What Makes Oatmeal a Balanced Breakfast?

My particular recipe brings the trifecta into the entire meal. You have your starch which is your oats, you get your fats from the variable seeds & toppings, and some protein from my favorite collagen! Ensuring your body receives the three main macronutrients allows proper fuel for your brain and body to function in the morning.

How to Create Variety in your Daily Morning Meal?

In the morning I always make sure I have a source of fat to fuel my brain. The source is most often nut butter or seeds. In this recipe it is both, but be careful to not make the same thing every morning. Rather create a morning meal with variety, balance, and moderation. Meaning, you make small switches here and there of certain ingredients allowing your body to intake a variable number of nutrients rather than just the same ones all the time. I know we are creatures of habit but it is beneficial to push your taste buds out of their comfort zone.

When we fuel with balance and variety we allow our bodies to uptake the variable number of micronutrients and macronutrients on a daily basis. Eating the same thing day in and day out limits our nutrient intake which long term can cause deficiencies in our bodies.

Milla’s Tips & Tricks to Creating Variety:

1. I make sure to switch up which nuts & seeds you use daily

   • I typically will grind the seeds in a blender for easy mixing & digestive purposes
   • Chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, etc.
   • Walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, psyllium husk, buckwheat, etc.
   • Gerb’s has a 5 & 7 seed blend you can buy HERE if you don’t want to buy all of these ingredients separately

2. Switch up the nut butter drizzle

   • Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, roasted coconut butter, etc.

3. Switch up your toppings daily

   • Coconut chips
   • Cacao Nibs
   • Cinnamon, Cardamom, Pumpkin Spice, etc.
   • Fresh berries
   • Any chopped fruit

Remember make things easy on yourself and batch make the oatmeal ahead of time. You can make two pots so you can have different nuts and seeds in one versus the other. Then you can dress it up in whatever way your heart desires with your toppings of choice! Find the main recipe below or if you prefer overnight oats check out THIS RECIPE!

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What Are Resistant Starches?

As you can see there is a boat load of delicious root vegetables (sweet potatoes & parsnips) that are toasted and sprinkled into this salad. Other common root vegetables include carrots, beets, squash, etc. These root veggies also known as “starchy” vegetables have been researched heavily due to recent discoveries of how you can increase the amount of resistant starches in them.

Resistant starches increase especially in potatoes when you let them cool first, this goes for your pastas, and rice as well. That’s why meal prepping isn’t such a bad idea after all since you will let the food sit in the fridge before eating it Monday for lunch allowing for more resistant starches to form.

Why Do We Want Resistant Starches?

Let’s STARtCH with the basics…(I’m hilarious)! Alright so starches are the main energy source for the body, these are also known as carbohydrates. Resistant starches do exactly that, RESIST being broken down via our digestive enzymes. This means the food travels all the way through your stomach, small intestine, and arrives in your colon (aka large intestine) unchanged. When food is able to arrive in your colon unchanged it allows the bacteria to ferment the starch into highly beneficial compounds.

Main Proven Benefits of Resistant Starches:

• Improved Gut Health
• Reduced Adiposity
• Improvement in Insulin Sensitivity (blood sugar lowering effects)
  • due to slowing absorption of glucose into the bloodstream
• Improved Calcium Absorption (adolescents & post-menopausal women)
  • Leading to improved bone mineral density

Other Resistant Starch Foods:

1. 1. Raw Oats (these have a higher amount vs. cooked)
      • Try THESE Chocolate Bliss Balls and Join our Facebook Community!
   2. Cooked and Cooled Rice
   3. Green Bananas (great for freezing for smoothies)
   4. Cooked and Cooled Potatoes
      • Try making these “Chili Cheese Sweet Potato Fries”
   5. Cooked and Cooled Pasta
   6. Legumes
   7. Corn

Milla’s Recipe Tips & Tricks:

If you do not have the time to buy fresh veggies and then cut them into tiny pieces you have two options:

1. Cut into larger cubes and roast
2. Buy precut root vegetables cubes from the frozen section and roast

Also when it comes to the pear just place it on the same sheet pan you are making your root veggies on, just make sure to save some room on the side or middle of the pan! Happy roasting you guys and hope you enjoy it!

