Healthy & nutritious recipes and meal ideas for you to try - because healthy eating doesn't need to be boring!

Many nutritionists and nutritionally aware doctors regard breakfast as the most important meal of the day. It represents the 'breaking' of the 'fast' and should replenish the lack of food while we sleep and while our body uses up it's stored nutrients from the previous day for the jobs of renew and repair that are so important.

So now we need new 'fuel' to fire the day's energies and the forthcoming repair work when we sleep. Breakfast sets the metabolic rate for our day - the base line of our energies for the day is established by our fuel intake at breakfast and then topped up throug hout the day as our energy requirements demand.

It is important that the content of our breakfast give us ingredients that release their sugars (energies) slowly and consistently throug hout the day from meal to meal - in a gentle energy wave rather than a series of energy highs and lows as are often seen following sugary, refined snack breakfasts and low nutrient, processed breakfast cereals.

Below we have listed several recipe and breakfast ideas to give you 'food' for thoug ht. Each is very simple and can be added to as the needs arise but most of all the contain ingredients in a good, wholesome form and in most cases organic ingredients would be preferable for maximum utilisation. They are all wheat, dairy, sugar free so are hypoallergenic for most individuals.

Millet and Almond Muesli (serves 2)
100g Millet puffs
1 large tbs Almond puree
1 banana
2 Golden delicious apples
I tbs ground mixed seeds
Water

Dissolve almond puree in two cups of cold water (makes almond milk). Add millet puffs. Add ground seeds. Mix. Chop banana into cubes. Grate apples (large threads). Mix well and add water to desired texture and consistency.

Coconut and banana porridge (serves 2)
100g millet flakes
2 bananas
30 g coconut cream
2 cups water
Ground seeds
Maple syrup to taste

Pour two cups of water into pan. Add millet. Bring to boil then simmer. While millet is cooking mash bananas (using fork). Add to millet with coconut. Allow to simmer until banana Is completely soft and coconut cream is well incorporated. Add water to desired consistency. Serve in bowls with I tbs ground seeds sprinkled on top and a tsp of maple syrup if necessary. Remember: banana is very sweet when cooked. Enjoy!

Crunchy Quinoa Muesli (serves 2)
75 g Quinoa Flakes
75 g crunchy Quinoa (from good health food shops)
Soya, Rice or Almond Milk
I paw paw (or other exotic fruits as desired, fresh not tinned)
I banana
ground seeds

Mix flakes and Quinoa Crunchies with liquid of your choice. Chop up paw paw and banana and add to muesli. Add ground seeds and mix. Add milk of your preference to achieve desired consistency.

Corn Muffins (makes 9 regular size muffins)(can be frozen for up to 1 month)
100g fine polenta
100g ground almonds
100g gluten-free flour
1 tsp baking soda
Rice milk
2 eggs, beat whites separately
raisins, 5 dates, 5 figs 3tbs apple juice concentrate

Mix polenta, almonds and flour. Add baking soda.Separately mix egg yolks and maple syrup. Add flour mix. Add rice milk til doug h is just falling off spoon. Cut dates and figs into small cubes. Add to mixture with raisins. Fold in egg whites gently. You should have a thick, creamy batter. Fill cupcake shapes and bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Knife should come out clean. Serve with fruit salad.

Banana Pancakes or Cinnamon Muffins (makes 8 pancakes or 12 muffins)(can be frozen for up to 1 month)
100 g buckwheat flour
150 g ground hazelnuts
1 tsp baking soda
1-2 cups soya milk
3 ripe bananas
2tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbs maple syrup (for muffins)
coconut fat (for pancakes)
egg (for muffins)

For pancakes:
Mix flour and hazelnuts with baking soda. Add cinnamon. Add milk until very thick batter Is achieved (go at it slowly the first time around). Mash banana and add to batter (remember the sweetening effect of cooked banana- you may want to ad fructose sugar here if you on an anti candida program) Put small drop of olive oil on skillet and pour I ladle full of batter. Flip gently using spatula once the pancake isbbubbling on top side. Roug hly 2 minutes per side. Serve with blueberries and a touch of maple syrup, if needed.

For muffins:
Add egg and maple syrup to batter and mix. Pour batter into cupcake shapes and bake 20-25 minutes. Knife should come out dean. Serve with diced pears or apples.

Blueberry porridge.
Soak half a bowl of porridge oats and a tablespoon of ground linseeds per person in enoug h water to cover overnight. In the morning add a little soya, rice or oat milk and heat gently with a generous portion of blueberries, until the blueberries start to colour the porridge.

Toasted soda bread topped with cottage or goat's cheese with mixed fresh fruit
Fresh fruit such as cantaloupe, watermelon and grapes. (Most of the supermarkets now feature many different types of breads - many containing no wheat at all. In our experience, Waitrose is the best. Try Borodinski or Rossinski rye bread with coriander, it's s excellent toasted and makes great sandwiches too!)

Breakfast smoothie.
Blend milk or juice, vanilla yoghurt and your choice of fresh or frozen fruit (strawberries or bananas work great).

These recipes and meal ideas have all been tried, tested and are contributed by third year students from The Institute for Optimum Nutrition, Nutrition Consultants Diploma Course.