Sunday Hangover Breakfast - Sweet Oats With Mango & Peach

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Hangover meals may traditionally have been a great big fry-up but that certainly was not what the Frenchmen ordered for breakfast..

I remember only too clearly when my Frenchman had his friends over from France one year.  After a big night out, I suggested that we go out for English Breakfast with tomatoes, mushrooms, a bit of sausage and so on for the next morning.  This suggestion was instantly crushed with disapproval.  'We want sugar,' said the Frenchmen.  'We want croissants and hot chocolate'.  Hmm..

What do you think?  What do you like to eat for breakfast or brunch after an energetic night out?  I usually am consumed with a great need for sustenance to get on with the rest of the weekend.  I think my sweet tooth might request sweet foods.  I love American style pancakes with fruit and maple syrup as a treat.

If you plan to stay in for breakfast and need to put something together within a few minutes that is also heart loving, choose oats with yoghurt and fruit.

This is what I did.

RECIPE

Few tablespoons of jumbo oats*

Few slices of tinned peaches (tinned in juice)

Freshly sliced mango

Teaspoon of strawberry jam (or save this for your toast)

1 - 2 tablespoons of yoghurt 

Skimmed milk

TIP - choose gluten free oats as required.  For a milk and soy free option, skip the yoghurt and use any of the calcium enriched nut flavoured drinks available on the market today.

You can add any fruit you like.  Fresh blueberries or strawberries would be lovely and a sight for sore eyes I am sure.  You may enjoy including at least one choice of tinned fruit in juice as the natural sweetness will stop you reaching for the sugar bowl.

Why this particular choice of meal you ask?

POTASSIUM

Fruit is abundant in potassium which is an important mineral in heart health.  It may have a role in regulating blood pressure.

ANTIOXIDANTS

Fruit is also abundant in antioxidants such as vitamin C, polyphenols and others.  Don't forget that vitamin C has a role in maintaining healthy skin.  You will definitely want to bear this in mind when selecting your breakfast, as alcohol can have 'dehydrating' effects on skin.  Alongside your bowl of superfoods, do reach for that glass of water too.

FIBRE

Oats are a wonderful source of fibre.  My favourite brand MornflakeGold Scottish Jumbo oats provide an impressive 10.8g per 100g.  Why the fuss with fibre?  Besides relieving symptoms of constipation, the fibre in oats help release its energy slowly thus improving the glycaemic index score of your meal.  More excellent news is that oats have been quoted to play a beneficial role in reducing total blood cholesterol levels.

Did you know that a 45g serving of this particular brand would give you nearly 5g of fibre? What a healthy start to your day!

So here we go, this elegant bowl is absolutely heart loving after a fun night out.  It is full of calcium for healthy bones as well as potassium, antioxidants and fibre for a healthy gut, skin, hair and heart.  

Go on, reach for the hearty bowl..

What do you like to eat after a big night out?  Do comment below lovely readers, I do love hearing from you!

Mighty Mango Smoothie & It's Health Benefits In A Glass

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Smile triumphantly if you’ve had breakfast today.  Your pride is well deserved as breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. 

I love mangoes and you probably do too.  Except, you’ve probably forgotten how nutritious it is because it is so tasty.  I’m determined that we meet our 5 plus of fruit and vegetables a day.  So what better way to start than at breakfast?

Vitamin C

What’s more is that you’ll also get a glassful of natural vitamin C with every smoothie.  Many of you think oranges or citrus fruits when we talk about vitamin C, but mangoes are another fantastic choice to meet your daily target of 40mg per day for vitamin C.

A 100g portion of this tropical fruit will give you around 37mg of vitamin C.  A portion is generally considered around 80g, but who is counting?  As a result of eating more than one piece of fruit a day, you will be literally smiling away, flashing those healthy gums, beautiful skin and fighting off infections whilst easily meeting your recommended amount of vitamin C for the day.  

Remember that taking large doses of vitamin C supplements in the form of pills has not been proven to prevent colds.

Fibre, Polyphenols & Potassium

Are you ready for more good news?  The dietary fibre and polyphenols found in fruit and vegetables are thought to improve the metabolism of lipids, especially the oxidation of low density cholesterol (the baddies if you like). 

An earlier study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry in 1999, found that ripe mangoes in particular are abundant in antioxidants such as polyphenols, gallic acid and fibre.  Being a tropical fruit, I am thrilled that mango has found its voice in the Western part of the world.

It really is time for the generation of the perfect dose of vitamin C, fibre, antioxidants and potassium in a glass.  Enjoy this quick and easy breakfast smoothie idea.

