Fit Fare

Imagine the following scenario and see if it sounds familiar.

You arouse from a slumber so deep and calm to a blaring alarm, which you had pressed snooze on twice already. As you ready yourself, you are running behind schedule. Oh no, you think, I cannot be late for work again.

As you hurriedly grab your belongings, and run past your empty kitchen, you consider stopping for a moment to make yourself a well-balanced breakfast. Your famished body tries to convince your brain that maybe eating something quickly would be a good idea. The brain, however, overrules your body’s pleas and heads straight to the door.

Hours later, you have arrived at work on time, and quieted your body by throwing a strong brew down your throat. However, by 10 a.m., not only has your metabolism taken a dive but so has your attention span. Just a few more hours until lunch, your brain convinces your body.

You can fill in the blanks as to how the rest of this day typically turns out. A lot of this could be simply avoided with some minor pre-planning.

For those who simply do not have the time at all to plan breakfast, I have a healthy alternative for you.

Why not try a healthy smoothie?

With the correct ingredients, and a blender, you can have a well-balanced and fulfilling breakfast-to-go. And chances are it holds fewer calories than a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich at your local fast food, and will keep you satisfyed longer than your morning cup of java!

The perfect smoothie will have elements such as a plethora of vitamins (A,D,E,C,B,B-12, etc), calcium, protein, and fiber. It will be easy to put together and be ready within minutes.

Vitamins can be easily found in many fruits. Don’t have the time to squash an orange? Here’s a shortcut: buy 100% natural juice with no artificial flavors added. You can choose from many varieties like pineapple, orange, and apple.

Some fruits have a double purpose: adding natural sweetness and also much needed fiber to your daily food intake. Buy at least one or two actual fruits that can easily be washed and added. I love to add strawberries, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, apples, peaches, pears, and grapes.

Protein is not only great for your muscles, but also keeps you from feeling hungry longer. Calcium is essential to keep your bones in the best possible condition. Keeping a container of low fat plain yogurt, or low fat vanilla yogurt in your fridge for smoothies, not only fulfills calcium requirements, but protein as well for a well balanced meal. Another alternative to yogurt is silken tofu. Tofu takes on the flavor of anything you add to it, so if you blend it with bananas, that’s exactly what you’ll taste. Both yogurt and tofu carry around 10-11 grams of protein per cup.

For breakfast, all you need to do is take the all the ingredients you wish out the evening before work and put them into the blender jug, except for the ice. (I would suggest not putting in bananas until the next day to retain its delicious yellow color.) Leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, as soon as you are up out of bed, put the blender jug into the blender, add ice, and turn it on while you use the bathroom. Within 5 minutes, the smoothie will be ready. Pour it into a glass and carry it with you as you put on your make-up, pick out your clothes, and do your hair. One gulp here, and another one there, and pretty soon your drink will be gone!

My favorite strawberry banana smoothie
Serves 2

6 strawberries
1 banana
1 cup tofu or low fat yogurt
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup apple juice
8 cubes of ice

Please all ingrediants in a blender and blend well.