Breakfast in bed is life.
I seriously look forward to this one thing.
Disclaimer: the products, creators, authors and books mentioned are sincere consumer opinions, from my point of view as a plant based enthusiast seeking to improve life... my way. None of them are paid advertisements.
Slow Saturday mornings, freshly brewed coffee (or iced coffee), one or two different things to nibble on, my old ratty wooden tray over my bed, me laying down browsing Youtube and/or Instagram. May it be rainy and grey or sun shining bright outside, it doesn´t matter. I am happy.
I do not have blackout curtains in my bedroom, I only have the thin veil-kind that provides enough privacy through my North-West facing window. This means that I get the sunrise directly over my bed. I do not have an alarm for the weekends. I just sleep in, until my body wakes up by itself.
Sometimes, however, my Zircadian rhythm commands a weekday-style waking hour on my beloved weekends, ie. 5-6am. Damn-it! Only recently I found a fix for that: I don’t fight it anymore… I wake up softly, go pee, drink some water, and dive right back in bed and place one of those tiny pillows over my eyes (the kind weighted with linen seeds and added rosemary leaves for soothing aroma). Usually this does the trick and I can fall back to sleep for a couple more hours.
This is how the morning sunlight comes through my bedroom window. Link to my post from 2016.
One extremely interesting book during my journey to where I am today, is “The promise of sleep” by Dr. William C. Dement. He is the guy who helped that other dude to coin the term REM back in the 60´s. In my opinion he is an authority when it comes to fact based sleep science and his book, albeit very long, it is understandable to read and gives you deep insight of why you should get your 8hrs beauty sleep every single day.
“Sleep debt” is one of the concepts that appears in my head daily. Any given night that you are under the 8hr mark, you accumulate debt, yes, like a bank. Any other night that you sleep a bit longer, you gain back your brownie points.
Saturday mornings are for getting my brownie points back and breakfast in bed. (Note: Sunday mornings, I take a Yin Yoga class, but that is for a separate post on itself).
Years ago I used to setup an alarm for the weekends, kick myself in the ass to put my trainers on (usually driven by self-body shaming), push for a minimum 4k run, shower, go grocery shopping, meal prep for the week, and go-go-go…
Not anymore. I listen to my body (and my soul). If it is Saturday at noon when I finally join the world, then so be it.
You can probably imagine how reluctant I have become to any sort of Saturday plans that imply being bushy-tailed by noon. Going shopping as soon as the stores open (9-10am) might give me allergies. I sign up for brunch only after 1030am. I go running only during the week (turned out to be a win-win, because it helps me sleep after a stressful workday and frees my Saturday up).
Look at that foam!
“Valencia latte” but vegan. Link to my post.
Coffee: I don’t have machines. I have a two-cup old French press by Bodum. Usually it is pre-ground coffee from Alnatura (they have one program that gives 40cents per each bag to a charity in Peru). If I happen to have gourmet fancy roasted whole beans, I do have a little coffee mill for those indulgencies.
Milk, plant based: OATLY barista. Bar none. I am constantly trying new brands, but so far nothing comes as close. I do not like almond milk with my coffee (gasp!). If Oatly is out of stock (which is happening more often nowadays) I will take any soy milk. Rice milk is not my cup of tea (too watery, bit chalky, with a slight bitter aftertaste). Other milks like hemp, cashew, macadamia, I will give them a try but are not my mainstream choice.
As a food engineer, to see the emulsified solids from oat to look, taste and feel like milk, it is mind blowing. I don’t care if it has too much oil (for the mouthfeel) or if it has too much sugar (for the aftertaste). It provides all the sensory experience you are looking for and no cow suffered for it.
The foam! Look at THE FOAM! I have one of those little milk frothers that I bought back in my days of cow-juice consumption and I honestly thought I would never find a use for it when I ditched dairy last year. Oatly, I love you.
Link to my Instagram post.
Nibble: I say nibble because I am rarely super hungry in the mornings. Usually I make two pieces of toast (or two sesame Wasa crackers, that I am absolutely addicted to).
Toppings on the nibbles: Always a rotation of hummus, some sauce, pickles, tapenade, smoked tofu (Netto discount has awesome smoked tofu!), and whatever fermentation experiment, omnipresent in my fridge.
It can get quite elaborate, for example: avocado toast topped with crumbled tofu-feta (Link to “Experiments” file for my fermented tofu post), chili flakes and a dash of Kala Namak. This so-called “black salt” that has a super high Sulphur content making anything egg-tasting. It is super effective, so be careful, a small pinch really goes a long way.
But it can get quite simple as well. I have made breakfasts out of repurposed stale chocolate chip cookies and used them as the base of an almond butter – banana slices treat. I have used leftover cake as impromptu trifle, with soy yogurt and fruit.
Yep, stale cookies, warmed up in the microwave with a shmear of nut butter and banana slices. Link to the post.
Grilled cheese and kimchi. You gotta try this combo! Link to my post.
My discovery of plant based cheeses has been complex. But for sakes of this breakfast rant I´ll keep it simple: adulting = grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast. Add a good helping on the side of my homemade kimchi. Beautiful. Don’t cringe! You will find this combination absolutely stellar. The tangy kimchi cuts very well through the gooey fattiness of plant based cheeses.
For grilled cheese sandwiches where the melt factor is paramount, then SimplyV classic would be my go-to… or Bedda cheddar type. I keep finding and discovering new brands, so there will be an upcoming post of this blossoming world, from the point of view of a food engineer.
Ultimate balcony garden breakfast in bed bruschetta. Link to my post.
The ultimate breakfast in bed experience is only to be had in summer time. In pajamas barefoot going out to the balcony garden, picking some fresh basil tops and vine ripened cherry tomatos. Chop´em up, add garlic, vinegar, olive oil, scallions, S&P, chili flakes and sorted! you have the bruschetta of your dreams. It does not get any fresher than this.
Top tip: if you have canned white beans and smush them with a fork, you have instant cheat hummus. Its creaminess contrasts very well with the tomatoes. Much like ricotta or mozzarella would. No cow needed.
In my experience, the enabler of plant based living, is a well stocked pantry. Cannellini beans have saved me so many times…
Breakfast in bed is life.
