Breakfasts

This year I've gotten into the habit of instagramming my breakfasts at home, and I'm really enjoying it! My enthusiasm for these breakfast instagrams seems to be contagious, and they've become the most popular of my pics - thanks for all the comments and "likes", guys!

Blueberries, mango, yogurt, Cappuccino

You see, at the start of the year I set myself a challenge to eat a proper breakfast at home every morning. Prior to this, I'd bring breakfast to work and hurriedly eat it at my desk - this was a cynical ploy that would let me sleep in as long as possible each morning.  However, after a while I realised it wasn't really working for me - I'd inhale my breakfast without really thinking, it would take me ages to properly "wake up" at work, and I'd be distracted for the first part of the morning. Not good! (It's also hard to run for the tram if you've only been out of bed for twenty minutes beforehand!) And whilst my breakfast choices were generally decent - yogurt and fruit mostly, sometimes those Belvita biscuits if I were feeling lazy - I wouldn't really appreciate it, and if I were caught short, I could find myself eating some pretty horrendous and expensive breakfasts. I remember, one particularly frantic morning, having a double espresso and a carrot cupcake with cream cheese icing and feeling jittery for the entire day!

So since the start of the year I've been getting up twenty minutes earlier and preparing myself a nice little breakfast. I've totally been loving it! Apart from actually having something nice to eat, it's been great to have a little five minutes of "me time", preparing myself something nourishing. It's given me heaps more energy and really brightened my mood.

If you sometimes struggle to think of what to have for breakfast, hopefully these pictures will inspire you!

As you can see in the top picture, fruit and yogurt is a favourite combo of mine. I made a big batch of Nigella's chocolate and peanut granola at the start of the year, and enjoyed it sprinkled on my fruit and yogurt.

Yogurt, granola, strawberries, mango, blueberries, Flat White

Yogurt, granola, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries

 This one wasn't a weekday one - Sandra actually made me the below breakfast on New Year's Day, including grinding the coffee beans by hand!

Yogurt, granola, raspberries, Chemex coffee

Yogurt, granola, nectarines, mango, strawberries

Yogurt, granola, blueberries

Yogurt, granola, blueberries

Since I ran out two months ago, I bought more ingredients to make more granola, but I haven't been bothered yet, haha. I do like fruit and yogurt by itself though, especially if I've had a big dinner the night before, or if I have some big eating planned!

Yogurt, blueberries, Cappuccino

Yogurt, mango

Mango yogurt, banana, Long Black

Yogurt, figs, honey

Yogurt, figs, white peach

Yogurt, figs, white peach, Latte

Even though I've been too lazy to make more granola, I find the addition of toasted pine nuts to add a nice little crunch to my morning yogurt!

Yogurt, figs, honey, pine nuts, Tea

Yogurt, figs, pine nuts, honey

Yogurt, raspberries, pine nuts, honey

Yogurt, raspberries, pine nuts, honey, Latte

This one below is a little fancy - again, it wasn't a weekday one, but another special weekend breakfast Sandra made for me! I do love that Chemex coffee...

Grilled figs, yogurt, honey, pistachios, Chemex coffee

I've also recently (as in last week) got into savoury breakfasts with yogurt! Inspired by the smoked salmon yogurt pot at the Chobani Yogurt bar in New York (no, I haven't visited, but I do follow them on Instagram), I tried yogurt with smoked salmon and sliced avocado, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Low carb, high protein and incredibly delicious! After eating it, I was thinking about it all day.

Yogurt, smoked salmon, avocado, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice

The yogurt in question that I always eat is Chobani 0% - you may remember ages ago I got a massive free sample and went crazy cooking with it (including a yogurt party!) and it's become my favourite yogurt. I buy it all the time (obviously, considering the number of photos you see above!), and I love the fact that it's high in protein, low in fat and gelatin-free. It's also quite savoury - it tastes quite like a labneh or even a fresh cheese.

I see quite a few savoury yogurt breakfasts coming up in the future! Thanh had this yogurt with salami and cornichons for breakfast, which I think would taste great. I'm also thinking it would be good with cucumber, or with dukkah and olive oil - any other ideas, guys??

Ok, so moving on from the yogurt... I went through a bit of a bagel phase at the start of the year. Glicks are my favourite! (I've tried other brands when I couldn't find Glicks at my supermarket and didn't have time to drive out to the bakery itself, but none of them have been as good). I do find bagels a bit heavy as a breakfast so I don't eat them super-often... although on reflection they might not be as filling if I didn't always have them with a milky coffee!

Bagel, cream cheese, cherry jam, Latte

Bagel, smoked salmon and cream cheese, Cappuccino

Bagel, cream cheese, jam, Cappuccino

Continuing on the carb theme, I do often eat toast as well. I like getting proper loaves of artisan bread from a bakery and making fancy toasts...

