So, I’ve been dabbling in plant strong cooking for awhile now. The HB unit and I switched entirely to Almond milk a few months back and every two meals I make is plant strong (since I only cook twice a week, this is a lot I promise). But Triathlon Training is back in full swing, I had a hellacious week last week, and I want to see more muscle on this frame of mine. So….
I decided last week I would try to go Plant Strong at all my meals Monday to Friday. After all the St. Pat’s celebrating I did, it got interesting.
In the weeks that I have been dabbling leading up to this, I found I struggled the most with breakfast. I tend to be a “throw it together in the 30 seconds ” kind of morning person. Typically that means I will grab a greek yogurt and banana and head out the door or on some occasions cereal or instant oatmeal. Well, the plant strong “method” I’ve decided to model is the Engine 2 Diet, which really doesn’t allow for any of these things, except maybe the cereal. But I’m pretty sure if I check the label – Honey Nut and Regular Cheerios have too much sugar per serving to qualify.
So I went on the hunt for a muffin, casserole, or other something that I could make ahead and just throw in my lunchbox for the day. This was a tough task for me. In addition to following the E2 diet for the week (baby steps people, baby steps) I also don’t want to be consuming TVP, tofu, Seitan, etc. frist because if I don’t like it and I don’t want to have wasted the cash and two because in my irrational, uneducated brain these sound like modified not whole foods to me.
Anyway, back on point, searching for ‘walk out the door’ breakfast. The HB and I were in Welli for the weekend visiting the parents as my dad’s Birthday is on St. Pat’s. When we got home I realized while there was plenty in the fridge, there wasn’t enough for me to heat one thing for the two of us. So, I saw the 3 bean chilli, realized I had no cornbread left, and grabbed the polenta. It gave us a yummy base to eat the chili with. It also meant I had a bunch left over for…you guessed it breakfast!
Now before you judge, read on. Monday, I did bring my Polenta, with blackberries. I warmed it in the microwave and added boiling water to make it grits consistency. But I’ll admit it wasn’t very good. It didn’t have the sweetness I needed to scarf it down. That brings us to Tuesday, when I added sweetened almond milk, maple syrup, blackberries, cinnamon, and heated it in the microwave to grits consistency. YUM!
I would have inserted a lovely photo of my creation here. But I ate it too fast!
If your going to try this, I would recommend making the polenta with almond milk or your favorite nondairy milk and spices/flavorings instead of water. This might mean you can’t use it for multiple purposes but it will be a better tasting breakfast. And if you’re going to make a large amount for multiple portions – you’ll have to get it steaming hot in the microwave before it will get back to ‘grits’ consistency. I made extra Sunday night and portioned out my breakfast servings at the same time I portioned out dinner servings. This meant the polenta ‘gelled’ in the container I would use for breakfast and also gave me a grab and go option in the morning.
I don’t know that this will become a go to breakfast for me but at least it helped my reach my goals during breakfast…the rest of my meals last week…that’s a story for another post.
Tri Baby, Tri 