The phrase ‘A Breakfast of Champions’ is worth remembering as the fittest people tend to swear by eating a good morning meal to set them up for the day. Breakfast revs up our internal engines and fires up our metabolism so that we burn calories more quickly for the rest of the day – provided we eat the right food…which can be meat-free! Welcome to the world of Healthy Vegetarian Breakfasts.
It is vital to choose the best options first thing in the morning. After all we are literally breaking our fast after a night of sleep and our bodies are crying out for the right fuel and hydration. The first thing you should consume upon waking is a large glass of still, warm or room temperature water with a slice of lemon in it. Next: breakfast. The following 7 Healthy Vegetarian breakfasts offer the perfectly balance of calories and nutrients in low-fat form – they also punch well above their weight in terms of taste.
Healthy Vegetarian Breakfasts Berry Muesli
Muesli can make great healthy Vegetarian Breakfasts, particularly when it is the coarse, unsweetened kind which goes heavy on the wholegrain and heart-healthy oats. It provides slow-burning fuel and will keep you feeling satisfied until lunchtime for relatively few calories. Add to that a calcium boost and a shot of fat-busting raspberry ketones and you need to eat up!
Ingredients
1oz unsweetened muesli
1tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt
A handful of raspberries
A handful of blueberries
PLUS 1 glass unsweetened orange juice, ideally freshly squeezed
Method
1. Choose your favorite bowl and pour in the muesli – remember, do not add sugar or honey.
2. Top the muesli with the tablespoon of yogurt and all the berries.
3. Enjoy your fruity bowl along with your glass of orange juice.
Tomato Toast
This one of those quick and easy healthy vegetarian breakfasts which is super-tasty and as healthy as anything, so enjoy it without guilt!
Bread can be controversial among dieters, but stick to a good quality whole-meal variety. We firmly believe in the nutritious power of high-fiber wholegrains, but they do contain starch to do make sure you stick to just one slice, not three!
Tomatoes are an everyday superfood. They are so good for us, but we sometimes take them for granted. Ripe tomatoes deliver a wonderful flavor and are bursting with lycopene. Lycopene has be found to help prevent certain cancers, as well as diabetes and heart disease. It can also boost male fertility, support your eyesight, prevent skin aging and protect it from sun damage, plus it helps to prevent osteoporosis.A perfect tasty basis for healthy vegetarian breakfasts.
For the glass of juice, try freshly squeezing your own OJ, or if you have a juicer, try fresh pineapple.
Ingredients
1 slice of wholemeal bread
3 cherry tomatoes
A handful of rocket
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
PLUS 1 glass unsweetened fruit juice.
Method
1. Lightly toast the wholemeal bread in the toaster on the lowest setting.
2. Meanwhile, slice the cherry tomatoes and pre-heat the grill to a medium heat.
3. Take the toast and arrange the cherry tomato slices on top. Place under the grill for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened and the toast has browned.
4. Remove, garnish with rocket and eat hot, with a grinding of black pepper, if you wish.
Poacher’s Breakfast
Eggs are a natural, delicious, superfood. Low-calorie and ultra-versatile, they are also protein-packed and highly nutritious – every serious dieter should stock up on plenty of the organic, free-range variety for their healthy vegetarian breakfasts. Nutrients include Vitamins A, B2, B5, B12, B6, D, E and K, plus folate, selenium, calcium and zinc – just fabulous!
Ingredients
2 small free-range eggs
1 slice of wholemeal bread
1 drop of vinegar
1 pinch of salt (for the water only)
1. First, get the eggs poaching. Put on a medium-sized saucepan of water to boil and add a pinch of salt to it.
2. Make sure your egg is really fresh and crack one into a ramekin or cup.
3. Add a small drop of vinegar to your egg.
4. When the water is boiling, take a hand-held balloon whisk and stir the water to create a gentle whirlpool in the water, which will help the egg white wrap around the yolk.
5. Slowly tip the egg into the water, white first. Turn the heat right down to the minimum setting. Leave to cook for three minutes.
6. Meanwhile, after about a minute and a half has passed, pop your wholemeal bread in the toaster, so it should be ready at about the same time as your egg.
7. After three minutes, remove the egg with a slotted spoon, snipping off any straggly edges using the edge of the spoon.
