Breakfast: your most important meal

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day. It wakes up your body, gets your metabolism going and gives you the energy you need to start the day.

Why, then, is breakfast the most skipped meal of the day?

I am very guilty of breaking this Feeding Yourself 101 rule, and I know many others are, too. You hit the snooze button a couple too many times and don’t have those extra few minutes to eat before you leave the house. I barely have time to make coffee. Throwing my morning pick-me-up in a to-go cup each morning as I rush to gather my bag, my camera and anything else I might need for the day often times results in me not eating breakfast.

Some days I will grab a banana or a protein bar to eat on my drive but more often than not my drive is for drinking coffee and my supposed-to-be breakfast sits forgotten in my bag until close to noon when I finally realize I’m hungry, but feel too far behind on work to take a real break.

Sound familiar?

I found a recipe for a blueberry oatmeal bake on Pinterest a while back and have been telling myself that I would make it and then get in a habit of eating breakfast every day. While having something premade doesn’t necessarily solve the issue of not eating breakfast, it is, however, helpful for those people like me who are rushing out the door without the time to make something daily.

When I finally tried the recipe, I made several changes to it. The outcome was something delicious, healthy and simple. Although the next morning I still did not eat breakfast at home, bringing this in a Tupperware dish to the office was a better alternative than just drinking coffee.

Banana, blueberry oatmeal bake

What you need:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups almond milk (unsweetened, unflavored)
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, sliced
2 cups fresh blueberries

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, half the walnuts, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside. In another medium bowl, combine the honey, milk, eggs, margarine and the vanilla extract. Set aside.

Arrange the bananas in layers on the bottom of the baking dish. Place 11/2 cups blueberries on top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture.

Slowly pour the milk/egg mixture over the fruit and oats, making sure it covers them completely. Sprinkle the remaining berries and walnuts on top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and the mixture has set. Remove from the oven. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.