Entry 8: Personal Favorite - The Demands of the Qun - Eat a Healthy Breakfast

The demands of the Qun - and the human body - are clear: a healthy breakfast makes all the difference during the day. A quick and convenient healthy breakfast makes an even greater difference. And I believe that prepping breakfast on a regular basis is a good practice for building healthy habits. I am always looking for ways to improve myself meaningfully and breakfast is an excellent place for anyone, of the Chantry or the Qun, to start.

Today I am excited to feature two breakfasts that are incredibly easy, very healthy, and in my opinion, life-changing. Building a quick and healthy breakfast routine into my day has made an immensely positive impact on my overall lifestyle.

"The Demands of the Qun" (wording subject to change) is also a sort of sub-topic I am excited to introduce. This bit is focused on healthy, convenient, and sustainable life practices and I will be including it occasionally in my Personal Favorite entries. Because honestly, fanatic tier system aside, I feel like the Qun itself is ultimately focused on sustainable community living. There is a lot more to the Qun than that obviously, but from what this Andrastian Circle mage can glean, that seems to be the basic concept. Fundamentalists of both the Chantry and the Qun would have us believe the world is black and white, but I prefer to believe the world is a lot more grey. And I believe every little bit of effort counts, from reusing plastic baggies to keeping an open mind.

As always, the full recipes and sources are listed below so feel free to skip the "cutscenes" and go straight to the end.

My first breakfast recipe is a protein smoothie I regularly enjoy. The original recipe is from Rose of Cheap Lazy Vegan on YouTube. When I first started eating vegan, I latched onto her channel pretty quickly because I am very cheap, sometimes lazy, and now vegan. I highly recommend following her channel, especially if you are new to vegan eating; she is very entertaining and thorough.

As I began, I arranged my hemp hearts and flax seed from plastic bags to glass jars. Glass jars fit better in my pantry and keep ingredients fresher for longer. You can save glass jam jars or oil jars, hand wash them thoroughly or place them in your dishwasher, and then use them to store bulk ingredients.

Let the battle begin.

Victory!

Next, I arranged my ingredients on the counter: bananas, frozen raspberries, some frozen spinach, ground flax seed, hemp hearts, and soy protein powder. Not pictured but important to add when you blend smoothie: soy milk.

My bananas for this round of smoothies were not very ripe but that is okay because freezing bananas can have an "instant" ripening effect on them.

Then I arranged plastic bags open on my other counter and added my bananas.

Next, I added a handful of frozen raspberries.

There is something satisfying about frozen berries - I just love to look at them.

Then I added frozen spinach. You can add more or less of either raspberries or spinach depending on what you prefer. I prefer to use fresh spinach personally, but I had leftover frozen spinach and it worked out well.

Next, I added a tablespoon of hemp hearts...

Hemp hearts are pretty to look at, too.

And a tablespoon of flax seed...

And a scoop of protein powder.

Protein powder is not as pretty.

The protein powder is the most expensive item in this arrangement of ingredients. I got the Fred Meyer generic Simple Truth brand for about $18 US. Other brands can run for more. I do not invest much in powders, vitamins or supplements personally; I choose to purchase generic brands because I think most are just as good as other brands. And to keep with the reduce-reuse-recycle theme, I like to clean out the empty powder containers and give them to my little firesprite to play with.

Once all ingredients were added to the plastic bags, I sealed them and placed them in the freezer. The trick now is to remember to take a bag out the night before.

I usually allow my smoothie ingredients to sit in my refrigerator overnight and then blend everything up with my handy hand blender (because this mage loves her kitchen appliances and power tools).

Pre-Blended.

Post-Blended

And there you have it, a filling and nutritional breakfast you can enjoy at home or out and about!

I like to rinse and save my plastic bags for three or four uses, but it is important to rinse them right away to make the most of them.

Freshly washed plastic baggie shown here with hand blender attachment.

The second breakfast I want to feature is most certainly something Qunadar would wholeheartedly enjoy (as much as Qunari enjoy... well anything): overnight oats in a jar.

Once again, I began by arranging my ingredients on my counter: ground flax seed, soy protein powder, rolled oats, soy milk, and maple syrup. Not picture here because I only remembered it after I started writing this entry: shredded coconut.

I recommend making this recipe one or two jars at a time because after three days of soaking, rolled oats aren't really that appetizing (just my opinion).

First, I added a quarter cup of oats to a glass jar...

Second, a tablespoon of ground flax seed...

Third, a scoop of protein powder...

And a tablespoon of maple syrup...

And then a quarter cup of soy milk - any non-dairy milk of your liking will do here.

Then I sealed the jar, shook it up, and put it in the refrigerator. And about 15 minutes later, I remembered to add a tablespoon of shredded coconut.

And the next day, here you go: a tasty, healthy breakfast for any Champion or Arishok.

This morning, I actually added a splash of soy milk to help loosen my oats up to stir everything nicely and evenly.

Once devoured, rinse your jar and save it for your next round of oats!

I encourage you, dear reader, to make either (or both) of these breakfasts. They are so easy and can be customized to your tastes. For the smoothie, you can add both raspberries and blackberries or make it a triple berry smoothie: raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. For folks who like more fat in their smoothies, you can add half an avocado, but I don't recommend freezing that. Add the avocado the morning you blend your smoothie. For the oats in a jar, you can add some raspberries instead of shredded coconut, or both. And you can use agave nectar instead of maple syrup. Also, you can pair these together or enjoy either with a side of toast topped with the other half of that avocado. Overall, these recipes are simple, nutritious, and can provide a good basis for maintaining a healthy body and building healthy habits.

Protein Breakfast Smoothie:
Add into a plastic bag:
1 banana
A handful of frozen raspberries
A handful of fresh or frozen spinach
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp hemp hearts
1 scoop of soy protein powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp shredded coconut

Seal plastic bag and place in freezer. Allow to thaw in refrigerator for 9 to 12 hours before blending. Empty smoothie mix into a tall, large cup and add non-dairy milk (soy or almond). Use a standing blender or hand blender to blend. And enjoy!


Overnight Oats in a Jar:
Add to a glass jar:
1/4-1/2 c rolled oats
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 scoop of soy protein powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1/4-1/2 c soy milk

Seal jar with lid and shake. Place jar in refrigerator overnight. And then stir and enjoy!


Like what you are reading? Great! There is more to come in the next few weeks - the next 2 entries will be game/community focused entries but this is in preparation of my tiny Orleasian cakes entry. That entry will be posted early May. I promise, it will be worth the wait.


Maker willing, there will be so many cakes.


Have any friendly suggestions or cool ideas? Please feel free to comment below. You can also email me at foodsofthedas@gmail.com, message me at AGSamuels on Reddit, or tweet me at Essem_Jay on Twitter.
You can also follow me on Instagram at @gourmetveganthedas.

Walk always in the Maker's light.

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Sources:

Cheap Lazy Vegan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEjkioV3LO_OIUaSWRxFZ3A
Cheap Lazy Vegan, Breakfast Smoothie: https://youtu.be/CEpHPE3CYpU?t=2m19s
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