References:

1. 1. Michael J Keenan, June Zhou, Maren Hegsted, Christine Pelkman, Holiday A Durham, Diana B Coulon, Roy J Martin; Role of Resistant Starch in Improving Gut Health, Adiposity, and Insulin Resistance, Advances in Nutrition, Volume 6, Issue 2, 1 March 2015, Pages 198–205, https://doi.org/10.3945/an.114.007419
   2. Dahl, Wendy J. et al. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Health Implications of Dietary Fiber, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , Volume 115 , Issue 11 , 1861 – 1870, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.09.003

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Read Below Before Making Bread:

I may shock you a bit because this “bread” contains zero flour. Its jam packed with nuts and seeds meaning you get some crazy nutrition packed into one slice of bread! The best part is the versatility that comes with baking this bread! Basically start taking out all of the nuts and seeds you have in your pantry and placing them on the counter. Now we can throw together this loaf asap. I will let you know now the key ingredient here is going to be the psyllium husk. This is one ingredient you CAN NOT SUBSTITUTE! I REPEAT DO NOT SUBSTITUTE THE PSYLLIUM HUSK. You can get it from Whole Foods & even Sprouts typically in the supplement aisle as it is known to be an aid in digestion. If you don’t have either of these stores nearby or you can buy it HERE.

This recipe was adapted from the classic My New Roots Nut & Seed Bread. I played with some things in my own pantry to make it work to my own taste buds!

WHAT IS PSYLLIUM HUSK?

Psyllium is also known by the name Ispaghula and commonly known for its laxative properties. However, it’s shown to be beneficial to the heart and pancreas as well. And let me put you at east. No you’re not going to be running to the bathroom after eating this bread.

How Psyllium Works In The Body:

Once psyllium lands in your gut it soaks up water and makes your bowel movements much “smoother”. If you know what it mean. This means it can be added to promote better digestive health if necessary. It is also a prebiotic fiber which is what your colon needs to build your probiotic colonies! Building your gut health with good bacteria is essential for immune support to allow your body to fight infection, reduce inflammation, and maintain your overall health.

For this bread it is the binder of all things nuts and seeds which is why you absolutely can not miss this ingredient!

Favorite NUT & SEED Combos:

Pumpkin Seeds – They are known to have higher levels of zinc than most seeds. These seeds are also a good source of vitamin K & riboflavin. Other minerals you can find include iron, magnesium, manganese, copper, & phosphorus.

Sunflower Seeds – excellent amount of vitamin E with a one ounce serving providing 47% of you daily intake value. Additionally, you get folate, thiamine, vitamin B6, and some magnesium from these little guys. Also, studies have shown the phytosterols are linked to lowered levels of blood cholesterol.

Flax Seeds – there are two types, golden and brown. Both have similar nutritional properties of being high in fiber. High fiber content promotes regular bowel movements similar to the chia seed. They do contain phytoestrogens which can affect people in different ways. If you are wanting to reduce dietary estrogen then chia seeds may be a better alternative. Also, you will find a high ratio of Omega-3’s which are essential for proper brain and cardiovascular health.

Chia Seeds – all the benefits on these guys can be found HERE.

Hemp Seeds – These contain a ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 of 4:1. Meaning, they are known for their high amounts of essential fatty acids compared to other seeds. They are also a good source of vitamin E, and good amounts of magnesium, calcium, iron, sulfur, and zinc.

Walnuts – Found to be high in manganese, and a good source of lecithin, vitamin E, folate, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium and phosphorous. Also they have high antioxidant polyphenol compounds with a capacity to directly hinder the DNA binding of certain carcinogens. They also contain high amounts of Omega-3’s. (more on Omega’s here)

Brazil Nuts – excellent source of selenium, and supports thyroid function. Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that helps combat oxidative stress in the body. As well as encouraging metal detoxification specifically mercury.