Toast, cream cheese, smoked salmon

...however I find it really impractical. First, it's a b*tch to slice proper crusty bread! And we never seem to make it through a full loaf before it goes stale so it often goes to waste. (In more organised moments, I slice and freeze this type of bread on the weekend, but it's a bit of a hassle). So usually when I have toast, it's pre-sliced supermarket bread. I prefer the grainy varieties, for nutrition and taste.

Wholemeal seed bread, banana, honey, Tea

Wholemeal seed toast, peanut butter, nutella, mashed banana, Tea

Peanut butter & jam on wholemeal seed bread, Soymilk

Wholemeal seed toast, one with mashed avocado, one with cream cheese and cherry jam, Tea

Wholemeal seed bread, mashed avocado, Cappuccino

Wholemeal seed bread, one with avocado slices; one with cream cheese, smoked salmon and chives; Tea

Wholemeal seed bread, cream cheese, smoked salmon, Latte

I bought some Helga's sandwich thins once ("more sandwich, less bread!") - I thought they might be good for mornings when I wasn't hungry enough for toast, but too hungry for yogurt. I didn't fall in love with them though - they tasted alright but weren't particularly flavoursome, and they were a bit soft, unable to support the weight of the toppings.

Sandwich thins with cream cheese, smoked salmon and chives, Cappuccino

Sandwich thins, one with scrambled egg and chives; one with smoked salmon and a cherry tomato; Espresso

A bread-alternative that I really do like, however, are wraps! I usually just buy supermarket chapatti wraps, and have recently been using proper tortillas from El Cielo. (I got given two massive packets of corn tortillas from the guys at El Cielo, and I'm slowly working my way through them, making delicious tacos and fab Mexican scrambled eggs - any ideas on what to do with tortillas would be greatly appreciated!!)

Wrap, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, Sriracha, Espresso

Wrap, leftover fritatta, Sriracha, rocket, Tea

Wrap, smoked salmon, avocado, feta, chives, lemon zest

A second picture of the same wrap... because it was SO VERY DELICIOUS

Wrap, smoked salmon, avocado, feta, chives, Cappuccino
(This one had no lemon zest because I ran out. I would totally recommend adding lemon zest because it makes the whole thing taste even better!)

Corn tortilla, my cousin's homemade Mexican salsa verde, scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and chives, avocado

If I make big breakfasts on the weekend, I'll often keep leftovers for my weekday breakfasts, rather than overeating, or letting them go to waste. (See the fritatta-filled wrap, above!)

I reheated a home-made waffle in the oven for an indulgent breakfast. (It heated in the time I needed to get dressed and do my make-up. Multitasking! Efficiency!)

Liege waffles, strawberries, icing sugar

Ditto my fig and yogurt pancakes...

Fig and yogurt pancakes, honey, Cappuccino

Ditto these German pancakes that Sandra made one Sunday morning...

German pancakes - they're like a Yorkshire pudding, some apple-filled, some plain

German apple pancakes, ice-cream, maple syrup, icing sugar, Chemex coffee

You can see from the Chemex pot in the background that the above pic was from a weekend, but I def ate some of those puffy little pancakes on a weekday too! (Minus the ice-cream, obviously).

And finally... I made Nigella's Scotch Pancakes one weekend...

Scotch pancakes, nutella, lemon, sugar

...and used the leftovers as bases for kinda breakfast canapés.

Scotch pancakes, some with avocado, salt, pepper and lemon juice; some with cream cheese, smoked salmon, chives and pepper; Cappuccino

I wasn't planning to make them look so fancy, but I was pretty proud of those little avocado flower thingies! It put me in an inordinately good mood to have such a pretty breakfast.

Avocado flower!

And we're done! It should come as no surprise that I have a constant supply of yogurt, avocados and smoked salmon in my fridge at any given time, as well as the usual eggs, milk and Nespresso capsules. (A friend of mine joked that I should buy shares in Tassal!) It adds a little bit to the weekly shop, but preparing breakfast at home is so much cheaper (and nicer) than buying equivalent food at a cafe, so I feel the expense is justified. Not to mention all the extra benefits: more energy, relaxation and "me" time, and - let's be honest - getting some Instagram/Twitter love. It totally puts a smile on my face! I'd much rather eat food like this than cereal, which never keep me going throughout the morning, or those soulless little 250ml liquid breakfast drinks you can get at the supermarket.

So - do you eat breakfast? Do you make or buy? What are your favourites? How do you fit it in with your lifestyle? And (importantly) - do you have any suggestions for healthy and tasty breakfasts I can make on a weekday?

