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A Dozen Healthy Breakfasts That Aren’t Oatmeal, by Victoria Moran

Once when my daughter was small, she looked lovingly at my mom and said, “Grandma: your oatmeal is so good, you should open a restaurant.” That is a rare degree of porridge appreciation. Most of us eat this particular food because it’s vegan, whole, fiber-rich, cholesterol-lowering, and we’re out of more appealing options. But options there are and we can use them — especially in summer. Here are a dazzling dozen to get you started:

  1. Avocado toast

The hipster’s fave is easy to make and benefits your body with avocado’s potassium, vitamins K1, C, B5, B6, E, and folate. Lightly toast your preferred bread and slice on avocado, adding a spritz of lemon juice, a drizzle of EVOO, and a sprinkle of cumin and ground rock salt. Alternatively: mash all that up and spread on the toast.

The Ayurvedic Chocolate Shake and Green Smoothies. (Apologies for the plastic cups & straws; this picture was from before I knew better)
  1. Ayurvedic chocolate shake

This balancing breakfast consists of 10 ounces soy, almond, or flaxseed milk, 1 peeled banana, 2 pitted dates, 1 tablespoon each cocoa powder and ground flaxseed, 1 teaspoon each vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, 1/2 teaspoon each allspice and cardamom, and 1/8 tsp. each nutmeg and ground cloves. Double if you’re blending for two.

  1. Beans on toast

This UK classic is traditionally made with white bread and Heinz baked beans from the can, but you can use crusty brown bread and black beans with Mexican seasonings (i.e., cumin and chili powder), or lentil dal with Indian spices (dry mustard, turmeric, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, and cayenne).

  1. Chia pudding

    Chia pudding for company brunch

The way fiber- and antioxidant-rich chia seeds magically swell and soften brings out the kid in anybody, so make this super summer breakfast with the little ones in your life. For each serving, use 1 tablespoon chia seeds to 1/2 cup almond or coconut milk. Sweeten if you like with maple syrup, and flavor with vanilla and cinnamon.

  1. French toast

The “egg” can be blended chickpeas, mashed banana, flaxseed and cornstarch, or commercial vegan eggs, i.e., Just Egg. My go-to batter is 1 1/2 cups vegan milk, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes, and 1 teaspoon each sugar and cinnamon, energetically whisked. Dip in the bread (sourdough is heavenly) and fry on a lightly oiled skillet.

  1. Granola

Okay, technically it’s oats but not oatmeal. The health-savvy may pooh-pooh this hippie staple because of its traditionally high oil and sugar content, but you can make your own and keep rich ingredients to a minimum; or buy a super-healthy commercial option such as Engine 2 (at Whole Foods), fruit-sweetened and no oil at all.

  1. Green smoothie

Green smoothies remind me of people on Instagram who do impossible yoga poses whilst being impossibly gorgeous, but enjoying a good green smoothie is quite is the purview of the rest of us too: frozen ripe banana, fresh or frozen berries, water or coconut water, and a handful of mild — that’s the secret — greens, i.e., spinach or baby kale. The miracle of these is that don’t taste green, just yummy.

  1. Classic Pancakes

Mix 1 cup buckwheat flour (or use half wheat flour), 1 teaspoon each baking powder and vanilla powder, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a dash of salt; in a separate bowl whisk 1 cup vegan milk with 1 tablespoon ground flax and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, and let stand 5 minutes. Re-whisk and then mix liquid into dry ingredients and fry 1/4-cup cakes on lightly oiled griddle — bubbles on the top tell you it’s time to flip your flapjack.

  1. Savory breakfast bowl

If the plate becomes extinct, it’s because bowls are so inviting. For this one, layer steamed rice, millet or quinoa (leftovers work); red, white, or black beans; and a quick veggie stir-fry — onions, garlic, tomatoes, greens). If you want to get fancy, add a simple sauce, i.e., plain vegan yogurt mixed with ground cumin, fresh cilantro, and salt to taste.

