Super charge your day with a wheat-free fruity-seedy breakfast

This healthy breakfast alternative is a great way to charge your body for the day from nature's power house of mixed seeds, nuts, oats and soft fruits.

It can be made purely from seeds with fruit added, or mixed with your favourite granola, muesli or wheat-free grains. I tend to avoid wheat in the morning because, like bread, it makes me feel bloated and weighed down. Seeds and nuts don't have that effect on me and are packed with plant-based, healthy fats, fibres and minerals; dried fruits and soft fruits are rich in fibre, vitamin C, zinc, minerals and antioxidants.

Selecting so many ingredients in small quantities can be time-consuming so I use old large honey jars to store dried nuts, seeds, sultanas and other dried produce such as beans, lentils, rice and so on. These are hexagonal so they fit together perfectly like a honey-comb on my kitchen worktop.

Having everything close to hand speeds things up and you will soon fill up a bowl with the fruit and banana added on top. You can experiment with different amounts of ingredients to suit your taste, the following recipe provides a starting point.

Dry Ingredients

2 tbs x Pre-Soaked Organic Rolled Oats (or granola, muesli)

2 tbs x Sun Dried Sultanas (or chopped apricots, dates)

2 tbs x Mixed Nuts (chopped)

1 tbs x Pumpkin Seeds

1 tbs x Sunflower Seeds

1 tbs x Hemp Seeds

1 tsp x Chia Seeds (tiny seeds swell up to 10 times their weight in liquid into a gel consistency so you don't need many) 

Fresh Ingredients

Fresh Ripened Strawberries

Banana (thinly sliced)

Fresh Coconut Milk

Raw Local Honey

How to prepare

1. Half fill a dessert bowl with tablespoons (tbs) or teaspoons (tsp) of each of the above ingredients.
2. Prepare the fruit and add it on top. 
3. Dribble runny Raw Honey over everything.
4. Pour over your Coconut Milk with about an inch to spare to allow for the seeds to soak it up.
5. Eat straight away before all the coconut milk is soaked up - otherwise it may start to form a consistency of porridge, especially if you have added lots of Chia Seeds.

Essential nutrients

It is important to note that I am not a medical or natural health practitioner. I do all the research for myself and share what I have found works for me. The information here is taken from various trusted sources, experiences, providers, specialists and books over the period of a lifetime but please do your own research if anything is in doubt, and especially if you are taking any medications or you are new to a wholefood lifestyle.

Organic Rolled Oats

Raw oats are rich in beta-glucan, a soluble fibre that is good for gut health and natural bulk together with important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Top tip: the most nutritious way to enjoy raw oats and make them more digestible is to soak them overnight in the refrigerator in water or plant-based milk.

Sun Dried Sultanas

Sweet to taste, full of fibre and healthy vitamins, the phenols in sultanas contain high levels of antioxidant activity which protects your cells against harmful free radicals. Essential minerals that keep your bones, muscles, heart and brain properly include Potassium, Calcium and Iron.

Mixed Nuts

A handful of mixed nuts is packed with goodness providing a rich source of protein, healthy fat, carbohydrate, fibre, vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, manganese and selenium. Nuts contain powerful antioxidants and are extremely good for you in modest quantities.

Remember that just one ONE Brazil nut contains 100% of the Reference Daily Intake (RCI) for selenium. This is important because selenium is an essential mineral obtained only through diet. In small amounts this mineral plays a major role in important body processes including metabolism and thyroid function so one nut is a great way to make sure this is covered on a daily basis.

Pumpkin Seeds

A healthy source of oil and essential nutrients that enhance the health of the heart, bones and other functions. Rich in vitamins and minerals such as manganese and vitamin K which help wounds heal. They also contain zinc to help to boost the immune system and are also an excellent source of phosphorus which helps to filter the kidneys and optimise how the body stores and uses energy.

Pumpkin seeds also contain potassium, magnesium and calcium for healthy bones and teeth together with polyunsaturated fatty acid for balancing cholesterol levels and antioxidants to remove harmful free radicals.

Sunflower Seeds

Our beautiful sunflowers pack many nutrients into their tiny seeds and are especially high in vitamin E and selenium which function as antioxidants to protect the body's cells against free radical damage which can lead to chronic illness if left unchecked.

Made of mostly of mono- and polyunsaturated fats, sunflower seeds provide the anti-inflammatory and heart-healthy source of fats our bodies need everyday. They are also a great source of fibre and protein.

Hemp Seeds

Technically a nut known as Hemp Hearts and super nutritious with a mild, nutty flavour. Exceptionally rich in essential fatty acids, linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), and gamma-linolenic acid which is also very beneficial.

Hemp seeds have more protein than most seeds with more than 25% high-quality protein. In addition, they are rich in vitamin E and other essential minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulphur, calcium, iron and zinc.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are tiny superfoods grown from a flowering plant in the mint family, they provide a rich source of fibre, vitamins, omega 3 fatty acid, protein and minerals including calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron.

Rich in polyphenols and antioxidants such as caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, myricetin, quercetin and others, Chia Seeds help to promote digestive, heart and blood sugar health while supporting healthy skin and boosting energy.

Strawberries

Ripened Strawberries are a delicious source of vitamin C - one serving provides half the daily requirement. Strawberries also contain manganese, folate (vitamin B9) and potassium. These soft fruits are rich in antioxidants and plant compounds which benefit heart, eye and skin health and which remove free radicals and neutralise the potential negative effect they can have on our cells.

Top tip: keep Strawberries out of the fridge so that they continue ripening to achieve maximum nutritional value before eating.

Banana

This favourite fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin B6 which helps the body to produce red blood cells, metabolise carbohydrates and fats turning them into energy, metabolise amino acids, remove unwanted chemicals from your liver and kidney and maintain a healthy nervous system.

Bananas also contain manganese which helps the body to make collagen and protect your skin and cells from free radical damage. Another essential nutrient is potassium which is good for heart health and blood pressure.Full of fibre, this soft fruit helps to keep your gut healthy and safe from harmful bacteria.

Fresh Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is made by grating flesh from a brown coconut, soaking it in water and then straining it to produce a milk-like consistency. Try to buy Coconut Milk as close to its natural state as possible and be aware of additives that may be included in cartoned varieties.

The benefits of coconut milk are so wide-ranging that it is considered one of the world’s healthiest foods containing protein, healthy fatty acids,carbohydrates, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and vitamin C.

Raw Honey

Raw Honey is naturally collected honey hasn't been pasteurised (heated to high temperature), processed or micro-filtered (filtered under high pressure through a micro-filter to remove small particles like pollen). Any honey not labelled raw will have gone through additional filtering and pasteurisation processes which affect the nutritional value of the product.

Raw honey provides a minute amount of protein with trace elements of Sodium and potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, copper,zinc iron, manganese, chromium, B vitamins and vitamin C and K.

I hope you enjoy this highly nutritious breakfast which can be eaten at any time of day when you feel hungry or need to boost your energy. Mix it up by changing the combination of ingredients or by adding different wholefood ingredients for variety and to suit your taste.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf