One of my favorite pastimes is eating. I could literally snack all day without missing a meal. My favorite meal of the day was second breakfast. (Yes, I’m a “Lord of the Rings” fan.) If you’re not a LOTR fan, It’s the meal I would have after my group fitness class or after my morning errands. first breakfast is typically a smoothie but second breakfast I would have a heartier dish that would hold me through lunch. Because I needed a hearty meal after my workout, I typically ate a big bowl of oatmeal. I had overnight oats, oats with nuts, oats with dried fruits, oats with fresh fruits, oats with cinnamon and spices.

I used to have a hard time finding variety. When I was a carnivore, I loved eating the traditional southern breakfast, starch, starch, eggs, meat, with a side of meat. LOL! Due to some health scares, I converted to a plant forward eating routine almost 2 years ago. (I tell you all about it in my blog post “How It Started vs How It’s Going.”) Since, I cut back on processed foods, meat, eggs and dairy, what else was left? Oatmeal or cold cereal was all I really knew to eat.

I am here to tell you there is more to breakfast than just oatmeal. Here are a few of my favorite go to breakfast dishes. Some are alkaline and some are not but all are very filling.

Smoothie Bowls

Smoothie bowls are fun and easy to change up. Smoothie bowls have a smoothie base but the toppings really make this dish come alive. You could add fresh fruit, dried fruit, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nuts, regular and grain free granola, vegan whipped toppings, Mint and spices are all wonderful things to add to a smoothie bowl.

Bowls are quick and easy to make. You can make a big batch of the smoothie base and freeze it in separate containers for the week and change your toppings out everyday. To make the smoothie heartier add chia seeds to the smoothie base and this will help the bowl be more filling.

My favorite smoothie bowl combo is a strawberry banana smoothie base with chia seeds mixed in the based topped with fresh tangy fruits like kiwi, blueberries and black berries. I also like to add about a half a cup of granola and sprinkle some hemp seeds on. top for garnish.

Spelt Pancakes with a side of fruit

Avocado Toast

Seed’s Superfood Kamut Granola and Hemp Milk

Bagel with Vegan Cream Cheese and a side of fruit

These are a few of my favorite meals. I’ll keep adding to this list and eventually have some recipes listed for each of these items. Carnivore or herbivore, try them out and let me know how you like them. Now that I have made the conversion to a plant forward/vegan lifestyle I have so many recipes to choose from that I keep in my arsenal to keep second breakfast more enjoyable. I hope this adds a little flair to your breakfast.

Happy eating!

With love,