Healthy Breakfast Smoothie

Welcome back!
In my first post, I mentioned that one of my goals for this project was eat a healthier, more balanced diet, that would help support me in my fitness/wellness journey. In the third part of Ballerina Body by Misty Copeland, Copeland gives both nutritional advice and a handful of healthy recipes. I have always grown up in a very healthy household, where my parents rarely buy any junk food. I've also been vegetarian my entire life. However, my eating habits are not always the best.

This is especially true when is comes to breakfast. I personally hate eating breakfast, eating early in the morning usually makes me feel nauseous. Usually on school mornings, I skip breakfast and end up eating later in my classes.

This bad habit leads to lack of energy that I desperately need early in the morning. I also end up constantly snacking because I'm not full or satisfied. I need a boost of energy that can help me get through a long day of school and 4-5 hours of dance that night.

Misty Copeland dedicates a few chapters of her book to explaining different food groups/types, and how they will be beneficial to your journey. I focused on chapter 8, Eating for Energy. Reading this chapter and Misty's tips will help me find healthy recipes that will give me energy and keep me satisfied between meals, but aren't too heavy.

Copeland stresses the importance vegetables, and how they will provide you with the nutrients and vitamins needed to support a healthy lifestyle. "Besides helping to control weight and being loaded with fiber, vegetables are also full of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, from cancer-fighting lycopene in tomatoes to the alphabet soup of vitamins- A,C,K- offered by various greens" (Copeland 115). She also talks about the importance of fruits keeping you full for a long period of time. "Fruits are a potpourri of vitamins, phytochemicals, and fiber that leave your feeling full as well as enhance your health" (Copeland 116).

I chose the recipe called "The Ballerina Smoothie" to make for my breakfast. She recommends this as apart of her provided meal plans (Copeland 203). I love making smoothies in the morning because they are easy, as well as filling. I also love the taste and energy boost from the different fruits and vegetables.

Ballerina Smoothie:
- 1/2 cup of berries (any type)
- 1 handful of baby spinach
- 1 cup of nondairy milk (almond, soy, or coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons of agave syrup or honey (optional)
(Copeland 203).

I chose to use soy milk because I had it on hand. I also chose to use agave syrup because I'm not a fan of honey.

Before and after blending

I made this smoothie for breakfast, and it kept me full and away from snacks until lunchtime. It also had a great sweet taste. I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone else who may not enjoy a heavy breakfast, or just loves a good smoothie.

What is your go-to breakfast food? Or, what is your favorite kind of smoothie?

Copeland, Misty, et al. Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Lighter, Stronger, and More Graceful You. Sphere, 2017.

The Frugal Gourmet: Cheese and Tomato Omelet

I've always loved seeing people cook; any given Saturday morning my mom is usually chopping onions with ease and turning a few simple ingredients into a masterpiece. Food is a personal thing. Recipes reflect a person's taste. I, myself, am not very talented in the kitchen. Baking is more my forte; but this time, I decided to step out of my comfort zone.

I decided to turn to Jeff Smith's book, The Frugal Gourmet, to help me become better at cooking for myself. Today, I attempted Smith's cheese and tomato omelet.

For breakfast, I tend to turn to cereal. This time I decided to put a spin on eggs, something that I could eat as an alternative for breakfast. Jeff Smith offers his own method to make a basic omelet, and mentions, "Never use milk in the egg mixture. Use only water. Milk makes your omelet watery since it will not blend with the eggs. Water blends and keeps the omelet high" (Smith 106). This technique was foreign to me; I'm accustomed to seeing omelets made with milk. When I did add the water into the mixture, it was more thick than I'm accustomed to seeing. It kept the eggs smoothly together rather than separating apart.

Whipping the eggs

Heating up the pan

I then heated up the pan with oil and butter. Cooking the eggs wasn't challenging, but getting the uncooked egg to drip down the sides and cook was hard. Instead, I flipped the omelet over.  It was fluffy and rose as mentioned, the kind of omelet you usually want. I think the fluffiness is on account of Smith's technique, which mentions to skip mixing salt into the omelet mixture and instead adding salt when the egg is cooked to prevent hard eggs (Smith 106).  When I have made eggs in the past, I made this accident.  They turned out to be rubbery if not eaten freshly cooked. Eggs should be fluffy!

Overall, the recipe consisted of making a basic omelet and adding the cottage cheese, sauce, and then Parmesan. This recipe isn't for a grab'n'go breakfast. It's for days when you have a little extra time. I did like the combination of familiar flavors; cheese and tomato are versatile ingredients that you can whip up into any meal. Overall, this recipe is a nice shake up if you want to try something new for breakfast! It reminds me a lot of spaghetti because of the sauce inside, but it also is creamy because of the cottage cheese and Parmesan.

Finished product-some sauce spilled over

Which dish for breakfast have you made that requires a little bit more prep time? Is a meal for breakfast you would never attempt to make?


















Smith, Jeff. “The Classic Omelet.” The Frugal Gourmet, Ballantine Books, 1984, pp. 105–108.