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Lean dishes should not be boring, monotonous or tasteless, especially for breakfast. Everyone knows that carbohydrate food gives a lot of energy and strength, so many athletes eat carbohydrate food at the beginning of the day and often include bread in breakfast. Protein products overload the gastrointestinal tract, there is no such lightness and cheerfulness after them. Fasting is a great time to relieve the body and review your eating habits. We offer you seven options of lean breakfasts for each day of the week!
Not only on Shrovetide
Maslenitsa is over, but this does not mean that you should forget about pancakes before Easter, because you can cook this dish without animal products. It was according to this recipe that pancakes were baked in ancient Egypt. More precisely, these dough products were only superficially similar to pancakes, they had a slightly different taste. But in Russia at the beginning of the XI century, the so — called mlins appeared-round cakes, the dough for which had to be kneaded for a long time, hence the name. However, there is one more interesting version of the origin of pancakes. Once the hostess was cooking oatmeal jelly and forgot about it, and it stuck to the bottom of the pan and turned into a pancake — soft, ruddy and delicious. Since then, this dish has been improved and its lean versions have appeared. For example, the dough for pancakes can be kneaded without an egg, instead of milk, mineral water is used, thanks to which the dough turns out light, tender and airy, and the finished pancakes are covered with tiny and appetizing holes. How to cook lean pancakes?
For pancakes, you will need:
- 400-500 ml of mineral water
- 230 g of flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- salt to taste
- vegetable oil
Mix half the volume of mineral water with sugar and salt and mix well. If you cook pancakes with salty filling, you can take less sugar. Gradually pour the sifted flour into the water, beating the dough with a mixer or whisk.
Now pour in the remaining mineral water, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and mix well again.
Grease a frying pan with vegetable oil and fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown. They can be served separately or with a lean filling — with mushrooms, potatoes, stewed cabbage and other vegetables, as well as with jam, honey, berries and fruits. Such pancakes are prepared simply and quickly, do not settle centimeters on the waist and are easily digested, mineral water replaces yeast in them, but it does not contain calories.
Lean pancakes will quite take root in your morning diet, especially since their preparation will take a minimum of time, which in the morning is usually worth its weight in gold.
Smoothies for breakfast
A smoothie is a thick drink made from vegetables, fruits and other ingredients that can be eaten with a spoon. If you add a banana to a smoothie, it immediately turns into a hearty dish on which you can hold out until lunch.
Banana is called a laughing fruit, because it contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is involved in the synthesis of serotonin — the hormone of joy and happiness. These fragrant and soft fruits are the best antidepressant! Let’s prepare a lean banana smoothie to start the day with a generous portion of positive emotions.
For a banana smoothie, you need:
- 1 banana
- a handful of almond kernels
- 1 tbsp oat flakes
- 200-250 ml of nut, coconut or soy milk
Nut milk can be prepared independently by soaking any nuts, sunflower or sesame seeds for 6 hours. After that, drain the water, wash the nuts or seeds, mix them with water in a ratio of 1:3 and grind them in a powerful blender to a liquid state. Strain the milk and use it in the preparation of desserts, lean smoothies and cereals.
Peel the banana and throw it into the bowl of a blender along with the almonds and hercules, then pour in the nut milk. Whisk the smoothie until it gets a homogeneous consistency, pour it into glasses, garnish with mint leaves and enjoy the freshness of the morning.
Banana smoothie can be prepared with any berries and fruits to your taste!
Peas in a royal way
No one lean menu can do without peas, which are much more useful than cereals, because they contain easily digestible protein, carbohydrates and amino acids that are valuable for the body. Pea dishes in the post are an important product for health. Peas are useful for the thyroid gland and normalization of blood pressure, it increases hemoglobin and relieves headaches, but most importantly-it gives a pleasant satiety, replaces meat and bread, completely eliminating the desire to overeat. In ancient Greece, peas were used for livestock feed and served on the table in poor families, and in the XVI century, the King of France himself was fed with peas fried in lard!
What is the recipe for a dish of peas in the post to choose? Let’s try to cook a lean dish of peas and greens — delicious sausages. To do this, we need the following products:
- 200 g of dried peas
- 1 onion
- 1 bunch of parsley
- salt, pepper — to taste
- breadcrumbs — 2-3 tbsp. l.
- vegetable oil for frying
Soak the peas for 6 hours, drain, rinse in a colander and mix with chopped onions. Whisk the mass in a blender until smooth, mix with finely chopped herbs, salt and ground black pepper. From the resulting “dough”, make sausages, it will not be difficult for you, because it turns out to be plastic and does not stick to your hands. Roll the meatballs in breadcrumbs, fry them in vegetable oil until golden brown and serve with lean mayonnaise and herbs. A hearty breakfast is ready! Now you know what to cook from peas in the post, and you can include this dish in the menu.
Oatmeal, sir!
It’s hard to believe it, but in ancient times, animals were fed oats and there was no question of using it in human nutrition. In the XIII century, this cereal was added to chowder, in the XVI century, they began to cook oatmeal porridge on water, and in the XIX century, milk and sugar were already added to it. It turned out to be an appetizing dish, which we still enjoy, complementing it with a variety of fruits, berries, nuts and spices. Let’s try to cook a delicious lean porridge without milk. You will be surprised, but its absence will not affect the taste at all.
