Is your breakfast helping you to be your fullest, highest self?

Hello beautiful,

“They” say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But it’s more than just eating something, it’s about finding the right things to eat to help you start your day out right. Sure, your bacon, sausage, eggs and toast may be delicious, but is your breakfast actually helping you start the day rejuvenated, refreshed, and fully ready to take on the WONDERFUL day ahead of you?

I’ve always been a big fan of breakfast, but over the past few years, I’ve become a vegetarian and a much more happier, healthier version of my old self, so what I eat for my first meal has changed dramatically. I used to wake up, turn on the coffee pot, and fry up some bacon, eggs, potatoes, and toast. Sure, it was delicious. But was it setting me up for a productive, active, refreshing morning and day? Not at all.

Over the past year, I’ve experimented with eating different things in the mornings. I’ve eaten veg-o + egg breakfasts, just fruit, fruit and oats with coconut milk, bagels, and loads of avocado toast. What I’ve realized though, is that when I start my day eating heavy cooked foods or carbs, I end up feeling very tired and drained soon after eating. I love bread. Love it. When I’m home in America, it’s so hard to stay away from eating a cream cheese and avocado bagel on a daily basis. But with the knowledge that it is not serving me well, and not allowing me to start the day with my fullest potential has definitely helped diminish my cravings.

I’ve also found that when I just eat fruit in the morning, it is not enough to fully satiate me and leaves me feeling hungry soon after. So what could I eat to fill me up, satisfy my taste buds, and help me feel refreshed, energized, and nourshed?...

This inquiry into my breakfast foods has led me to find my happy breakfast place. The smoothie bowl.

I've recently really gotten into eating, and creating, smoothie bowls. Lately, it's been my favorite form of artwork, taking a few minutes to lovingly decorate my delicious smoothies with healthy, nourishing nuts and seeds and fruits.

It’s really the perfect combination -- of healthy, delicious fruit, filling and nourishing oats, seeds, and nuts, and artwork! The fruit smoothie base can be jam packed with loads of fruits (much more than I would be able to eat by simply cutting and eating them raw), and the combinations are utterly endless. Then, the toppings create an entire separate realm of awesomeness. Creating art with fresh fruit, tons of different nuts and seeds that keep me feeling filled and happy long into lunch time. Plus I’ve heard it’s really good to actually chew something in the mornings, to activate enzymes that help with digestion, which is why adding the delectable toppings to your smoothies is not only delicious, but super benficial.

These days I’ve gotten off of coffee, (that journey is a whole blog post in itself), so my daily practice usually begins with a cup of warm tea or warm water with lemon, and a few moments of stillness and quiet for meditation and mindfulness. Afterwards, once I work up a bit of an appetite, I head to the kitchen to create my smoothie art.

🍉 🍏 🍓 🍌 🍍

There are so many fruits to choose from here in this tropical paradise of Thailand. So much deliciousness! Papayas and mangoes are my favorite. And dragonfruit. And watermelon. And custard apples, and lychee, and coconuts, and bananas and mangosteens, and durian! I could go on, but I digress…

_{Abundance of fresh fruit in a local Thai market
Photo credit: https://pattayadaze.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/fruit-market/}

Today’s smoothie bowl is filled with a base of frozen bananas, dragonfruit, dates (the best addition to smoothies for sweetness), watermelon, coconut water, and coconut milk, and cacao :) :) It's topped with fresh watermelon, granola, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Yum Yum Yum.
_{(P.S. FROZEN fruit is the KEY to thick, creamy, ice cream-like smoothies (skip the ice and water, use frozen fruit and cold coconut milk instead)}

I know everyone is different. Smoothies bowls may not be the perfect answer for everyone. But I believe that we all need to experiment with our own bodies and digestive system and way of life to find the perfect foods that serve us well.
So let this post serve as a simple reminder to take a look at what you’re eating for breakfast each day.

How does it affect you? Is it more than just delicious? Is it really helping you start the day on your best foot, and allowing you to work from a place of your highest good and potential???

Whatever you’re eating, make sure to send your love and appreciation into it before you eat it! I love to send a little prayer and Reiki energy into everything I eat before it enters my body. Not only does this send Chi (Qi) into the food, helping to nourish and purify the food, but it also puts ME into a state of deep gratitude, which makes everything taste more delicious 😊 ✨ Give thanks for all the food that comes across your place. The more grateful you are for it, the more delicious and nourishing it will be :)

_{Photo Credit: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/Have-you-heard-of-Reiki-treated-foods/articleshow/50352460.cms}

Until next time, I love you, and Happy Eating!!
🌈 Rachel

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#healthyliving #food #health #foodisfuel #healthyhappy #breakfastofchampions #art #foodart #vegetarian #highestself