Almonds – amazing source of riboflavin, vitamin E, niacin, manganese, magnesium, and phosphorous.

Pecans – like walnuts they too have high amounts of manganese. A micronutrient important for the normal functioning of the brain and proper activity of the nervous system. Also they have found a high amount of thiamine in them which additionally support nerve-related conditions.

Hazelnuts – also high in vitamin E and Manganese more so than pecans. Additionally you can find a good source of thiamine, Vitamin b6, folate, copper, and magnesium in them as well!

Switch Ups & Storage:

You do not have to stick to this nut & seed combination if you have others you’d like to use. By all means go for it and let me know how yours turns out! I’ve placed the measurements in grams as well because you can essentially add up all of the seeds in grams. Simply pour in the total weight of seeds into one bowl to make things easy on yourself if you are using nuts or seeds that are not in the recipe! I like to use a simple kitchen scale like this one. PLUS you have less measuring cups to clean now! YIPEE!

Once you’ve baked the Nut & Seed bread plus let it cool properly. You can now slice it and then freeze half to keep it fresh while you munch on the other half through the week. The Nut & Seed Bread stays quite fresh up to one week at room temperature in one of these reusable bags after that it’s best to store in the freezer.

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Most people when they make bolognese they will use ground meat and tomato sauce and throw on a bed of spaghetti. Well, today I’ve mixed it up to get you more veggies into your dish. PLUS that extra bit of iron by using Bison meat! I think Bison adds a whole different level of flavor to those typical meat dishes. You can dress it up with all sorts of Italian/herbal seasonings too!

A couple of suggestions if you do not have fresh tomatoes on hand you can use a can of tomatoes. You can also swap out the cilantro for a different herbal blend if you’re not a fan! I’ve used an Italian blend by simply organics and it is absolutely delicious.

I typically buy grass-fed & finishes as that is my personal preference. I like to know where my meat comes from and how it has been handled. Other bison works well too but I don’t know if it is as tasty as the grass-fed goodness that’s out there! If you try it with something else please let me know!

My suggestion is to double the batch and you can have the leftovers for your lunches throughout the week! Find the Recipe Below!

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Chia Seed Fun Facts:

1. Chia seeds provide more Omega-3’s, calcium, phosphorous, and fiber than flaxseeds.
2. A good source of ALA, fiber, antioxidants, iron, and calcium
3. Mixed with water they can replace eggs in baked goodies
4. The high fiber content can help prevent constipation and promote regularity for your digestive tract
5. Polyphenolic antioxidants found in chia seeds safeguard them from chemical and microbial breakdown

Ch-ch-ch-CHIA Seed Nutrition:

This tiny little seed broken down contains mainly protein, fat, carbs, and dietary fiber. Alongside a variable range of polyphenols and zero mycotoxins or gluten making it a celiac friendly food. Also, the two main protective dietary benefits this seed provides include dietary fiber and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA’s aka Omega-3’s).

Dietary Fiber Benefits:

The US dietary guidelines suggest men under 50 consume 30.8 grams of fiber and women 25.2 grams per day. Two tablespoons of chia seeds provide you with roughly 10 grams of your daily needs! Which means this recipe alone for breakfast would start you off on an excellent dietary fiber intake each morning. It’ll keep that GI tract moving nice and smooth if ya know what I mean!

According to the American Dietetic Association dietary fibre has demonstrated benefits for health maintenance and disease prevention. Meaning chia seeds can potentially be preventative for cardiovascular diseases and decrease risk for diabetes mellitus type 2. Additional studies have shown evidence towards decreased risk in several types of cancers as well.

When compared to quinoa, flaxseed, and amaranth the fiber content of chia seeds is far greater!

Fiber content per 100g:

Chia            34.4

Flaxseed     27.3

Amaranth  6.7

Quinoa       12.2

On top of the fiber you consume significant amounts of calcium, phosphorous, manganese, potassium and copper. Who knew how beneficial a tiny seed could be!