This year I've gotten into the habit of instagramming my breakfasts at home, and I'm really enjoying it! My enthusiasm for these breakfast instagrams seems to be contagious, and they've become the most popular of my pics - thanks for all the comments and "likes", guys!

Blueberries, mango, yogurt, Cappuccino

You see, at the start of the year I set myself a challenge to eat a proper breakfast at home every morning. Prior to this, I'd bring breakfast to work and hurriedly eat it at my desk - this was a cynical ploy that would let me sleep in as long as possible each morning.  However, after a while I realised it wasn't really working for me - I'd inhale my breakfast without really thinking, it would take me ages to properly "wake up" at work, and I'd be distracted for the first part of the morning. Not good! (It's also hard to run for the tram if you've only been out of bed for twenty minutes beforehand!) And whilst my breakfast choices were generally decent - yogurt and fruit mostly, sometimes those Belvita biscuits if I were feeling lazy - I wouldn't really appreciate it, and if I were caught short, I could find myself eating some pretty horrendous and expensive breakfasts. I remember, one particularly frantic morning, having a double espresso and a carrot cupcake with cream cheese icing and feeling jittery for the entire day!

So since the start of the year I've been getting up twenty minutes earlier and preparing myself a nice little breakfast. I've totally been loving it! Apart from actually having something nice to eat, it's been great to have a little five minutes of "me time", preparing myself something nourishing. It's given me heaps more energy and really brightened my mood.

If you sometimes struggle to think of what to have for breakfast, hopefully these pictures will inspire you!

As you can see in the top picture, fruit and yogurt is a favourite combo of mine. I made a big batch of Nigella's chocolate and peanut granola at the start of the year, and enjoyed it sprinkled on my fruit and yogurt.

Yogurt, granola, strawberries, mango, blueberries, Flat White

Yogurt, granola, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries

 This one wasn't a weekday one - Sandra actually made me the below breakfast on New Year's Day, including grinding the coffee beans by hand!

Yogurt, granola, raspberries, Chemex coffee

Yogurt, granola, nectarines, mango, strawberries

Yogurt, granola, blueberries

Yogurt, granola, blueberries

Since I ran out two months ago, I bought more ingredients to make more granola, but I haven't been bothered yet, haha. I do like fruit and yogurt by itself though, especially if I've had a big dinner the night before, or if I have some big eating planned!

Yogurt, blueberries, Cappuccino

Yogurt, mango

Mango yogurt, banana, Long Black

Yogurt, figs, honey

Yogurt, figs, white peach

Yogurt, figs, white peach, Latte

Even though I've been too lazy to make more granola, I find the addition of toasted pine nuts to add a nice little crunch to my morning yogurt!

Yogurt, figs, honey, pine nuts, Tea

Yogurt, figs, pine nuts, honey

Yogurt, raspberries, pine nuts, honey

Yogurt, raspberries, pine nuts, honey, Latte

This one below is a little fancy - again, it wasn't a weekday one, but another special weekend breakfast Sandra made for me! I do love that Chemex coffee...

Grilled figs, yogurt, honey, pistachios, Chemex coffee

I've also recently (as in last week) got into savoury breakfasts with yogurt! Inspired by the smoked salmon yogurt pot at the Chobani Yogurt bar in New York (no, I haven't visited, but I do follow them on Instagram), I tried yogurt with smoked salmon and sliced avocado, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Low carb, high protein and incredibly delicious! After eating it, I was thinking about it all day.

Yogurt, smoked salmon, avocado, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice

The yogurt in question that I always eat is Chobani 0% - you may remember ages ago I got a massive free sample and went crazy cooking with it (including a yogurt party!) and it's become my favourite yogurt. I buy it all the time (obviously, considering the number of photos you see above!), and I love the fact that it's high in protein, low in fat and gelatin-free. It's also quite savoury - it tastes quite like a labneh or even a fresh cheese.

I see quite a few savoury yogurt breakfasts coming up in the future! Thanh had this yogurt with salami and cornichons for breakfast, which I think would taste great. I'm also thinking it would be good with cucumber, or with dukkah and olive oil - any other ideas, guys??

Ok, so moving on from the yogurt... I went through a bit of a bagel phase at the start of the year. Glicks are my favourite! (I've tried other brands when I couldn't find Glicks at my supermarket and didn't have time to drive out to the bakery itself, but none of them have been as good). I do find bagels a bit heavy as a breakfast so I don't eat them super-often... although on reflection they might not be as filling if I didn't always have them with a milky coffee!

Bagel, cream cheese, cherry jam, Latte

Bagel, smoked salmon and cream cheese, Cappuccino

Bagel, cream cheese, jam, Cappuccino

Continuing on the carb theme, I do often eat toast as well. I like getting proper loaves of artisan bread from a bakery and making fancy toasts...

