Summertime is finally here! It’s been a strange couple of months but hopefully the warmer weather will bring with it some much needed stress relief. As the temperature rises and everything is in full bloom, with it comes new mindsets, fresh perspectives, and (best of all) new summer recipes!
As I’m sure all of you are doing too, while I’ve been home I’ve been cooking a lot more than usual. I’ve been finding that I really enjoy it especially in the mornings. I just get so excited to wake up and have a delicious breakfast to start my day off with. Does anyone else start thinking about what they want for breakfast the next day as they’re going to bed? No?... Just me?
Well, I don’t know about you but my summer cravings are worlds apart from my winter cravings- especially when it comes to breakfast. In the winter, I’m all about breakfast sandwiches, omelettes, and oatmeal in the mornings, but as soon as the weather starts to change I really start to get sick of all the comfort foods. When it’s snowy and freezing, nothing sounds better than a bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel… I mean, right? But when the weather starts to change I want something a bit lighter and more refreshing in the mornings to start my day. On top of that, I don’t want to spend too much time slaving over a meal in the morning because I can’t wait to get out and enjoy the weather!
These past few weeks I’ve been perfecting some of my favorite summer breakfast recipes and I think I’ve got them nailed to a T… Though to be honest, measurements aren’t entirely my thing. I’m a big fan of just “eyeballing” it. But, for you guys I made sure to get the ~eyeball~ measurements into a more concrete form so that you can enjoy some my favorite and most delicious recipes, too!
I really have to be honest and say that the recipes are really different every time, and that’s the beauty of them! Pretty much all of these recipes can be tweaked in terms of measurements based on your preferences and they’ll still be amazing.
Best of all, they’re all fairly low calorie and high in protein. Really, what more could you ask for the most important meal of the day?
Without further ado... let’s get into the recipes, shall we!?
Coffee and Almond Butter Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 scoop protein powder
1 banana
6 -8 oz coffee (chilled)
½ cup oat milk
1 tbsp almond Butter
Combine ingredients and blend for a delicious and decadent breakfast and your morning coffee all in one!
Spinach and Feta Breakfast Wrap
Ingredients:
2 eggs (or egg whites)
Handful of spinach
1 tbsp feta cheese
¼ red pepper (diced)
Whole wheat tortilla
Combine eggs, spinach, feta, and peppers and mix them together in a bowl. Then pour ingredients into a pan on medium heat and allow them to cook. Do not stir the ingredients and just let it cook until the sides are golden and you can flip it. Then once you flip the egg mixture to cook the other side, simply place a tortilla on top. After a minute or two, flip it again so that the tortilla gets a crisp on the outside. Then turn off the heat and use your spatula to fold in the corners and then wrap it like a burrito. And voila! You have yourself a handheld, fuel-filled breakfast to take on the go! Pro tip: add some tabasco sauce just before you wrap it all up for a spicy kick!
Tropical Greens Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup oat milk
2 handfuls of spinach
1 handful of kale
Combine all the ingredients and enjoy the best green smoothie of your life. Seriously, this is packed with nutrients from your greens but all you can really taste is the fruitiness from the mango!
Banana Protein Pancakes
Ingredients:
½ banana
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Mash up your banana and combine the rest of your ingredients. Simply mix until you get that sort of batter consistency and then scoop the batter into a pan on medium heat and flip when the edges turn golden brown. Once both sides are cooked to your liking, simply stack them and add a drizzle of maple syrup and enjoy the perfect healthy, protein-packed flapjacks! I like to slice up the other half of the banana and add some blueberries to put on top of the pancakes for a little added sweetness.
Acai Bowl
Ingredients:
1 package frozen acai (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)
½ cup frozen mixed berries
⅔ cup oat milk
1 banana
¼ cup granola of your choice
2 large strawberries
Combine half the acai, berries, oat milk, and half of the banana in a blender. Blend until smooth but try not to blend too much so that it gets very watery. You want a thicker consistency so that the consistency is closer to gelato than to a regular smoothie you would drink. Then pour the blend into a bowl and cut up the other half of the banana and the strawberries. Then place the banana slices, strawberries slices, and granola (and anything else you'd like!) on top of the mixture. I often like to make the toppings super symmetrical and Instagram-worthy just because it’s so satisfying, but realistically half the time I just throw everything in and have at it because it’s so yummy that I can’t wait!
*****
I hope you guys enjoy these recipes and please let us know if you try them or if you make any tweaks/substitutions of your own! If you do try, make sure to send us a photo of your creation and tag us @6am_health!
Stay healthy!