a significant morning.

A few weeks ago, I read a post Angela wrote about her breakfast story and I took a step back to think about my own “breakfast story.” The importance of breakfast was always emphasized growing up. My mother woke up extra early to prepare carb-a-licious eats for my younger sister and I. In the last year, my mother has let me know that the pediatricians were concerned about my lack of appearance on the growth charts (both height and weight) and she was encouraged to make sure I was well fed before sent off to school each day. This was never really a problem for me considering that I have always loved my morning eats (until college). Growing up, I would eat french toast, croissants, oatmeal, and fruit as early as 6:30 a.m. and feel ready for the day ahead.

When I left for college, and without my mother’s early morning breakfast preparation, I somehow forgot the importance of this meal. Within a few months of forgoing breakfast and sticking to just lunch and dinner, it became quite obvious that I was not treating myself right. I had lost a significant amount of weight for my already petite frame and felt weak throughout the day. The removal of what I now see as one of my key rituals, made me lose a part of myself. It took me years to realize that a morning without breakfast is a morning without fuel and energy for the day ahead.

Talking with my mother about this the last few days has led to some interesting conclusions. She told me how ironic it was waking up early to make our breakfasts growing up, because she has never been one to eat that early in the day herself. This also rings true with my boyfriend, who sometimes can last an entire day without eating if he is forced to. I won’t even tell you how that would make me feel, but cranky is just one of the signs of an undernourished Claire. Obviously we all have different eating patterns and the distinction between the mental and physical aspects of hunger is a really intriguing one. I am my father’s daughter when it comes to early morning eats and I would rather eat a hearty bowl of oats with delicious toppings over nothing any day.

Then I was lucky enough to win some samples of Bob’s Red Mill Cereals from Teri last week! Her blog is so great for motivation and I am going to be doing the push up challenge she posted to up some of my arm strength. Another great series of posts she did were about her journey of becoming a fitness instructor. Fitness is truly important to me as a runner and yogi and reading others passion for staying fit and healthy is refreshing.

Usually I stick with classic rolled oats but the Steel Cut Oats were the first I were really tempted to try. A morning without almond milk is a sad one for me, but I was quickly satisfied with the realization that we had some light coconut milk in the pantry. This batch of oats was cooked for 18 minutes on the stovetop before adding thinly sliced banana, vanilla, and cinnamon for an extra two minutes.

Lastly, I topped the oats with dried cherries and the other half of the banana when they were creamy enough for consumption. These were truly yummy and kept me full for hours. I loved that what seemed like such a tiny serving of oats before cooking, turned into a completely satisfying bowl of fuel. These oats will be reserved for my weekend eats when I have more time for preparation, but I am very excited to try all the rest of the varieties this week.

Other news-

Today I went to VegFest and it was a pretty great experience. Rory Freedman, of Skinny Bitch fame gave a witty no-nonsense speech about veganism. I will be sure to share some information I obtained about vegetarianism (and veganism!) this week.