30 Day Mediterranean Lifestyle Challenge
Kelly Velasquez is our Associate Director of Credentialing - Research & Quality Management. (Believe it or not, Kelly is not even in the running for the longest job title in the office.) Kelly has been a big supporter of our wellness efforts and is a long standing member of our wellness advisory team. Kelly is a swimmer and a triathlete. She is married to Eduardo who also works for ASHA and has two beautiful little girls. As you can imagine, what she doesn't have is spare time. Yet she never skips the most important meal of the day.
Like Kelly, I'm a big breakfast fan. On a good day, I might even eat two breakfasts. I can't resist this opportunity to share two of my favorite weekday breakfast recipes. (1) Cottage cheese pancakes -- these are great to make on the weekend, so you can just grab one or two before a morning workout. This is also my go to pre-race breakfast. They're great with some berries. (2) Blueberry-Coconut Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal. My friend Lee Baumgartner shared this recipe with me when I started planning this challenge. Make a 9x13 pan on Sundays and just heat a scoop up in the microwave all week. (I leave out the Stevia, skip the sauce and use plain almond milk. I like to top it with some slivered almonds and chia seeds.)
As an avid breakfast lover, I jumped at the opportunity to write about how you
The benefits of starting your day off with a nutritious, well-planned
breakfast are well-documented and - while somewhat controversial in their presentation of ‘data’ this is alsoa pretty good read. But what do you do when you are short on time, and just trying to race out of
your house to get to work? The morning rush makes it kind of hard to whip up a
frittata on the stove prior to dashing out of your house. Here are some of my
tips to make sure you eat a Mediterranean breakfast each day.
First off, find what works for you – timing wise, and meal-wise. You
may prefer to eat at home vs at work. Or you may be a creature of habit and
prefer to have the same breakfast every morning. I tend to find 2-3 breakfasts
that I like and alternate them (cereal, some form of eggs, and oatmeal). I keep a bowl
and spoon in my desk, along with
a box of Kashi cereal (I like the Go Lean! Crunch Honey Almond Flax flavor,
while my husband prefers the Go Lean! Crisp Cinnamon Crumble one – both appear
to meet the Sonoma diet guidelines as they serve up 8g fiber per serving and
are whole grain). So at least once per week I only need to bring in a cup of
fat-free milk in my travel mug and some fruit. I prefer blueberries which are
quite tasty right now, and as you can see in the picture below. My other favorite
option is eggs (sometimes I use the egg beaters, just check to see that they
have omega-3s). I’ll pack up the leftover veggies from the night before in a
Tupperware container (onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini, asparagus,
etc), bring 2 eggs, and scramble them in the microwave at work. Halfway through
the cooking time I may add a diced tomato, and then some shredded parmesan at
the end. That with a piece of whole grain toast or with some turkey bacon (also
microwaveable) makes for a great meal.
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Sonoma breakfast staple – Kashi Go Lean Crunch (Honey Almond Flax) – 9g protein and 8g fiber per serving; 3/4 c skim milk; ½ c blueberries |
Finally – oatmeal. I pour one serving of rolled oats into a Tupperware
container, cover it with half skim-milk and half water, and pack it in the
fridge.
Next morning at work, I microwave it to warm it up, and add chopped
walnuts and dates and a diced apple (I particularly like Gala apples).
Sometimes I add cinnamon; other times I may add raisins (but not in Wave 1 of
the Sonoma Diet). Then I have 3 go-to meals ready for the week. Also, I make a
frittata on Sunday, and have 2 extra servings in Tupperware for the week ahead (the
Sonoma book has several frittata variations, all good – and don’t worry if your
eggs don’t exactly set, as I think it is almost better tasting when it is
messier). And if all else fails, the
Mediterranean Café has breakfast!
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Sonoma frittata – using leftover roasted veggies (onion, squash, cauliflower, asparagus), grape tomatoes, ½ c blueberries |
NOTE: If you are not much of an egg fan, some other options are here.
Enjoy breakfast – truly the most important meal of MY day!
Additional Resources/Recipe Ideas/Articles -
- Breakfast is King
- Mediterranean Diet: 5 Tasty Breakfast Ideas
- Mediterranean Breakfast Pitas Recipe
- Breakfast on the Sonoma Diet
- Mediterranean Diet Breakfast Food
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