There are breakfast people, and then there are….other people.

I am a breakfast person.

This wasn’t always the case though. As a child I was an extremely picky eater, and if there wasn’t a box of Lucky Charms around, I would rather starve.

Then there were the awkward formative years of middle school and high school, where breakfast was just…wrong. Microwavable french toast sticks, pop tarts, hostess donuts, Pillsbury cinnamon buns, and yes, even fluffernutter on toast, amen!

And then there was college–a place where breakfast only existed on a Sunday, and even then it happened well after 12pm.

So in retrospect, I’m not quite sure how I ended up here:

Yup, that’s right. That’s everything I used to make my breakfast this morning, and I even left out a banana and bag of frozen raspberries. Here are a few more shots…

And just so we’re clear, every morning (no matter what’s on the menu), my breakfast is this elaborate.  In fact, I usually dedicate 45 minutes to my breakfast every morning, which I know sounds crazy, but once it becomes your routine, you realize how nice it is to have time to cook a warm breakfast, enjoy every bite, and relax with a cup of tea.

For today’s breakfast I had a can of pumpkin to finish off, so I made one of my favorites…

PUMPKIN PIE OATMEAL

Ingredients (makes one serving):

1  Cup Water
1 Cup Almond Milk (or any type of milk is fine)
1/2 Cup Oats (I used old fashioned oats, but instant works just fine)
1/2 Cup Spelt Flakes (I realize most people don’t buy Spelt flakes so just add another 1/2 cup of oatmeal)
1/3 Cup Pumpkin (you can buy it in a can in the baking aisle)
1 tbs. Chia Seeds (or you can add 1 tbs. of flax seeds, granola, or raisins)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp. Cinnamon
And of course a sweetener of your choice sprinkled on top (sugar, honey, agave syrup, etc…)

Directions: Bring the milk and water to a boil. Add oats, spelt flakes, pumpkin, and chia seeds, and reduce heat to low. Stir well, and add vanilla, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. Oatmeal will be ready in about 10 minutes.

For added protein (and flavor) I added a dollop of peanut butter on the top of my oatmeal, followed by some fresh blueberries. I also paired my oatmeal with a spinach egg beater omelet on the side.

Non-breakfast people have no idea what they are missing!

After first breakfast, I quickly prepared my “second breakfast” which is usually just something I eat at around 9am when I’m starving at work again.

I threw some raw almond butter on a piece of whole wheat bread and then paired that with a Green Monster Shake (I added frozen raspberries to the basic recipe).

T.T.A. Budget Friendly Tip: Buy organic fruit in the freezer aisle. The fruit doesn’t lose any of it’s nutrients, and you will save quite a bit of money, especially when it comes to strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Plus, frozen fruit works much better than regular fruit in shakes, and if you cook it in with your oatmeal, it really seeps into the oats for a lot of flavor. The only fruit I can’t stand frozen are blueberries (they never taste the same).

Finished product:

My second breakfast  (seen here at my desk at work).

And now it’s 7:30 pm, and I’m off to eat dinner (yawn–so lame).

Wow, could the weather be any more incredible for ringing in the first day of spring? It’s supposed to hit 75 today!

I just had a very early wake up call.  Michal and I signed up to do  a 5k race in Manchester aptly titled, “Finally Spring,” and since the event was an hour away (and since we both like to eat three hours before start time), we were up at 6:30am. I’m pretty excited for the race, so waking up wasn’t much of a problem, and knowing that we were going to be eating grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast made me practically fly out of bed.

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

(a.k.a. modified Elvis sandwich)

• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 2 tbs. peanut butter (I use a brand called Naturally More)
• 1 banana
• Honey or Agave Syrup (optional)
• Cinnamon

Directions: Just make a sandwich out of everything and then grill it in a pan or on a George Foreman for a few minutes.

We also paired a green monster shake with our breakfast.

Basic Green Monster Recipe

• 1 large banana
• 1 cup almond milk (I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla, but you can also use skim milk, soy milk, or hemp milk)
• 3 cups Spinach (don’t get grossed out, I SWEAR you can’t taste the spinach at all)
• Some ice

Directions: Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend for a few minutes until it’s thick and frothy. Enjoy. This recipe serves one, but Michal and I split this recipe because we didn’t want to have too much stuff in our stomach before the race.

I’m not kidding when I say that this stuff is so good that there are whole websites dedicated to the mystical powers of this drink. Instead of caffeine, I drink a green monster at work every morning, and it packs some serious energy in just 8 ounces. Proof is that my boyfriend now drinks one to two of these a day, and he is not the type to drink something green unless it tastes like candy.

Ok, I’m off to the race!