Simple & Healthy Breakfast Recipes Inspired By Rosemary Ferguson

Rosemary Ferguson shared her personal food philosophy with the REV community in our latest podcast episode and offered great insight into how to live your best life by giving close attention to how and what you eat, consuming the most nutritious diet possible so you are giving yourself the optimal setup for looking after your mental and physical wellbeing and fundamentally allowing yourself to take care of both your mind and your gut.

As a super keen supporter of local farmers, she promotes a mantra of always giving priority to locally grown, in season and environmentally friendly produce, opting (where possible) to buy for example your locally grown apples rather than imported fruits or going for vegetables, which aren’t wrapped in plastic. 

One of Rosemary’s key highlights for each of us is to take the time to set our dining space, whether that be your dining table or kitchen bar, and simply sit down and cherish your meal, its ingredients and its varied flavours uninterruptedly and without any distraction.  Rosemary refers to this cornerstone of her food philosophy  <mindful eating> and she promotes its positive psychological benefits as complementary to her advice on basing your day-to-day diet on natural organic produce. 

In the case of most of us, introducing this holistic approach in our lifestyle might not happen overnight. Acknowledging this reality, Rosemary emphasises the importance of starting small and slowly reshaping our approach on how we purchase and consume our food and how we integrate it into our daily routine, but she assured us that you will reap the benefits sooner rather than later and ultimately it will making you feel calmer, healthier and more balanced. 

Since there is no better time to start then the present, we have put together an example meal plan, inspired by Rosemary’s mindful eating and food philosophy, which is based on lots of seasonal veg, fruit, wholegrain and good fats (such as seeds, nuts or a good oil olive). 

1. Morning Green Juice

Ingredients:

2 Small cucumbers

3 Celery branches

2 Green apples

Juice of 1 lemon

2 to 3 Inches of root ginger

How to Make:

Take all ingredients (well washed) and chop up into small (1 or 2 cm) chunks and place into your juicer and whizz until smooth.  We like to make our juices fresh, so it’s perfect for immediate consumption when the juice holds all of its nutritious value; however it keeps well in the fridge for up to 48 hours. It is a fabulous energetic green way to start your day. 

2. Porridge Three Ways

Ingredients:

50g of 100% Wholegrain organic porridge oats (per person)

200ml Organic milk (cow, oat, almond or soya) or water (per person)

How to Make:

Place all the oats and liquid (either milk or water or an equal split mix of both) into a saucepan and heat over a medium heat.

Cook until the boil, then gently simmer for a further 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon – until you have a texture that is creamy and smooth. If you like your porridge more fluid add more milk or water now until you reach your preferred consistency.

Make your porridge more fabulous and super healthy by adding berries (fresh or frozen) nuts and seeds (chia, pumpkin or sunflower). If you feel indulgent or just in need of a sweet morning you can also add a spoonful of locally sourced honey or a dollop of jam like raspberry or cherry.

Frozen Berry Mix and Apple Porridge:

Take one apple (grate or chop into small chunks)and add it to the porridge, stir it all together and then add a generous handful of frozen local berries on top (like blackberry and raspberry) and make sure to thaw your berries overnight in the fridge. Here also you can add a drizzle of honey if you would like. 

Banana, Almond and Cinnamon Porridge:

Add to the porridge one whole sliced banana and a handful of chopped almonds and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Fresh Strawberries and Walnuts Porridge:

If you are able to pick up a punnet of the UK’s early strawberries, you are in luck since these are ideal for brekkie. Take a handful of strawberries (4 or 5), wash thoroughly and then quarter them onto porridge. Then add 4 to 5 quartered walnuts  for the finish touch. 

3. Toast With Garden Spinach

The Plant-Based Ingredients:

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

200g Organic spinach leaves, well washed and roughly chopped (you can also add kale or split half and half, however make sure to bleach the kale for 4 mins before you do)

2 Small cloves of garlic, crushed

¼ Tsp dried chilli flakes

2 Tbsp of well chopped parsley or coriander

Lemon juice 

2 Tsp of pumpkin seeds (or any seeds you prefer)

Optional Vegetarian Ingredients:

2 Large organic eggs

2 Slices of organic sourdough or rye bread

25g Organic feta cheese, crumbled

Extras such as sliced mushroom or bell pepper are delicious (if you have happened to have these in your fridge or veg box it can be a real treat and very welcome add on).

How to Make:

Take a large heavy frying pan and add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin oil and wash thoroughly the spinach leaves. 

Cook the spinach leaves in the Pan until the spinach leaves have wilted.

Add the remaining oil, garlic and chili.

Saute on a medium heat until the garlic is cooked to a pale gold and the whole mixture is piping hot and looks thoroughly cooked. Add herbs, plus a good squeeze of lemon juice and little seasoning (sea salt and black pepper). Your breakfast spinach mix should now be glossy and steaming. 

Toast 2 slices of organic rye bread; and once toasted heap on it the cooked spinach and sprinkle on top some pumpkin seeds and a dash of olive oil. Add sliced mushrooms or bell pepper if you wish. 

The Vegetarian Option:

Softly boil 2 eggs (for around 4 mins in boiling water) or poach the eggs (again 4 mins into egg poaching cups in boiling water).

Add onto the spinach sliced or crumbled  feta.

Place the eggs on top of spinach (beforehand so to allow the egg to sit evenly).

Serve immediately and start your brekkie. Take your time to enjoy the sumptuous flavors of each ingredient of your delicious morning feast!