Written by our Medical Assistant in the Flourish clinic, Martine:
Hi everyone! Jen has allowed me to write a blog this week to discuss something I’m really passionate about: breakfast!
Some of you know this but before I started working for Jen, I was her patient. Initially I came to see Jen because I was so exhausted all the time. Sometimes I would sleep from 7pm to 7am and still slug through my day as if I hadn’t slept a wink.
I had new and stubborn abdominal fat that I assumed was just the pandemic weight that most of us seemed to gain. And my mood was just…off. I consider myself a happy, positive person but I felt like there was a dark cloud hovering above me that I just couldn’t shake.
After some testing, Jen diagnosed me with insulin resistance. She told me that one of the most important things you can do to help this process is eating protein. You want to eat protein every few hours throughout the day, eat a high protein breakfast, and always have protein at your meals and with any carbs that you eat. By doing that, you’re going to stabilize your blood sugar level in your blood and you’re going to reduce the insulin resistance for those cells.
The other thing that really helps do this is healthy fats.The right fats increase metabolism, stimulate fat burning, cut hunger, optimize your cholesterol profile and can reverse type 2 diabetes and reduce your risk for heart disease. There’s a great book you can read to learn more by Dr Mark Hyman called “Eat Fat, Get Thin”.
Here are three easy breakfasts I make for my husband and myself. They’re all very customizable based on your dietary needs and preferences. All three do include avocado. If you’re not a fan and you need another way to get some good fat, try having some walnuts or Brazil nuts on the side. If you can have dairy, Greek or Nordic yogourt is also a great choice. A drizzle of flax or hemp oil would also be amazing.
Eating breakfasts like this have really been a game changer for me. I have more energy, I’m losing weight, and feeling so much better!
Air Fryer Classic Breakfast
Dairy-free, gluten-free, can be soy-free, can be vegan.
This is a good one for when you’re in a hurry—everything comes together in the air fryer with very minimal effort. You could do the same thing in a regular frying pan as well!
What you’ll need:
Frozen sweet potato fries/tots/cubes
Breakfast sausage (made of whatever you like! Pork, turkey, or meatless)
1-2 eggs depending on how hungry you are
1/2 of an avocado or guacamole
Put the sweet potato and the breakfast sausage in the air fryer at 390 degrees for 5 minutes. You don’t need to add any oil. After that, crack two eggs into the air fryer and season everything with salt and pepper. Feel free to add other spices like paprika, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder, etc.
5 minutes later the egg whites should be set but the yolks should still be soft. Scoop everything out of the air fryer and top with avocado/guacamole.
Lentil Oatmeal Bowl
Dairy-free, glute- free, soy-free, vegan.
This is another easy one and leftovers store pretty well in the fridge. Adapted from the beautiful: https://ohsheglows.com
What you’ll need:
⅓ of a cup red lentils
¼ of a cup oatmeal
1 ½ cup of broth
Combine lentils, oats, and broth in a pot. Bring to a low boil and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until thickened. Add any herbs and spices you like. You could add tempeh bacon or turkey bacon crumbles as well.
Top with whatever you like! I personally mix in some nutritional yeast, some arugula, and then top with avocado.
White Bean + Avocado Toast
Dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, can be gluten-free.
Avocado toast is so good on it’s own but blending in some white beans gives it a big extra boost of protein.
What you’ll need:
Cooked and cooled white beans
An avocado (you can use just half if you’d prefer)
Greens of your choice
Bread of your choice
Mash up white beans and avocado. Spread it on your toast and top with greens and a drizzle of oil and spices of your choice. You could also add other veggies like a slice of tomato, or a fried egg. I like to make a little tofu scramble and eat it on the side (that would obviously negate the soy free part).
I hope this helps you see that breakfast can be fun and delicious while supporting your health and wellness goals!
~Martine Fleming, M.A.
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