Prepare the following ingredients:
- 80 g of hercules flakes
- 400 ml of water
- a handful of walnuts to taste
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 apple
- a pinch of cinnamon
- maple syrup to taste
Pour the hercules into the water and cook over medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring. At this time, chop the flaxseed and cut the apple into cubes or slices. 3 minutes before the porridge is ready, add flax seeds, apples, nuts and a pinch of cinnamon to the pan, and you will not need sugar. Put the oatmeal in bowls and pour over the fragrant maple syrup. Porridge can be decorated with apples, banana, figs, dates and any dried fruits, and served with freshly squeezed juice or smoothies. If you cook porridge with salt and seasonings, you can serve it with bread and vegetables. Some housewives fill boiled hercules with homemade mayonnaise. However, this already turns out to be a full-fledged lunch.
By the way, hercules is recommended for everyone who often falls into depression, mopes, suffers from insomnia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Have breakfast with oatmeal — and all these symptoms will disappear!
Green pate
Avocado in the post is irreplaceable — it is no coincidence that it is called a vegetable analogue of meat. The pulp of this delicious fruit contains a lot of protein, fat, vitamins, trace elements and antioxidants. If you have avocado in your diet, you can not worry about the condition of your skin, hair and nails. Interestingly, this fruit is called crocodile pear, midshipman oil and poor man’s cow. Avocado seeds have been found even in Egyptian tombs!
Avocado sandwiches are not only a hearty breakfast, but also a real storehouse of nutrients. You can spread slices of this delicious fruit on bread or prepare an appetizing pate that is easy to spread on a cracker, wrap in a pancake or lettuce leaves, fill tartlets or tubes with them. Write down the recipe for this snack and do not delay the tasting for a long time!
What you will need:
- 2 ripe avocados
- 50 g pine nuts
- 1 lemon
- 30 ml of olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic
- basil leaves-to taste
- 2 tomatoes
- salt, black pepper — to taste
Cut the avocado in half, scoop out the pulp with a spoon, and then grate the zest from half a lemon and squeeze out all the juice. Chop the nuts in a blender until smooth, and cut the tomatoes into rings.
Put the avocado, ground nuts, lemon zest, juice, vegetable oil, garlic, spices and herbs in a blender. Chop the ingredients into a homogeneous paste and spread on bread, and garnish with tomatoes and basil leaves on top. You can complement the composition of the sandwich with slices of bell pepper, cucumber or radish. If you are not cooking for a lean diet, add a little grated cheese and mayonnaise to the avocado.
Imagine, there are about 100 varieties of avocado, besides this fruit is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most nutritious on the planet!
For the sweet tooth
If you want sweet things in the post, apple pancakes save you! They may not be as healthy as banana smoothies, but they are very satisfying and light, especially if you fry them in a lightly greased frying pan. Apples are the most affordable and healthy fruits in our latitudes, as they contain pectin, valuable for the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and antioxidants that slow down the aging of the body. It is no coincidence that the Trojan War began because of the apple…
But let’s return to the lean pancakes, which can be prepared not only in lent. Take the following products:
- 10 g of raw yeast
- 200 ml of water
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 230 g of flour
- salt to taste
- 1 apple
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Stir the yeast in warm water, dissolve the sugar and salt in it, and then knead the dough, adding flour, vegetable oil and an apple grated on a coarse grater. Put the cup in warm water, cover with a napkin and leave for 15 minutes, so that the dough rises a little. Fry the pancakes in a hot frying pan, greased with oil, and serve with jam, jam or honey.
Clinton’s favorite dish
Lean dumplings with cherries will be a culinary shock for you. And although they are considered a Ukrainian national dish, dumplings came to Ukraine from Turkey. In the first place in popularity are dumplings with potatoes, in the second — dumplings with cottage cheese, and cherry and berry fillings are in third place. However, Bill Clinton, having visited Ukraine, fell in love with dumplings with cherries and declared them his favorite dish. For sure, the president of America prepared dumplings according to a different recipe — not from lean dough, but with eggs, and poured the finished dish with butter and sour cream. And we will prepare a vegan dish, because it’s Lent!
For the dough:
- 370 g of flour
- 200-250 ml of hot water
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt to taste
For the filling:
- 500 g of cherries
- 3 tbsp sugar
For submission:
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp sugar
Dissolve salt and sugar in hot water, and then pour the liquid into the sifted flour. Knead the elastic dough, cover it with a damp cloth and let it stand for 20 minutes.
Pour sugar over raw or defrosted pitted cherries. Form a tourniquet from the dough, cut into pieces and roll each of them into a small flat cake. Put a little filling in the middle of each “pancake” and stick the dumplings. Throw them into boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes. Put the dumplings in a colander, and before serving, sprinkle them with sugar, pour vegetable oil and cherry juice.
It’s so delicious! And it is not at all surprising that in Canada there has long been a monument to varenik with a height of about 8 meters and a weight of more than 2500 kg. Surely it was erected by grateful gourmets who could not live without dumplings!
Smoothies, sandwiches, cereals, pancakes, dumplings and pancakes are classic dishes for lean breakfasts. Do you have any other ideas? Share with us and experiment more, because the post often gets inspiration to cook something new, bright, interesting and delicious!
