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So here’s a recipe to give one of the world’s favourite breakfasts a little lift. You can get as creative as you want with your porridge but I like to add a minimum of these two staple additions; blueberries & plain Greek yogurt. The beauty of this porridge however, comes from the toasted flavour of the oats, a simple but super tasty way to cook them.

The Staples

Blueberries are a great source of vitamins and minerals such vitamin C, K and manganese. These can all play roles in immune function and bone development.

Greek yogurt is a staple as although porridge isn’t a bad source of protein, it’s doesn’t contain all 9 essential amino acids needed for your body needs to regenerate, repair and build. Greek yogurt contains leucine, a branch chain amino acid that’s optimal for muscle protein synthesis.

Lastly, I’m a huge fan of Ceylon cinnamon, primarily as I love the taste. However, it does have some reportedly impressive benefits on balancing blood sugars amongst other things. Have a read hear if you want to know more:https://nutrition4fighters.wordpress.com/2017/11/16/snack-hack-13-ceylon-cinnamon/ . A little pro tip for the British readers is to hit up your local Lidle who sell Ceylon as their standard product. It’s the cheapest spot I’ve found for it by far!

Ingredients:

– 1/2 to 1 full mug of oats (depending on how much exercise you planned that day)

– 1/2 a cup of milk

– 1/2 a cup of water

– Pinch or sea salt

– 1/2 a cup of blueberries (I tend to use frozen)

– 1 to 2 large tsps of (full or half fat) Greek yogurt

– tsp of Ceylon cinnamon

Method:

– Place oats in saucepan and gently heat them dry. Stir for around 4/5 minutes or until you start to smell a toasted aroma.

– Add the water, milk and sea salt, mixing thoroughly. If frozen, also add blueberries at this point.

– After continuing to stir 5 minutes, ensure the oats have fully absorbed the liquid (or at least to your desired consistency). Remove from heat and add blueberries if fresh.

– Empty oats into the bowel. Add another splay of milk if you desire. Add the Greek yogurt and sprinkle the Ceylon cinnamon.

Calorie Options

Heavier option:

1 cup of oats – 389kcal

1/2 cup full fat milk – 75kcal

1/2 cup blueberries – 43kcal

2 tbsp full fat Greek yogurt – 30kcal

Total 536kcal

Lighter option:

1/2 cup of oats – 195kcal

1/2 cup of semi skimmed milk – 58 kcal

1/2 cup blueberries – 43kcal

1 tbsp of 2% fat Greek yogurt – 11 kcal

Total 306kcal

Here is an absolutely delicious little snack treat. These non bake peanut butter slices are just as good for the kids as it is for a pre or post post workout snack. They’re also a pretty healthy alternative.

Chickpeas are the ingredients that probably stick out a tad here. As well as being a good source of different micronutrients such as magnesium & potassium, they’re also a great source of fibre. A particularly good reason though to have them in your diet is that chickpeas are high in protein and make an excellent replacement for meat in vegetarian and vegan diets.

Ingredients

– 1 can of chickpeas

– 100g peanut butter

– 80g honey

– Tbsp of coconut/almond/cows milk

– 3/4 of a tsp baking soda

– 2 tsp vanilla extract

– 2 tbsp of cacoa nibs

– Pinch of sea salt

– 2 tbsp of cacoa nibs (optional)

Method

– Drain chick peas

– Blend all the ingredients together. Now stir in cacoa nibs if using.

– Grease a backing tray and layer in the blended ingredients, patting it down till smooth on top

– Place in preheated oven at 175c for 20 mins

– Remove and allow to cool. Once cooled, place in fridge for around an hour, (if you are able resist that long…).

– Slice into squares and tuck in 👌

Welcome back to a long overdue post! Today is a recipe that although perfect for the athlete, will also suit anyone in need of something on the go.

The athlete’s breakfast loaf has a healthy combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Although it may take a little time to prepare the day before, it’ll definitely save time in those morning rushes and ensure you get some nutrients in you first thing.

Ingredients:

350g oats

2 Bananas

2 Large eggs

200g Greek yogurt

2 tsp of baking soda

1 handful of walnuts

1 handful of dried fruit or fresh berries

1 handful of mixed seeds

Method:

– Blend the oats by themselves in a mixer

– Combine oats, baking soda, dried fruit, nuts & seeds in bowl and mix together

– Blend eggs, yogurt & bananas together and mix into the dry ingredients

– Place mixture in grease paper lined bread tray and pat out evenly

– Cover tray with grease proof paper

– Cook in oven at 175c for 60 minutes

– Remove, tun over and cook for another 15 minutes

– Remove, allow to cool For 5 odd minutes and enjoy!

Another jaw dropping recipe here to tease the taste buds and not batter the bank account. These little beauties have the grand total of 3 basic ingredients, although I do like to add a 4th by way of the ‘chocolate chips’.

I’ve used peanut butter but if you are following a strict paleo or low carb diet, or just don’t tolerate legumes to well, swap out for almond butter or a nut butter of your choice.

Ingredients

– 1 cup of peanut butter

– 1 large egg

– 1 to 2 tsp of honey

– 1 tbsp of cocoa nibs

Method

– Blend peanut butter, & honey together till an even consistency.

– Remove and mix the cocoa nibs in with a spoon.

– Grease an oven tray and measure out 1 inch dollops for each cooky. Now press each one to flatten out using a fork.

– Place cookies in preheated oven for 12-18 minutes at 180 degrees. Remove and if all cookies are evenly cooked, allow them to stand for 5 to 10 minutes to cool.. 👌