  1. Scrambled tofu

    Scrambled tofu pair with a baby greens salad and vegan scone at Peacefood Cafe, Union Square, NYC

A classic for a reason! Drain tofu and wrap in towels to remove some of the water. Saute onion and garlic in avocado oil; when soft, stir in turmeric, black pepper, egg-y tasting Indian black salt (it’s really pink), and nutritional yeast; add crumbled tofu (and more oil or some veggie broth if needed) and stir-fry. Finish with chopped tomotoes and baby spinach, and serve with vegan sausage, toast and jam.

  1. Sweet rice

On my trips to India and Nepal, sweet rice was synonymous with breakfast. Basmati rice forms the base, sometimes with the addition of split mung beans. When cooked, these are mixed with jaggery, Sucanat, date or coconut sugar, chopped raw cashews (or pistachios if you have them), soaked raisins and/or chopped dates, with a sprinkle of cardamon or nutmeg.

  1. Yogurt parfait

Layer plain, unsweetened, vegan yogurt in a parfait dish with blueberries, sliced banana, chopped walnuts, blanched and slivered almonds, ground flax, skinny drizzles of maple syrup, deliberate dashes of cinnamon, and less heavy-handed sprinkles of cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and — use even less — clove. If you love these toppings and you’re without yogurt, you’ll find that they also work great on . . . oatmeal.

Victoria Moran, CHHC, AADP, RYT-200, is the founder of Main Street Vegan Academy and the host of the Main Street Vegan Podcast. She is hard at work on her 14th book, this one about aging like a yogi. Victoria loves breakfast and if oatmeal is on the menu, she likes it with lots of hot soy or almond milk. Follow her vegan/ayurvedic adventures on Instagram: @VictoriaMoranAuthor.

8 thoughts on “A Dozen Healthy Breakfasts That Aren’t Oatmeal, by Victoria Moran”

  1. Since around 1980, my breakfasts have consisted entirely of fresh fruits, or dried fruits that have been soaked, and raw nuts, usually soaked, sometimes as so-called raw nut butters (the grinding process does heat them considerably). Too much fruit sugar, you might think? Maybe, but at the same time except for frugal amounts of maple syrup stirred into the nut butters, I have avoided processed sugar of all kinds, and have no desire for “sweets” or pastries of any kind. I think people who desire sweets are suffering from fruit-deficiency disease.

  2. These are great. I have a routine that is so simple, but it DOES involve oatmeal. Only a half cup of oatmeal and a half cup of Ezekiel 4:9 cereal. I like the crunch of this cereal, but it is a bit “heavy.” Mixing it with oatmeal makes it perfect. And this cereal can be a bit pricey, so stretching it with oats makes it last longer.

    Ezekiel products are already high in flax, so I add a tablespoon each ground chia seeds and hemp seeds. (Ground chia seeds are believed to have more bioavailability than whole chia seeds.) I also add a table spoon of agave nectar and a teaspoon of cacao power, and a little bit of cinnamon. Mix those dry ingredients. Add one cup of your favorite plant-milk. (I love unsweetened Silk brand soy milk.) Mix again. Then add your favorite fruit. I usually do strawberries and blue berries, because I love both the flavor and the antioxidants. If I am out of one or both of those, then I will slice bananas.

    The combination of grains that make up Ezekiel 4:9 cereal provides a robust plant-based amino acid profile. The great Biblical prophet knew something before science discovered amino acids! This is also a great source of Omega 3’s and 6’s, even before adding chia and hemp. And depending upon which fruit you add and how much, you can easily have half of your daily requirement of fiber before you even walk out the door!

    Dry ingredients:

    1/2 cup oatmeal
    1/2 cup Ezekiel 4:9 cereal
    1 tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup)
    1 tbsp chia seeds
    1 tbsp hemp seeds
    1 tsp cacao powder
    A few sprinkles of cinnamon. (Does anyone really measure cinnamon!?) 🙂

    Mix dry ingredients.

    1 cup plant-based milk

    Mix again.

    Add fruit…or not…

    No actual cooking!

    This makes a huge portion of food, but it satiates me for hours. If this is too much, you can simply reduce down to 1/4 cup of each oats and cereal.

  3. I love this post Victoria. I started giving it to my clients and suggesting that they follow you on social media. Okay…I refer back to it myself sometimes too, to help shake up my breakfast routine. We as vegans have so many delicious meal choices. Thank you.

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