Omega-3 Benefits:

We all keep hearing that we need to get more omega-3’s into our system. Some may think fatty fish is your only source. FALSE. The wonderful chia seed is here to save the day!

Chia seeds contain what is known as Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA). Just a fancy name for Omega-3’s or PUFA’s. PUFA’s are short for Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids which is what Omega-3’s are. Of all the known food sources the chia seed contains the highest concentration of both Omega-3 & 6. These work together and benefit YOU by:

1. lowering triglyceride and cholesterol levels
2. anti-inflammatory activity
3. cardioprotective effects
4. anti-diabetic action
5. protection against arthritis, autoimmune disease and cancer

Meanwhile Omega-6’s have the opposite effect but are necessary to provide the balancing effect of maintaining your health. The research shows that we want to be consuming more Omega 3’s vs. Omega 6’s to reap the benefits listed above. Which makes it convenient in that chia seeds contain 64% omega-3’s and ~19% Omega-6’s. A stunning ratio to allow us to get more Omega-3’s vs. Omega-6’s.

That is your nutritional lesson for the day! What it comes down to is eat everything in balance, variety, and moderation to reap the benefits from food. This way you guarantee yourself a plethora of benefits from the different foods that you eat. Now go make this deliciously Spiced Chia Seed Pudding. If you’re not feeling the plum sauce you can skip it. Instead, try making a little bowl with chopped fruit on top of the pudding!

References:

Ullah, R., Nadeem, M., Khalique, A., Imran, M., Mehmood, S., Javid, A., & Hussain, J. (2015). Nutritional and therapeutic perspectives of Chia (Salvia hispanica L.): A review. Journal of Food Science and Technology,53(4), 1750-1758. doi:10.1007/s13197-015-1967-0

Ali, N. M., Yeap, S. K., Ho, W. Y., Beh, B. K., Tan, S. W., & Tan, S. G. (2012). The Promising Future of Chia,Salvia hispanicaL. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology,2012, 1-9. doi:10.1155/2012/171956

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I’m a sucker for chocolatey goods and loved being able to remake double chocolate chunk cookies that come out so gooey and delicious. The ingredients in this number are super simple. At first glance it may seem like a lot of ingredients but I’m sure you already have the majority of them laying in your pantry. All of the main ingredients are meant to provide your body with wholesome energy rather than cause inflammation and irritation in your gut like most cookies will.

Have some fun with the recipe too! You most definitely can smash out the whole pile of dough into a giant cookie and bake in a cast iron pan. Better yet you can double the size of the cookies rather than making 10 small cookies. Just make sure to cook it for longer so that it cooks all the way through!

Almond Flour

You can see a pretty decent theme of me utilizing almond flour in a lot of the baked goodies here. That is all thanks to this alternative flour almost working at a one to one ratio in most recipes! Almond flour boasts a lot of benefits for the body thanks to it being created from simply just ground up almonds. The difference between the meal and finely ground almond flour is just that it gives goods a different texture. If you want a coarse texture utilize the meal, if you want smooth texture buy the finely ground flour.

Let’s say you want to cook up a batch of other cookies for someone who is gluten free just use the same amount of volume (aka weigh the flour) as their is regular flour and then slightly increase the rising agent in the recipe. This allows for the heavier almond flour to still get the same rising effect as a regular white flour would.

On to the benefits, one cup of almond flour contains roughly 85-95 almonds providing you with more than the 100% of the recommended intake of vitamin E. The flour also contains energy boosters such as riboflavin (Vitamin B2), copper, and manganese. It is also known to be a good source of iron, calcium, and potassium. Overall, almond flour when used in balanced proportions in recipes can provide you with a sustainable source of energy without creating heavy blood sugar spikes.

