From Kurt Vonnegut to Pink Floyd to Tiffany's, everyone loves breakfast, especially here in Santa Cruz. It's the first meal of the day, when we break our involuntary fast after sleep. You know that treating yourself and your loved ones to a nourishing breakfast is the best way to start your day. Yes, this does take some planning, but it's easy to do, and you are so worth it. Having a wholesome breakfast makes a difference in how you feel, and how you approach your day, even when you get up on the wrong side of the bed.

Energy Bars


These bars are loaded with nutrition. Oatmeal is a healthy complex carbohydrate that can help with memory. A 2005 study showed that children who had oatmeal for breakfast performed better on cognitive tests than children who ate sugary cereal. Walnuts and flaxseed provide essential fats and figs are a great source of calcium. Recipe makes about 10 bars. You can freeze these bars in waxed paper baggies to grab and go!
An added bonus: I calculated these bars cost about 50 cents per bar to make. Compare that to most packaged energy bars, and we are talking a major savings!


1 cup quick oats, toasted
1 cup walnuts
3 Tbsps. ground flax seeds, ground in coffee grinder
½ cup raisins
4 dried figs
¼ cup dried cranberries
3 Tbsps. cashew butter
pinch of salt

Toast oats in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until they smell nutty. Chop walnuts together with toasted oats until well ground. Add flaxseeds, raisins, figs and cranberries and pulse until mixture is well-blended. Add cashew butter and mix until combined (adding more if needed for mixture to stick together). Press mixture into an 8 x 11 cake pan, refrigerate 30 minutes and cut into 3-inch bars. Freeze in waxed paper bags.

Creamy Quinoa Cereal
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a whole grain that is a great source of protein and minerals like calcium and iron. This is an easy way to get complex carbohydrates and protein at the same meal, and it is delicious! Serves 4.

2 cups milk, soy milk or almond milk
1 cup yellow quinoa, rinsed
1 apple, cored and diced
¼ cup raisins
2 tsps. agave nectar, honey or maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup walnuts

Bring milk and a pinch of salt to a boil. Stir in quinoa and diced apples, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in raisins, sweetener and seasonings. Sprinkle with walnuts and top with extra milk if desired.

Breakfast Berry
Blast Smoothie
I love a good smoothie for breakfast, since it is easy to whip up and take it to go. This recipe will really make a champion out of you: Hemp Protein contains all essential amino acids and a well-balanced ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids. A serving of powdered greens adds powerful antioxidants, and your kids won't even know it is in there!

2 Tbsps. Hemp Protein
1 tsp. powdered greens
½ cup of frozen berries
1 ripe banana, peeled and frozen
1 cup milk, almond, or rice milk
Blend all ingredients in a blender and serve.

Eating within the first hour of waking may sound like a challenge to some, but it sure does kick-start your metabolism. By throwing a little kindling on the embers, a healthy breakfast fuels your fire and gets your metabolism up and running. Skipping breakfast robs your body from the nutrients it needs to function properly; missing this meal actually starves your body and can cause unneeded stress on vital organs.

More stress, you don't need it.

Reaching for whole grains, good fats and lean protein first thing in the day is the way to go.

Jenny Brewer is a Santa Cruz-based nutritionist and natural foods chef who believes you should "eat well, be well and enjoy every bite." Brewer is the mastermind behind the Web-based meal planning service www.nourishingnutrition.com. This is an online service specializing in healthy meal planning where subscribers get healthy recipes and corresponding shopping lists that save money and reduce preparation time.

"Planning a healthy meal is one of the most important things you can do for your health and well-being," Brewer says. "It can reduce your stress, save you time and money while you improve your health."

Brewer points out that it's not just what you eat but how you eat it. The luxury of an unrushed breakfast is very appealing to us all. Planning what you are going to have gives you the time to enjoy it. She also knows that those who lose weight and are able to maintain the weight loss eat breakfast every day.

Brewer recommends a few easy guidelines for making healthy choices. Complex carbohydrates are the best fuel for the morning. Whole grains are a good source of fiber and will provide sustained energy throughout the morning. They are also a good source of important minerals.

She knows that picking foods with refined carbohydrates like white flour and sugar will surely result in the mid-morning crash. Protein is another good choice for the first meal of the day. Choosing protein-rich foods like organic, free-range eggs, quinoa and low-fat yogurt provide your body with the amino acids it needs to boost brain power. Good fats are also another good choice; eat nuts like almonds and flax seeds.

Smoothies are a great way to start and set the tone for your day. They are easy to make and easy to go, and can be customized to your taste: bananas or berries, low-fat yogurt or soy milk. Brewer suggests using green powders. Try adding Green Vibrance or Berry Green to your favorite smoothie. These supplements add vitamins and minerals and are great ways to power up a smoothie.

If you have a hankering for a smoothie, but don't have the time or inclination to prepare one, try a smoothie from your favorite neighborhood market. Odwalla and Columbia Gorge smoothies are high in protein and ready to go. Keeping a few hardboiled eggs ready in the fridge is another good idea for a protein-rich breakfast to go. Choose local, organic, free-range eggs like the ones from Glaum Egg Ranch.

A breakfast parfait of yogurt, fruit and granola is very easy to prepare. Choose a plain, low-fat yogurt for your protein and organic strawberries rich in antioxidants layered with the whole grain goodness of locally made Grandma Dave's Granola. This is a breakfast of champions. And speaking of fruit, Brewer recommends a snack of fresh, organic whole fruit for a boost mid-morning. The water content and fiber in whole fresh fruit will give you sustained energy.

Take the time, plan your breakfast. You owe it to yourself and those you love to have the best day ever. Remember, eating breakfast will help you keep the weight off that you worked so hard to lose. And check out more good ideas for easy, healthy eating from Brewer at www.nourishingnutrition.com.

Nancy Weimer is the food service director for New Leaf Community Markets. Contact her at svreeken@santacruzsentinel.com.