Five healthy alternatives to popular breakfast dishes

Looking for something to swap out for your usual breakfast choices? Here’s a quick guide to get you started.

After 2 years of chaos, Covid-19 has not completely disappeared, with experts asserting that new waves of infection will reoccur on an annual basis.

This seems like the perfect time to improve your physical and mental health, and what better way to do so than through eating healthier breakfasts? Here’s a few tips to improve your wellbeing through foods.

Replace your favourite cereal with a fruit and nut breakfast bowl

For fans of Lucky Charms, this fruit and nut breakfast bowl is the perfect healthy substitute. The public health campaign organization Action on Sugar found that 14 out of 50 cereals in the UK tested contained at least 33.3g of sugar (approximately eight teaspoons) per 100g.

In contrast, this breakfast bowl only contains natural sugars found in fruit.

The base layer of this dish is 6 tbsp. of cheap, healthy porridge oats. Top up the porridge with 0% Greek-style yoghurt, pieces of your favourite fresh fruit and finally an assortment of seeds, nuts and dried fruits such as dried goji berries. Per serving, this dish should have about 18g of sugar and only 11g of fat whilst being high in fibre.

Swap a stack of syrupy pancakes with vegan strawberry pancakes

Everyone loves a stack of fluffy, sugary pancakes smothered in syrup but unsurprisingly, this dish is high in sugar, carbs, calories and even sodium, all of which can lead to health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and obesity.

Instead, try this low-fat vegan alternative. For the pancake batter, mix flour with the baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Then whisk together soya milk, 2 tbsp of soya yogurt and vanilla extract and before pouring it into dry ingredients and mixing them together to make a thick batter.

Next, spoon in dollops of 1½ tbsp batter into a heated pan covered in olive oil to make an assortment of smaller pancakes. Cook over a low heat for 1-2 mins until set, and bubbles appear on the surface, then turn the pancakes using a palette knife. Cook for another 1-2 mins until golden and cooked through. Top the pancakes with fresh strawberries, leftover yogurt, nuts, and seeds.

Sub in your yoghurt for slow cooker bio yoghurt

Whilst yoghurt can be a good source of protein, probiotics and calcium, some brands of yoghurts contain high levels of sugar,  as much as 21 grams per serving, which is more than 40% of the daily value of added sugars for a 2,000 calorie diet. Of course, consuming high levels of sugar can lead to a decline in health, including a decline in dental hygiene, increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Try this low-sugar alternative to improve your health. You need just two ingredients – milk and live yogurt – to make this bio yogurt. Pour 2l milk into a slow cooker. Cover and heat on High until the temperature of the milk reaches 82C. Turn off the slow cooker and allow the temperature to drop to 43C for a further 2-3 hours.

Take a mugful of the warm milk and mix it with 100ml of live yogurt before pouring the mixture back into the slow cooker and stirring really well. Cover, wrap the slow cooker in a big towel and then leave for 9-12 hours until the mixture has set.