Breakfast for Thanksgiving
by: Utopia Management Accounting Department
It is Thanksgiving Day and you are scrambling to prepare all the food, and get the table ready for your big family dinner. The turkey is already in the oven and the majority of the sides are complete. Everything is coming together just as you planned, and you are ahead of schedule. You start to feel hungry, and you are not sure why. Is it because you’re surrounded by a bunch of delicious looking food? No, of course not, you forgot to eat breakfast, the most important meal of the day. I know what you’re thinking, breakfast? On Thanksgiving? Although you will most likely be eating a big meal for dinner, it is still very important that you eat breakfast. Breakfast will provide you with enough energy and keep your body healthy, as you run around finishing the final preparation for the big feast. We want to make sure you are well prepared for the entire day. Here are three simple, quick and nutritious breakfast recipes for you to share with your family on Thanksgiving.
1) One of the most common desserts you find on a Thanksgiving dinner table is apple pie. Here we have a delicious recipe for a quick, ten minute oatmeal.
Apple Pie Oatmeal
Ingredients
• 1 ½ cups nonfat milk
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 cups quick oats
• 2 medium Honeycrisp apples (or other firm, sweet-tart apples), peeled and chopped (to equal about 2½ – 3 cups)
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup dried cranberries or raisins
• ½ chopped pecans
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
1. Bring the milk and water to a boil in a large saucepan. (While your milk and water heat up, gather your other ingredients and have them ready, because the rest of the cooking goes very quickly.)
2. Once the liquids boil, reduce the heat to low. Add the oats, and then stir in all other ingredients. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes as you’re adding the ingredients, until oats are done and oatmeal is thickened to your liking. (If you’re not quick about adding the ingredients, you can turn the stove off as you add the final items so that your oatmeal doesn’t get too thick, or you can add just a little more milk to thin the consistency to your liking.)
2) A fall staple in the kitchen and restaurants is Pumpkin; yes Pumpkin everything! (Starbucks agrees). We have provided two recipes for a quick and easy pumpkin breakfast.
Spiced Pumpkin, Yogurt & Granola Parfait
Ingredients:
• ¾ cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 tsp agave
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup granola (your favorite kind)
• Additional agave nectar, if desired
Directions:
1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the pumpkin, agave, ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined.
2. In two small glasses or bowls, scoop some of the pumpkin mixture into the bottom.
3. Layer with the Greek yogurt, granola, agave nectar, and more of the pumpkin mixture.
4. Serve. Sweeten with additional agave nectar, if you wish.
Pumpkin Spice Smoothie
Ingredients:
• ½ cup (pumpkin puree, fresh or canned)
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup almond milk, (or any milk of your liking)
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, more or less to taste
• ¼ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• ½ cup ice
Directions:
Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
