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The Body Retreat

The Body Retreat

Women Only Weight Loss & Wellbeing Retreats

Sweet Potato & Feta Omelette

Omelettes are a great breakfast choice, a perfect healthy start to any day.

Studies have found that eating eggs for breakfast reduces the calorie intake for the rest of the day, the high protein start to the day provides a slow and steady energy release meaning you are less likely to be reaching for sweet starchy snacks mid morning.

This is my favourite omelette as it has two of my favourite additions, sweet potato and feta cheese.

Sweet potato is high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and helps control blood sugar levels as they have a low Glycemic Load.  Feta cheese is a greek cheese usually made from goat or sheep milk and has a bold tangy flavour, which means that a little goes a long way.

Serves 2
  • 4 large free range eggs, beaten
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled & grated
  • 1 brown or red onion, finely sliced
  • 1/2 red pepper, finely sliced
  • 50gm feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 tsp rice bran oil
  • salt and pepper

 

Sweet Potato & Feta Omelette

Method:

Heat the oil in a small shallow frying pan.  Add the onion and gently fry until almost soft.  Add a sprinkle of salt to the onion as this will stop the onion from burning as it draws out the moisture.

Next add the grated sweet potato and red pepper and mix throughly as you gentle allow to soften.  This will take about 1 – 2 minutes. We want to keep a light crunch to the pepper.

Now add the beaten egg mix, making sure to cover all the vegetables.  Cook for 2 – 3 minutes to allow the base to firm.  Now sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over the omelette, season with freshly ground black pepper and then pop the pan under a medium hot grill to finish cooking for a further 2 – 3 minutes.

Tofu & White Bean Scramble

It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it sets you up for the day ahead while at the same time it sets your intentions, your intentions about how you feel about your body and your health.

Run out the door and grab a takeaway muffin and coffee and you are saying that you don’t value yourself enough to spend a few moments giving yourself a healthy and nutritious start to your day.  You also leave yourself open to energy crashes mid morning.

What you eat at breakfast sets the scene for the day ahead and at The Body Retreat we advocate that you have a protein based breakfast to help keep your energy levels balanced all morning.  Some of the most popular breakfasts on retreat are egg based, we love a good eggy breakfast, scrambled, poached, fried or omelette all winning breakfast dishes.

But what if you don’t eat eggs, are you confined to a lifetime of breakfast cereal?

Not necessarily… here our Tofu & White Bean Scramble for example. Takes only a few minutes to prepare and unlike scrambled eggs you can actually make this egg free scramble up the night before and simply warm through in the morning saving valuable time.

Quick & Easy Egg Free Scramble
Makes 6 portions or 4 very generous portions
  • 100gms Organic Unsmoked Tofu
  • 400gms White Beans (rinsed and drained)
  • 20mls Unsweetened Almond Milk
  • Salt & Black Pepper to taste
  • optional
  • freshly cut chives
  • 1/2 clove minced garlic
  • Handful chopped Spinach

Making this Tofu & White Bean Egg Free Breakfast Scramble couldn’t be easier.

Place the rinsed and drained beans in a pan with the almond milk and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 mins.

Mash the beans and milk together to form a creamy base and then add the tofu.

Mix throughly. Season to your own personal taste.

Here we served our breakfast scramble with an avocado and tomato salsa, a real wake up call for the taste buds in the morning.

Amaranth Porridge

Ok, so first things first.  I love Oats.  They are a great choice for breakfast…BUT… there is always a but isn’t there.

All Oats are not created equal…top of the heap you have your gorgeous organic Jumbo Oat and then right down at the bottom of the pile you have that sawdust in sachets that passes for breakfast cereal.  The jumbo oats give you a slow release of energy, especially when you pair them with nuts, seeds, nut milks or dairy, while the sawdust sachet just gives you a sugar rush and a crash.  Oats are naturally gluten free, although they may have been processed in a factory that also produces gluten based products so if you have an allergy or intolerance then always buy the guaranteed Gluten Free Jumbo Oats.

But despite their impressive health credentials Oats are not for everyone and if you are trying to reduce or cut out grains from your diet then breakfast can be a nightmare.

Step in the Amaranth Seed.

A protein packed powerhouse, Amaranth contains more than three times the average amount of calcium and is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.  It’s also the only grain documented to contain Vitamin C..pretty impressive stuff right!

Its doesn’t go completely soft as a grain would, its more of a soft nutty texture..it maybe a bit if an acquired taste.  We serve this recipe on our Sugar Detox Retreat and it almost always splits the table into lovers and haters…

 

Amaranth Porridge - A Healthy Alternative To Oats
Serves 2
  • 100gm Amaranth
  • 100ml Unsweetened Almond Milk
  • 100ml Coconut Water
  • 1/2 Cap of Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 sml Cinnamon Stick
  • Grating Fresh Nutmeg
  • 20gms Flaked Almonds

As with all porridge this couldn’t be simpler to make.

You simply combine the amaranth with all the ingredients in a small pan and bring to a gentle bubble on the stove.  I know that at first it will seem like a lot of liquid to the amount of Amaranth but thees little seeds really soak up the juice.  So be liberal.

Keep it on a low bubble and give it the occasional stir to stop it from sticking and so you can adjust the liquid if you need to.  You may find that you will want to add a splash more almond milk to stop it from becoming too thick.

It will take about 20 mins for the porridge to cook through.

Serve topped with flaked almonds

If you are looking for a gluten free porridge recipe this is well worth a try.

Power Porridge

I love porridge… it is just so satisfying and comforting.  It’s a great breakfast choice as its slow release energy keeps you going all morning. Its got a neutral flavour which makes it perfect for experimentation and getting creative in the kitchen.

Not all porridge is created equal.  So, for the avoidance of doubt let me clear, the powdery stuff that is sold in packets under the guise of instant breakfast is not proper porridge.  You might as well eat a bowl of rice crispies.  For porridge to provide the slow release energy you need for the day the porridges oat needs to be whole…not ground into dust.

Now heres the thing..I love porridge but porridge doesn’t love me.  Despite being a low GI grain I still seem to have issues with metabolising the natural sugars..so I prefer this power porridge.

Power porridge includes 50% Oats and 50% Quinoa Flakes, with added seeds this makes the protein content of the breakfast significantly higher.  Which means even longer maintained energy and if like me you cannot digest grains too well…no bloating!!

Its a winner..Try it for yourself and let me know how you get on.

 

Serves 2
  • 50 gms Organic Jumbo Porridge Oats
  • 50 gms Organic Quinoa Flakes
  • 20 gms Mixed Seeds
  • I tbps Ground Flaxseed
  • 100mls Unsweetened Almond Milk
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 50 mls water ( you can use Coconut Water)

 

 

This recipe literally could not be any more simple to make .. you literally place all the ingredients in a pan and stir for about 10 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed and the porridge has reached the texture that you like.  You may want to add a little extra water or milk if you like your porridge loose.