Health Matters: Recipe: Chia seed pudding with almond milk

Today, I would like to share with you what I normally eat for breakfast. In today´s world there are a lot of possibilities what one can have and enjoy as their first meal in a day.

Eating breakfast, as we know, is very important. But is it really? Study suggest, that when we skip or rather postpone our first meal to later morning or at least 2-4hours, our bodies will burn more fat this way.

This is called intermittent fasting, and it means, that there are at least 14hrs between our last meal in a day and breakfast in the morning. This would practically mean, that we have dinner at 6pm latest and breakfast at 8am in the morning, which in not so bad. This period can be prolonged though, and you can have your first meal even between 10-12am, or later. This also does not mean we will eat more than what we normally do, but would enjoy the same or even less food as usual. Intermittent fasting comes in different methods, where you can fast to up to 36hrs with very few to no calories, or eat very few calories in one day and normal the next day.

Here you can see more detailed info about various methods:

http://dailyburn.com/life/health/intermittent-fasting-methods/

If you look at this closely, each of us fast every single day, without even realizing it. We fast when we sleep, and intermittent fasting is only about prolonging this period of sleep, and means we will just skip a meal or two. This can be done without much effort. The good method and quite easy one to follow and stick to is the one explained above, where you will have about 14-16hrs fast or a break between your last and first meal of the day. There is a reason why we call breakfast breakfast after all, which literally means break - fast. So we actually break our fast with the first morning meal.

Intermittent fasting has a lot of benefits, it helps to loose weight and belly fat, improves body composition and helps you to feel better overall. Intermittent fasting changes the function of cells, so when we fast the waste material from the cells is being removed, this is called autophagy. Insulin levels drop significantly whereas the human growth hormone may increase, both factors make it easier to burn fat. It is also beneficial for lowering the risk of diabetes. Fasting can also reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body and is effective for your heart and brain, preventing cancer and good for stabilizing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. And finally it has been proven to prolong one´s life making it a great tool for anti-aging rewards.

So, what do I typically eat for breakfast ? This may vary, but i do alternate between having a green smoothie, a bowl of healthy porridge, freshly cut up fruit, cooked oats and a chia seed pudding.

I would always try to incorporate protein, healthy fats and carbs into my breakfast. This would mean I will add nuts, seeds or nut butters for healthy fats and protein. Wallnuts, almonds and macadamia nuts are great options, as well as pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds. Hemp seeds are especially good for their high protein content as well as chia for their omega 3´s benefits. As for the fruit, I try to eat various kinds of different colors for the different benefits, mineral and vitamins content.

Green smoothies are a great way to start your day. Mine are usually full of greens like kale, spinach, coriander, fresh mint and other greens, as well as hemp seed powder for protein and sometimes a piece of avocado, which is great as a healthy fat addition to my smoothies. I will usually add a piece of fruit per one portion of smoothie. This would be one apple or pear, 1 kiwi, 1 banana or 1/4 or pineapple. I will add some extras, like baobab powder - which is very good source of calcium and fiber as well as a good source of prebiotic. Sometimes I will add chia seeds too or mesquite powder with its sweet caramel flavor and high protein content.

I eat my oats cooked, and finish it with a few raisins, 1 tsp of cinnamon, couple of dates or grated apple. There is a lot of ways how you can eat your oats, you can add coconut or almond milk in the pot while cooking as well as few raisins and dates. You can soaked your oats in plant milk overnight as well, either plain or with some vanilla extract or powder, chia seeds, grated apple or mashed banana and strawberries.

My porridge consist of gluten free grains, sometimes it is a mixture or I will use millet, amaranth, buckwheat or spelt flakes. I will mix this with some warm rice or almond milk and add some nuts and seeds. My favorite are chia seeds and goji berries. I will add some shredded coconut if I feel like it. Other great options for porridge are cooked whole buckwheat or quinoa.

Fresh fruit is really a good option for breakfast and is best enjoyed and absorbed by the body when eaten on an empty stomach first thing in the morning or before lunch. It should not be mixed with other foods, especially if couple of portions of fruit is being used. This is due to the fact that it takes only 2-3hrs for fruit to digest in the stomach and if its eaten with some other food it will ferment there until the other food has been digested. My favorite fruits are bananas, pineapple, papaya, all sorts of berries, guavas, grapes and kiwi.

If you do not like to eat a lot of cut up fruit, the other option is to blend it into a nice fruit smoothie bowl and enjoy it this way.

Last but not least, is my favorite chia seed pudding which I really like. Usually I will soak chia seeds overnight with some rice or almond milk, bit of vanilla powder and shredded coconut. So, when I wake up, I will take this out of the fridge and mix well, decorate this with some coconut chips, a few blueberries or half banana (see the note about fruit above) and a dash of sweetener, preferably the healthier option.

Let me share a simple recipe with you here:

Chia seed pudding with almond milk