Some people wake up starving. With breakfast on the brain. Ready to fuel the body and start the day. Yay for them! But my first thought is backwards. I am all about, what time is it? Did I miraculously wake up before my alarm, do I still have three hours more to sleep?
Food is not an option for me in the wee, fresh hours of the morning. To be honest, it makes me feel a bit ill. This disappointing attitude strongly contradicts the rest of my day, where I am constantly looking forward to the next meal.
Past methods of dealing with this affliction have largely revolved around waiting until I get hungry and then buying something to eat at that point in time. But my options between 8-10 am are the kinds of naughty in-transit foods that are yes, delicious, but also Not Good For Me. And the money, right? (I’m looking at you, bacon and egg sandwich, ham and cheese croissant, and even you, virtuous-sounding-but-still-evil spinach and ricotta pastry).
In response to this pattern of grease and guilt, I did my research and can happily report that I have found my breakfast dreamboat. And that I have been loved up with this combination for a few months now.
It’s basically breakfast trifle, or parfait. It’s as simple as layering fruit-yoghurt-muesli. Ground breaking, no!?
But it’s one of those things where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And it meets my needs of:
- Can be prepared the night before for maximum sleep in time
- Is not disappointing compared to when it is served hot
- Delicious and not unhealthy
- Cheap to run
Let’s look closer.
VIP ingredient no. 1: Soul mate yoghurt. This is not the brand, this is what I have found after many attempts at finding a Goldy Locks yoghurt, i.e. not too tart, not too sweet, not too fat-free-y. Gippsland Smooth and Creamy Yoghurt. Winner. Find your soul mate yoghurt and insert here.
VIP ingredient no. 2: Delicious fruit. Be it fresh, canned, stewed, frozen. I won’t judge. I am currently alternating between stewed rhubarb from the in-laws garden, and frozen blackberries from last summer.
VIP ingredient no. 3: Muesli. I adapt Shutterbean’s recipe to whatever good things are hanging around our kitchen. This is seriously killer. The glazed nuts? Phwoar. My last batch was an Almond/Coconut/Cranberry.
Chop a couple handfuls of nuts and glaze in butter and whatever come to hand in the sticky-sweet category (honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, apple jelly) and a little vanilla essence or beans if you are lux.
Half a kilo of rolled oats. I will sometimes stir through a quarter cup of orange juice through the oats.
A handful of coconut and seeds you like, maybe sunflower, pumpkin, sesame. Mix these into the oats.
Spread thinly onto a baking tray and then experiment with times in your oven, check every few minutes until you have got it sussed. Mine likes 10 min at 150 C. Try not to wander off. It waits for you to do this so it can burn.
Let it cool, and then mix through the nut clusters and some dried fruit. Fig? Yes please. Peach or blueberry? Excellent. I don’t believe in sultanas.
Classic Marine Iguana 