Ingredients

Flesh of 1 mango

1 banana

125g mango yoghurt

Ice (optional)

2 tablespoons mango puree (optional)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Methods

Blend the mango, banana and yoghurt together with the ice if using.  I used a whole mango as mine was mostly seed with a bit of flesh.  Pour the smoothie into a glass and top with the mango puree and sprinkling of cinnamon.  Wow you are ready to take on the world now J

Enjoy your day!  How do you like to eat a mango?

Are You Carb Smart - Screening Bread Made Easier

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A low carb diet may be your plan for your beach body but are you giving up the right carbs?

You don’t need to be a carb loather to have a fabulous body.  Give it up now and you’ll only probably end up over eating or over-compensating at a later meal. 

You may think that it’s easier to distance yourself from this vital energy source, but before you turn your back on all carbs, consider what you are going to replace these with.  If it becomes apparent that your bread in sandwiches or toast are traded in for scones, biscuits and cakes then you may just want to re-consider. 

Trading in low glycaemic index carbs or slow releasing carbs for sugary and high fat snacks could be you committing food suicide.

To make the journey back to carbs easier, let's practise our nutrition screening tool.  It really is a quick way of analysing your bread.  See Be Shopping Savvy - Nutrition Labelling Decoded.

I picked up this ‘purple’ version of Tesco’s Finest Multiseed Farmhouse Batch as it really is one of my favourites.

The fats are below 10g/100g.  The ingredient list tells me that the fats are likely the heart loving types from seeds such as sunflower seeds, linseeds, pumpkins seeds and so on.

I am very pleased with the fibre content of this bread, it’s a whopping 7.5g/100g.  I am definitely happy and confident purchasing this little treasure for my breakfast or lunch.  I don’t eat bread daily so I am not too worried about the salt content. 

If salt is important to you, then instead of getting bogged down by the numbers, simply choose a brand that contains the least amount of salt per 100g (after you've applied our golden nutrition screening tool of course)!

This high fibre bread sure kills the hunger pangs.  Why not team this with tomato, cucumber slices and reduced fat cheese for a savoury snack option.  


Remember, portion sizes are key if you are trying to restrict your energy intake for weight loss.

So get trending with the right carbs.  The smart carbs.

Lovely readers, what's your favourite type of bread to eat?

Breakfast Attack: How To Screen Your Cereal

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Do you ever feel bewildered by the number of breakfast cereals available on the supermarket shelves today?

If you have applied my screening tool for decoding nutrition panels (refer to article 'Be shopping savvy' for more info), then you may have noticed that very few breakfast cereals actually meet the golden criteria of <15g/100g sugar, <10g/100g fat and >5g/100g fibre.

Breakfast cereals are tricky as you want to consider the actual source of the fat and sugar.  If you find a cereal that receives your stamp of approval for fats and fibre, but not for sugar (contains >15g/100g), then I suggest that you look closely at the ingredient list.  

There are many reasons why breakfast cereals fail in this area and it's purely due to the added sugars.  Don't forget that any honey or syrups that are added to the cereal will also contribute to the total sugar content of the cereal.  If your favourite cereal is low in fat but high in sugar, think about where these sugars are coming from.  Is there dried fruit in this cereal?  Is fruit listed as one of the top three ingredients or is it sugar, honey and syrups?

Sugar added to cereal is not the same as sugar from dried fruit

For example, let's have a look at Alpen High Fruit cereal.  

This is a perfect example of a low fat, high fibre cereal with a high sugar content.  The good news is that the majority of sugars are sultanas, raisins and dried apple pieces.  There's further dried fruit in the form of blackcurrants and cranberries.  Sounds delicious.  As a rule, dried fruit contributing to the total sugar content of the cereal is not the same as added regular sugar.  


Fruit provide dietary fibre and are also a source of essential vitamins and minerals.  The verdict?  I am not complaining.  If you are a fan of muesli type breakfast cereals, then dig in (after you've applied the screening tool ofcourse)!

If you want a cereal without the extra fruit then have a look at Alpen Original.   This particular cereal is also low in fat and receives the tick for fibre.  Did you notice that the sugar content is lower at 23% compared to 30% from the High Fruit range?  Did your beady eye also notice that Alpen Original has ordinary sugar added as their fourth ingredient?  Think of the Alpen High Fruit as the cereal that's full to the brim with dried fruit, whilst Alpen Original has clearly needed a boost in flavour with a bit of regular sugar.

Ladies it's your breakfast, pick the one that tickles your taste buds.  Personally, I prefer waking up to a small bowl of Scottish Jumbo Oats, stocked by Waitrose.  It has a whopping 10.8g/100g of dietary fibre and is just right with a dash of skimmed milk and a teaspoon of brown sugar or dried fruit.  It's the perfect breakfast made easy.  More importantly, I am in control of how much sugar gets added every morning, not the manufacturer.

Enjoy the last day of your Easter holidays! Don't forget your breakfast tomorrow.


Please comment below, I really love and read all of your comments!