(Fred Waring and his blender. Times Archive Image)
If you’ve been reading for some time, you’ll already know of my penchant for good food. Unlike Cary Grant, I don’t have a favourite meal. His was breakfast; I like them all. Which can lead to the side straps on the trousers being eased a bit after the holiday excesses. (A shot of my celebratory breakfast here.)
As the cold, hard light of the new year dawns and it gets harder and harder to hit the ground running, I am most grateful that Mrs. E. and I have established a breakfast routine that is healthful and very tasty. We begin each morning with a smoothie. I used to use protein powder in our breakfast drinks, but it was helping us to bulk up — not the goal of the Easy and Elegant lifestyle. Most mornings we start with:
The Easy and Elegant Life Breakfast Cup
Makes 2 1/4 drinks.
Toss into your blender:
1 handful of frozen mixed berries (I use fresh during the summer). Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
(Opt: a peeled and sliced mango brought by your in-laws.)
1 peeled banana
1/2 cup of uncooked oats (Steel ground if you can get them. Quaker oats is my standby.)
1 – 1 1/2 cup(s) of orange juice (Fresh squeezed in summer, unpasteurized if possible. Simply Orange is my go-to.)
Juice of 1/2 lemon or healthy squirt of Key Lime juice. (Absolutely essential. The citrus really perks up.)
Top with filtered water. Toss in a few ice cubes if you like things really cold and blend on high until you’re convinced that the oats have been blended into the drink.
Makes enough for two tall glasses with a bit left over. That glass will hold me through a run or until about 11:30 am, when I have a piece of fruit, a Kashi chewy bar or start thinking about luncheon. The side straps will be back at their usual state of adjustment in no time.
What no eggs benedict? I must admit to loving a good breakfast but often have a fruit or a cup of coffee and hit the ground running. I must make a better attempt to sit, and have a “petite dejeuner!”
I love an egg cup, (or a poached egg) a fresh bit of baguette and some steaming hot coffee and fig jam.
pve
I love eggs benedict, really eggs in almost every form….my Isabella loves to make smoothies.
The smoothie sounds wonderful. But we are a cereal and skim milk family–we rotate between three different cereals, none terribly exciting (Grape Nuts, Raisin Bran, and Go Lean Kashi), and with fresh oj and coffee, it is our routine. What it lacks in interest is made up in calcium and fiber . . . The Whole Foods 365 brand fresh squeezed orange juice is a wonderful product and a staple at our home, as is their WF coffee bean blend. That is Monday through Saturday, year round. Sundays usually involve scrambled eggs. We also like to have breakfast (real breakfast) for dinner on winter nights–pancakes or waffles, sausage, fresh fruit, etc. Smoothies are great when traveling, too–most fast food places (and airports) can usually manage a decent one.
Don’t laugh, but I first gulp down my tiny little probiotic capsule with a cup of water (or orange juice) into which I’ve stirred two heaping tablespoons of nutritional yeast (for all the B complex vitamins and trace minerals) – after which I walk around for a few minutes feeling very self-righteous – THEN I make my smoothie – with yogurt. My last bone density scan indicated I needed more calcium! I’m a saint.
I’m going to guess that Fred Waring is not making a breakfast smoothie in his blender in the picture. I’m just saying, judging by the stash behind him.
Ah Turling, one man’s daiquiri is another’s breakfast smoothie….
I like Fred’s bow tie.
Should your Waring Blender ever break down – buy a Vita Mix machine to replace it. This mechanism is ugly, but can pulvarize gravel, I tell you. I now use this one machine more than any other; rendering even the Cuisinart almost obsolete.
Smoothie Tip: Before fruit becomes over ripe, toss it into a zip lock bag stashed away deep inside your ice box. It is far better than ice in your smoothie; and better for you, as well. I find adding a jigger of vodka creates a quick burst of morning energy, too.