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I wanted to give you guys the full break down of all the labels you will find on an egg carton to make sure next time you find yourself standing in front of the endless number of egg cartons you know exactly what eggs are the best choice for you. This is not me telling you some eggs are healthier than others. I understand not everyone can financially buy the best of the best eggs every week. I simply want to give you the facts behind the labels. Therefore I have broken it down into a good, better best scenario. Allowing you to make the decision for what is the best and financially sound option for your own household.

Common Egg Labels:

Let’s get cracking (couldn’t help myself) and take a look at the major labels you can find on the egg cartons right now!

Free Range/Roaming

“free range” by USDA definition means poultry is to be allowed access to the outside. This phrase can be interpreted quite loosely. While some farmers may let them roam green pastures others will overcrowd them indoors. Barely allowing access outside where there may just be a dirt patch. In context the best option is to check with the farmers on how they handle their chickens with this label.

Cage-Free

This term simply means that the hens are not kept in a tiny cage with another 11 hens. They are free to wander around the hen house, perch on roosts, and lay eggs in nests. This option is actually a fairly good choice considering most mainstream groceries carry them now. Be aware “cage-free” chickens are kept in hen houses which more often than not are quite cramped. So they may or may not have access to the outdoors.

Organic

These types of eggs actually require certification and inspection via the USDA Natural Organic Program. They require hens to be “cage-free” or free range plus having access to the outdoors. Also, the hens are required to be brought up on organic feed meaning no stabilizer chemicals, irradiation, or GMO’s. Organic labeling is the only one of these labels with regulations and enforcements.

Pasture-Raised

These types of hens and eggs are what we typically envision in our minds when we think of a farmer filling a carton of farm fresh eggs. The eggs come from hens roaming around in open fields during the day foraging for insects. Then at night going into the hen house to roost, nest, and lay eggs. Again, “pastured” does not have a legal meaning or a certification process. However, the upside is they tend to come from small farms. Typically having proud farmers that are more than willing to share how they care for their animals. You can find the best quality at your local farmers market and these are the ideal eggs one would look for.

Fluff Labels:

No Hormones – This is definitely a “fluff” label considering all laying hens legally are not to be fed hormones. Therefore the label doesn’t mean much.

No Antibiotics – This label simply means the hens were not given antibiotics in the feed or their water.

Vegetarian Fed/Diet – This label puzzles me every time considering hens are not really vegetarians. They tend to scavage for insects and worms from the ground and even go after the occasional rodent if they’re quick enough.

Omega-3 – This label means the hens were fed an omega-3 rich diet via their feed. This can be added using oils such as flaxseed oil, linseed oil, and even kelp.

Other Eggcellent Labeling Facts:

Grade – This is commonly found as Grade A on most eggs Grade AA is even higher quality. The USDA offers this grading as a voluntary inspection of the eggs. Grade A means unstained shells, defect free yolks, and a “reasonably” clear and thick white.

Size – This can either refer to the weight of the whole eggs per dozen. Otherwise it refers to the size of a single egg whether they are “large”, “jumbo”, etc. is up to your own preference or what the recipe calls for.

Egg Color – This is dependent upon the breed of the hen. The color has no affect on the nutritional facts or taste!

The Nutrition Powerhouse

The nutritional nerd in me couldn’t finish this post for you guys without giving a quick nutrition lesson on eggs of course!

I am sure we have all heard it before “the Egg is a nutrition powerhouse,” but why is it? Just to name a few reasons, Eggs are loaded with vitamins, minerals, high-quality protein, and quality fats.

I am going to zoom in on the “high-quality protein” portion. Eggs contain the perfect amino acid profile, meaning they contain all 9 essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are the building blocks of proteins which our bodies are incapable of producing on their own. Therefore we have to get these 9 from outside sources, aka food. And don’t forget eggs are probably one of the easiest & versatile foods to cook up all while providing you with a fantastic nutritional boost!

I hope this information has given you some guidance for your next adventure to the grocery store and that you find it easier to grab the best carton that you see fit!

Now that you have ALL of the information to make your decision try creating my Mixed Veggie Frittata with THE best eggs for you and your fam!

