lid, and shake it up until well mixed.
Put the jar in the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, add fruit and eat up!
WithUpturnedFace 