Green Vegan Protein Breakfast

I can't say I'd do this again. But it was edible and at times even good.

I heated some soy milk with a half a scoop of each of my protein powders (the Pure Green protein vanilla and the Biochem sports vegan vanilla). I tossed about a cup of yesterday's cream of wheat in there with a small apple (chopped of course) and lots of cinnamon. I topped it with mixed raw nuts.

Mom's Cream of Wheat

- slightly more than 1/3 cup cream of wheat

- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

- 3/4 cup vanilla coconut milk

- 1 tablespoon local raw honey

- about 1 cup strawberries

- about 1 cup homemade applesauce (local apples)

Boil the coconut and almond milk with the honey and strawberries. Add cream of wheat. Continue to boil about two minutes while stirring constantly. (The cream of wheat will stick to the strawberries making a kind of fruit nugget. I like these.)

Let simmer on low while casually stirring until desired consistency. Stir in applesauce before serving.

No cooking

Due to the recent heat wave, cooking has been kept to a minimum. Salad. Leftovers. Cheese platter.

This morning, I served Morningstar breakfast patties and watermelon as a precursor to breakfast, so child opted out of cream of wheat.

So, I got funky.

LAVENDER CREAM OF WHEAT

- 1 cup vanilla coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- about 1 teaspoon lavender
- 2 handfuls golden raisins
Heat. Add 4 tablespoons cream of wheat

PureCoconut milk

A friend gave me a coupon for PureAlmond or PureCoconut milk. My daughter is a vanilla almond milk junkie, so while she was eager to try coconut, I was hesitant to deviate from the current favorite.

Last night my husband made caramel iced coffees with it, and he really liked it. I found the coconut flavor in the coffee not enough to really add something so it was more of a distraction.

My daughter didn't like it plain, which I found odd, since when I tasted it by itself, I found it very light.

We made our cream of wheat with it this morning and she liked that. Of course, I let her make the cream of wheat in a saucepan on the stove with my supervision and minimal interference so of course she loved it. She made it.

Cinnamon Raisin Cream of Wheat and Nettle Tea

So, as I hoped, feared and expected, my doctor's appt yesterday revealed an iron deficiency. Luckily, not anemia, but a drop in stored iron from my winter high of 46 to a June 10 low of 13. This means I'm back on OTC iron tablets, vitamin C and a multivitamin.

So, I whipped up this iron-rich breakfast for our summer café: cinnamon raisin cream of wheat, lavender nettle tea and Bolthouse Farms mango-cherry Immunity-C Smoothie.

I had already told myself I would splurge on one of those smoothies when I saw Target had the smoothies on sale for $3.49!!! I dilute mine and use it to take my vitamins.

The nettle tea came loose from the local Nature's Way Market. I didn't know how strong it should be so I just dumped some in the bottom of my French press with some food grade lavender. The child likes it with honey. I prefer it straight.

CINNAMON-RAISIN CREAM OF WHEAT
Heat to almost boiling:
- 1 cup vanilla almond milk
- some sugar (less than 2 tablespoons)
- about one heaping tablespoon cinnamon
- one large handful raisins
Then when just starting to bubble add:
- 4 tablespoons farina

Stir until thickened

Breakfast(s)

So, breakfast # 1 was cream of wheat made with 2% organic milk, a glass of water and a cup of coffee.

Breakfast #2, in search of protein and fruit, was a glass of unsweetened sun tea, leftover perfumed pineapple and a serving of cashews.

We have minimal fresh veggies, no fresh fruit and no fruit juice. This will be rectified over the weekend.

Two breakfasts today

It's a Monday and what I like to call a two breakfast day.

I function best if I eat six small meals a day. I had anecdotal evidence this was the case and then I had gestational diabetes, which proved it for me.

So, today at 6:45ish, my husband made me a bowl of cream of wheat, made with soy milk and a touch of sugar and a handful of fresh blackberries smashed into it. Delicious.

My daughter had the same, and at 9:3o we got home from her doctor appointment and I was starved. I made a fried egg and constructed a perfect egg sandwich: my French country bread from yesterday (toasted), extra sharp cheddar cheese, and horseradish mustard. Washed down with a diluted glass of orange juice.

My daughter had some toasted bread with butter and a slice of the cheese.

Misc.

It was a quick but hearty food day:

• Breakfast: Cream of wheat and sliced apples
• Lunch: Leftover pork, noodles, broccoli and beans from last night
• Dinner: (because Daddy's at a holiday party) scrambled eggs and tator tots with ketchup and a side of baby carrots with dressing. And blueberry juice to wash it down.
  

Cream of Wheat Morning

We're supposed to get a winter storm today. My office has already called a snow day, their cautiousness is in part due to the fact that we have an adult day care center. It's nice for me, because I don't get paid holidays, but I do get snow days. Anyway. You know those people who go to the store and buy bread, milk and eggs on threat of snow? I'm not one of them. Bread, milk and eggs are far from my list of necessities. I'd be more likely to head to the liquor store for wine, Wegmans (or Antoinette Chocolatier) for some quality chocolate, and some fruit. Yep, then I'm ready to weather a storm.

We are once again running out of food. This month's grocery tab is around $125 so it's no surprise that the pantry is near-bare. But it is the 19th! So that's $6.58 a day. For a hearty winter breakfast, we opted for Cream of Wheat today. The cream of wheat dilemma always floors us. How much to make? We end up making "about" four servings according to the directions and end up with enough for an army.

This box of Cream of Wheat came from Aldi. Per one cup of prepared cereal, there's 20% RDA of calcium plus 50% iron. I up the nutritional content by using powdered milk instead of water to make it. Then for flavor, I stir in a teaspoon of jelly. In this case, blueberry Trappist jelly.