8. Rest the egg to drain onto kitchen paper for a few seconds – this is an important step as a waterlogged dish is unpleasant.
9. Place the egg onto the wholemeal toast, with a garnish of lettuce and tomato if you wish, and enjoy it hot.
Tropinana Smoothie
Sometimes you need a fruity start to the day in your healthy vegetarian breakfasts… try this delicious smoothie, which will give you a fantastic dose of vitamin C from the orange, potassium from the banana, a shot of filling superfood chia and plenty of calcium too along with a host of other nutrients. Plus this tropical concoction tastes out of this world – a real sweet treat that makes brilliant healthy vegetarian breakfasts on any day.
1 large orange
1 banana
1/4pt semi-skimmed milk
1 small pot of natural yogurt
1tsp clear honey
1 tsp chia seeds
Method
1. Peel the orange to remove all skin and pith and peel the banana, then chop them into pieces.
2. Place the fruit in a blender and pour in the milk and yogurt.
3. Whizz it all up in your blender and serve.
New York Summer
These delicious healthy vegetarian breakfasts are comprised of bagels with fresh-tasting, light, creamy cheese and juicy strawberries. The whole-wheat butter-free bagel will provide you with plenty of fibre. Meanwhile, the delectable cream cheese packs a great calcium punch without the usual calories.
Finally, the strawberries are a total superfood – packed with antioxidant vitamin C, which boosts immunity, supports your eyesight, helps to combat cancer, stimulates collagen production, plus they are very low in calories and high in fibre… so don’t hold back!
1 whole-wheat bagel
1tsp reduced-fat cream cheese
A large handful of strawberries
Small bunch of red grapes (optional)
Method
1. Slice the bagel into two halves and toast them.
2. When it is ready, spread the reduced fat cream cheese onto the hot bagel halves.
Don’t have ordinary wraps for your healthy vegetarian breakfasts – this one is bursting with the protein-packed goodness of eggs and chickpeas, plus nutrient-rich mushrooms and onions for a real hit of savory flavour and tasty textures. The spinach is also a powerful source of both iron and Vitamin C and it cleanses the blood.
Ingredients
1 whole grain tortilla
1-2 tbsp hummus
1 large egg
1/4 cup egg whites
1/8 cup chopped onion
2 button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups baby spinach
1 tbsp crumbled reduced-fat feta
1 tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Low-calorie cooking spray
Freshly ground pepper, to taste (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)
Method
1. Spray the skillet with the low-calorie cooking spray and sauté the onion and mushrooms for 3-4 minutes or until tender and fragrant.
2. Add spinach and sauté the vegetables for a few minutes longer, until spinach has wilted.
3. Add egg and egg whites to pan with veggies and cook for about 2 minutes or until eggs are cooked through. Add a grind of black pepper if you wish.
4. Warm up the tortilla in the oven for a few minutes.
5. Spread a layer of hummus on the tortilla when ready. Place the eggs in the center of the tortilla and top with the sun-dried tomatoes and low-fat feta.
6. Season with more pepper as well as hot sauce if it takes your fancy. Wrap the tortilla up and serve!
Healthy Vegetarian Breakfasts Bake
This is the last of your healthy vegetarian breakfasts for the week, if you select them in order, so it could well take the place of a Sunday fry-up.
It is a totally delicious take on a cooked breakfast, with none of the fatty, processed bacon to ladle on the calories. It features the ‘everyday superfood’ tomatoes, plus powerfully iron-rich spinach and a lovely, large mushroom too.
Mushrooms have very few calories and have the added benefit of having been shown in studies to enhance weight loss.
Ingredients
1 large egg
1 large field mushroom
3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
A large handful of spinach
1/2 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 tsp olive oil
Method
1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
2. Put the mushroom, tomatoes and slices of garlic into an ovenproof dish.
3. Drizzle over the oil and grind over pepper, then bake for 10 mins.
4. Meanwhile, put the spinach into a colander, then pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it. Squeeze out any excess water, then add the spinach to the dish.
5. Make a little gap between the vegetables and crack an egg into each dish.
6. Return to the oven and cook for a further 8-10 mins or until the egg is cooked to your liking.
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