Breakfast is hands down my favorite meal of the day. I love everything from traditional American breakfasts of eggs and bacon, to yogurt and granola, to pancakes, to overnight oats. I think it's because it's so easy to get creative and variety with breakfast while staying incredibly healthy. 

Throughout my dietary adjustments I've had to make this year because of my autoimmune/thyroid issues, I've honestly run into difficulties with staying creative for meal ideas sometimes with dinner and lunch, but never with breakfast. And power breakfast bowls are my jam.

While my breakfast was nearly always my overnight oats for a large chunk of the past two years, I've had to put a pause on the greek yogurt since I've had to ease up on the dairy/milk products (working on perfecting a new overnight oats recipe sans yogurt!). But seriously, for those of you who can eat it, greek yogurt has to be one of my top recommendations as a trainer- you can get 20g of protein per cup of high-quality non-fat greek yogurt, and the carb content is low low low. 

Anyhow, I've been eating a lot of oatmeal and breakfast bowls instead. I'll usually just throw a mish-mosh together of whatever I have on hand and what will make a nutritionally balanced breakfast. I wanted to share an example of one of my favorite bowls I made recently, and hopefully this will get you creative with yours. 

I treat these breakfast bowls like you would at those self-serve fro-yo bars: pick a base (oatmeal, quinoa flakes, greek yogurt, muesli, etc.), then go nuts with the toppings. It keeps things fun, flavorful, and really healthy as it's important to get variety in your diet to make sure you're getting all the necessary vitamins and minerals. 

I made this breakfast bowl with a base of gluten-free oats (same as normal oats, just make sure they're GF certified if you're allergic!), then added cashew cream swirled with melted frozen raspberries, toasted cinnamon buckwheat, chia seeds, and cacao nibs. I usually try to stick with fruit that is in season, but my fruit options are so limited with my allergies that I will always have frozen berries on hand. Plus, the natural raspberry juices from defrosting them mix in so deliciously with the cashew cream and it is just plain decadent. 

This breakfast bowl naturally gluten-free, vegan (if using coconut oil to toast the buckwheat), and nut-free. 

P.S. This cinnamon toasted buckwheat is so yummy. It adds some needed crunch factor to the bowl, and the cinnamon complements the natural nuttiness of the buckwheat. Yum.

Power Breakfast Bowl w/Toasted Cinnamon Buckwheat & Cashew Cream

*makes 1 bowl

Ingredients

1/2 cup Oatmeal (or greek yogurt, muesli, whatever base you want)
1/4 cup Frozen Organic Raspberries, defrosted
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 tsp Cacao Nibs

For Toasted Cinnamon Buckwheat:
2 tbsp Raw Buckwheat Groats
1/4 tsp Cinnamon, or to taste
Butter, Ghee, or Coconut Oil to just coat the pan/groats (~1 tsp)

For Cashew Cream (*makes 1 cup, save some for later!):
1 cup raw Cashews, soaked overnight
~1/3 cup Water (pending on consistency preference)

Recipe

1. Cashew Cream: Make the cashew cream by combining the cashews and water in a blender and pureeing until smooth. 1/3 cup of water was just right for me, but if you like it runnier, add more water; if you want it thicker, add less water. Cover and stick in the refrigerator until ready to use.

2. Toasted Cinnamon Buckwheat: Heat up butter/ghee/coconut oil on pan on medium high heat. Add buckwheat groats and cinnamon, and stir with spatula. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until groats become a toastier, browned color, then remove from heat.

3. Place oatmeal or whichever base you choose in a bowl. Add all of your toppings, and serve!