Toast, cream cheese, smoked salmon

...however I find it really impractical. First, it's a b*tch to slice proper crusty bread! And we never seem to make it through a full loaf before it goes stale so it often goes to waste. (In more organised moments, I slice and freeze this type of bread on the weekend, but it's a bit of a hassle). So usually when I have toast, it's pre-sliced supermarket bread. I prefer the grainy varieties, for nutrition and taste.

Wholemeal seed bread, banana, honey, Tea

Wholemeal seed toast, peanut butter, nutella, mashed banana, Tea

Peanut butter & jam on wholemeal seed bread, Soymilk

Wholemeal seed toast, one with mashed avocado, one with cream cheese and cherry jam, Tea

Wholemeal seed bread, mashed avocado, Cappuccino

Wholemeal seed bread, one with avocado slices; one with cream cheese, smoked salmon and chives; Tea

Wholemeal seed bread, cream cheese, smoked salmon, Latte

I bought some Helga's sandwich thins once ("more sandwich, less bread!") - I thought they might be good for mornings when I wasn't hungry enough for toast, but too hungry for yogurt. I didn't fall in love with them though - they tasted alright but weren't particularly flavoursome, and they were a bit soft, unable to support the weight of the toppings.

Sandwich thins with cream cheese, smoked salmon and chives, Cappuccino

Sandwich thins, one with scrambled egg and chives; one with smoked salmon and a cherry tomato; Espresso

A bread-alternative that I really do like, however, are wraps! I usually just buy supermarket chapatti wraps, and have recently been using proper tortillas from El Cielo. (I got given two massive packets of corn tortillas from the guys at El Cielo, and I'm slowly working my way through them, making delicious tacos and fab Mexican scrambled eggs - any ideas on what to do with tortillas would be greatly appreciated!!)

Wrap, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, Sriracha, Espresso

Wrap, leftover fritatta, Sriracha, rocket, Tea

Wrap, smoked salmon, avocado, feta, chives, lemon zest

A second picture of the same wrap... because it was SO VERY DELICIOUS

Wrap, smoked salmon, avocado, feta, chives, Cappuccino
(This one had no lemon zest because I ran out. I would totally recommend adding lemon zest because it makes the whole thing taste even better!)

Corn tortilla, my cousin's homemade Mexican salsa verde, scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and chives, avocado

If I make big breakfasts on the weekend, I'll often keep leftovers for my weekday breakfasts, rather than overeating, or letting them go to waste. (See the fritatta-filled wrap, above!)

I reheated a home-made waffle in the oven for an indulgent breakfast. (It heated in the time I needed to get dressed and do my make-up. Multitasking! Efficiency!)

Liege waffles, strawberries, icing sugar

Ditto my fig and yogurt pancakes...

Fig and yogurt pancakes, honey, Cappuccino

Ditto these German pancakes that Sandra made one Sunday morning...

German pancakes - they're like a Yorkshire pudding, some apple-filled, some plain

German apple pancakes, ice-cream, maple syrup, icing sugar, Chemex coffee

You can see from the Chemex pot in the background that the above pic was from a weekend, but I def ate some of those puffy little pancakes on a weekday too! (Minus the ice-cream, obviously).

And finally... I made Nigella's Scotch Pancakes one weekend...

Scotch pancakes, nutella, lemon, sugar

...and used the leftovers as bases for kinda breakfast canapés.

Scotch pancakes, some with avocado, salt, pepper and lemon juice; some with cream cheese, smoked salmon, chives and pepper; Cappuccino

I wasn't planning to make them look so fancy, but I was pretty proud of those little avocado flower thingies! It put me in an inordinately good mood to have such a pretty breakfast.

Avocado flower!

And we're done! It should come as no surprise that I have a constant supply of yogurt, avocados and smoked salmon in my fridge at any given time, as well as the usual eggs, milk and Nespresso capsules. (A friend of mine joked that I should buy shares in Tassal!) It adds a little bit to the weekly shop, but preparing breakfast at home is so much cheaper (and nicer) than buying equivalent food at a cafe, so I feel the expense is justified. Not to mention all the extra benefits: more energy, relaxation and "me" time, and - let's be honest - getting some Instagram/Twitter love. It totally puts a smile on my face! I'd much rather eat food like this than cereal, which never keep me going throughout the morning, or those soulless little 250ml liquid breakfast drinks you can get at the supermarket.

So - do you eat breakfast? Do you make or buy? What are your favourites? How do you fit it in with your lifestyle? And (importantly) - do you have any suggestions for healthy and tasty breakfasts I can make on a weekday?