Mochi: yet another breakfast option!

I am definitely a creature of habit. I will eat the same thing for breakfast for months on end.  I love breakfast and breakfast food and wake up hungry, looking forward to eating every single day.  So I get on a roll and go with it.  I think for probably a year I ate a fried egg on a whole wheat English muffin with a piece of soy sausage. It was delicious but I finally tired of it.  I have realized over the last year that it really is not in your best nutritional interest to eat the same things over and over.  A varied diet is what allows us to get all the nutrients, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, etc that we need in our diet.  As they say, you should eat the rainbow to get everything your body needs.

So I have been varying my diet to get a more wide range of nutrients.  That said, I am not a fan of vegetables for breakfast.  I just don't like that sort of savory food first thing in the morning, so I work on getting veggies in my diet the rest of the day, and just getting some comforting, filling food in me in the morning.

I read on Eating Bird Food about a snack they had on a beach vacation, mochi. I was intrigued and sought it out at my local Whole Foods.  I decided to try it for breakfast.

Mochi is a Japanese food made from whole grain brown rice.  It is an all-natural food with no added preservatives or additives.  It comes in a big block in the refrigerated section of the store.  You cut it into small about 1 inch pieces and cook for 450 for about 10 minutes. They puff up and get golden brown, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  I have tried the raisin-cinnamon, original, and cashew-date.  All were equally delicious.  The nutrition content is not outstanding...limited protein (4 grams in my serving) but only 2 grams of fat and 240 calories.  You can find the nutrition info and the ingredients on the grainaissance website.  It says a serving is 1/8 of a package but I eat 1/4 of a package. You can see that the ingredients are simple and healthy:

Raisin-Cinnamon: Organic sweet brown rice, filtered water, raisins, cinnamon, sea salt.


So I think it is probably as good as a whole grain bread, but is a nice alternative to wheat and is gluten free.  I can only imagine that the pizza flavor would be a nice snack, and chocolate would be delicious!

Unfortunately, my boyfriend told me it looked like dog poop on a plate!   I disagree and find it to be a fabulous breakfast when you open up each little puff and fill it with some peanut butter or almond butter.

Has anyone else tried mochi?  What do you think of it?


And this picture has nothing to do with breakfast but is added just for pure cuteness.  Who wouldn't love this cute face?!

Hot cereal for cold morning

Today I woke up and again it was 30 degrees!  I went to a yoga class at my favorite yoga studio.  It was nice and cozy since the room is heated to about 90 degrees.  A great workout and a wonderful way to start the weekend!   Unfortunately when I leave the class wet with sweat I get chilled walking back to the car. When I got home I decided to make a hot cereal, not something that I usually eat.  It is good for your body to eat in sync with the season - warming things in cold weather and cooling things in the summer.  So here is my version of a warming breakfast.

Apple Cinnamon Hot Cereal   (Serves 2 or 3 hungry people)
Ingredients
2 cups almond milk, unsweetened, vanilla
1/2 apple, chopped
1 Tbsp cinnamon (I like a lot but it makes the cereal brown. You can use less)
splash of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill 8 grain hot cereal
1/2 cup thick cut rolled oats
2 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp chia seeds

Start by chopping the apple.

Heat the almond milk with the apple, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  Bring to almost a boil and then reduce the heat to low and cook about 5 minutes until the apples are almost tender.

Stir in the maple syrup and the grains, flax meal and chia seeds.

Continue to cook over low heat, covered, until thick and grains are tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir midway through.

Serve topped with nuts of your choice (I used pecans) and a drizzling of extra maple syrup.

I must report that although this tasted delicious, it did not keep me full. I was hungry in a couple of hours, which is exactly why I don't eat hot cereal often!

How about you, is a hot oatmeal or cereal right to start your day?  Or does it leave your stomach growling in two hours like me?

What to eat for breakfast....

A couple of years ago I went to see an Ayurvedic medicine specialist.  I wanted to see what my dosha was and how I could eat better for my constitution.  (More info on Ayureda is here http://www.ayurvedapages.com/index.html)  Turns out I am a pitta/vata and my vata was out of balance.  Yes, it is all a little confusing and I left with a list of foods to eat (cooling foods like salad) and things to avoid (cabbage?!.) At any rate, one of my big take home messages was I eat a lot of wheat.  She analyzed a daily sample of food I eat and it was clear that I was eating wheat at almost every meal and in many snacks.  Easy to do! My wheat was mostly whole wheat but there are so many more grains and choices besides wheat!   Based on her recommendations and what I have learned in my Integrative Nutrition class, I have changed my diet considerably since then,  eating mostly vegetables, fruits, eggs, a little seafood and legumes.  I have focused on limiting wheat and and adding in other grains like brown rice, quinoa, barley, and millet.  Unfortunately I can overdo it on the cheese and dark chocolate!

Fast forward to January 2011.  I gained some weight over the last year first while training for a marathon (yes it is commonly happens) then when I had an injury and had to quit running, and lastly when I had knee surgery to fix the injury and had to stop all exercise for about 6 weeks.  So now I am trying to get back to a happy place where all my pants fit.  The last few weeks I have eaten mostly vegan (except some milk in my decaf coffee) and really focused on eating mostly vegetables, some fruits, legumes, nuts, tofu and tempeh.  I have stopped all refined sugar and most natural sugar, just for a while to see what happens.  Believe it or not, after the headache for a couple of days, I feel great, don't crave sugar or chocolate anymore, and don't get very hungry.  Three cheers!  But trying not to eat wheat and eating mostly vegan left me with what to eat for breakfast? Not toast, not eggs....so GRANOLA was a good answer.  I have made granola a number of times and have tons of recipes.  This time I tried a hybrid of a bunch of recipes and came up with a delicious batch. I eat a small amount (1/3 cup?) with almond milk and some added almonds, pecans, or hemp seeds for some added protein and goodness.  Today I added blueberries and blackberries.  Yes I know they are not in season but they were inexpensive and actually delicious.  A nice splurge from locavore eating!

Granola with Nuts and Coconut
4 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 pecans
1 1/2 cup coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup flax meal
1 Tbsp cinnamon
big pinch of salt

1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix together all dry ingredients in a big bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients in a small bowl, then mix into the oats mixture. Stir together until well mixed.  Pour onto a large jelly roll/sheet pan (large sheet pan with sides) and spread out evenly.  Bake in he over for about an hour, stirring every 20 minutes, until golden brown. Add dried or fresh fruits of your choice when you serve.

Note: It will get crunchy as it cools.  If you want it to stick together in clumps you'll need to increase the agave.  You can change the type of nuts to add whatever you like best. If you add dried fruits before you bake it I find they get very dried out and not very good!