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Don’t feel like you MUST stick with the same veggies listed in the recipe. I typically use the base of this recipe to clean out my fridge every couple of weeks. Throw your leftover veggies in and somehow it all turns out super delicious no matter what!

Check out which eggs are the best for this recipe HERE to give you guidance on the labels you see when you grocery shop!

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In Sweden we have something called “Fika”. Fika is the art of the Swedes classic coffee break. The concept is to take a break in your day making time either for yourself or socializing. You typically have a cup of coffee and accompany that with a small treat like a swedish cinnamon bun. Better yet, I like to pair this Apple Raspberry Crumble with a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream! Of course you can not forget to have that cup of coffee too! This recipe makes for the perfect mid day snack because it doesn’t leave you in an afternoon food coma.

The simple crumble is made solely from a variety of nuts ground up and some very simple ingredients that take no time to throw together. It makes for the perfect dinner dessert as well if you are not a huge fan of baking. I promise you this one is really tough to “mess up” and it helps clean out any of those frozen fruits that you feel are just lingering in your freezer and not being used. There are so many great combinations you can make, but I will let you in on a secret. This Apple Raspberry Crumble will be your NEW favorite combo. Trust me.

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The main ingredient is typically dairy based but now with all the diary free options these days I decided to play around with the best one yet for cooking needs. Kite Hill’s newest plant based plain greek yogurt.

Salmon

Let’s talk about fatty fish and good, better, best of the different kinds that are available in stores. Let’s dive right in and look at the common names we will find for how fish are raised. There is conventional, farm raised, sustainably caught and wild-caught salmon. We will take a look at what each of these labels mean to allow you as a consumer to make your own decision!

Conventional/Farm-Raised

This typically means the fish have been farmed in underwater pens or aquacultures near the shoreline. Since they are close to the shoreline they are also at risk for being close to where a lot of runoff and toxins may be located. This leads me to discuss the fact that all fish are at risk for absorbing chemicals. The contaminants can come from their environment and the foods they eat. Poor fish farming practices can mean a poor diet for the fish as well. Common items in poor farming practices include a diet of soy, corn, animal by-products, antibiotics, and adding colorants to the fish to make it the pink color we expect in the grocery store. I would say if you do not have the budget for responsibly raised fresh fish then opt for responsibly/sustainably caught and canned fish products instead.

Sustainably-Caught/Responsibly Farmed

Although these fish are still farmed in the same types of underwater pens or aquacultures they usually have a standard to uphold when labeling “sustainable” and “responsibly farmed”. This is not to say that they are all equal unfortunately. Typically sustainable fish farming can provide quality, consistency, and a year-round supply of fish to consumers. Look for markets that have had their fish third party verified to ensure the fish sourced comes from environmentally responsible aquaculture. This will include standards of not using antibiotics, colorants, growth hormones, & animal by products in the fish feed. Whole Foods has a particular seal which upholds these types of criteria by utilizing the “responsibly farmed” blue seal on their packaging.

Wild-Caught

Finally, we have wild-caught fish which is all the rage currently. Since these bad boys are caught in the wild they are less likely to have the build up of contaminants. It is also good to note that they will typically have a different type of diet as compared to farmed fish. This gives them a different nutritional profile when compared to their counterparts. However, as the world population continues to grow these wild fish stocks are rapidly depleting. Many are saying that sustainably farmed fish are what will allow us to continue to eat fish. Otherwise we will see many species go extinct if all we continue to eat is wild-caught fish. Some stores like Whole Foods has information on the way they source their wild caught seafood as well to help you see if they utilize sustainable practices.

In conclusion, be aware of where the fish comes and how it is sourced. The best resource is the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch App which can help you locate sustainable seafood. They have tons of resources for you to make educated consumer decisions when grocery shopping. At the end of the day the choice is yours which is why I gave you the run down of the different options. I believe it is always good to be well read on topics that we can directly impact as consumers!

Now let’s get to making the tastiest salmon spread you’ve ever made!

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