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  • client results
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    • my calendar
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my Journal

Simple breakfast ideas

September 6, 2018 Heather Aardema

“What the heck do you eat for breakfast?” I’m asked fairly often.

Gone are the days of quickly pouring a bowl of cereal or grabbing a bagel on the go.

Seven years ago I made a conscious effort to change what I ate. I went from a diet full of processed foods to a whole foods style of eating. 

Why the change? My health had been deteriorating and my doctor wanted to slow the deterioration with Methotrexate. I did a little Google research and didn’t like what I read. I couldn’t get past lymphoma as a possible side effect. I knew I wanted to heal, and I realized I’d have to participate in my own rescue for that to happen.

So after much procrastination, I crossed my fingers and embraced the idea that food equals medicine. 

Changing my eating habits was not easy. My greatest fear was what to do for breakfast. I asked a few friends who had already converted to a whole foods regimen what they did for their first meal of the day. Their answers didn’t excite me. I heard about heated up canned pumpkin. Or dinner for breakfast. Who has time to do that? I was fixated on “grab and go.” When someone mentioned scrambled eggs and bacon I laughed. That was weekend restaurant fare to me. 

I wanted to drop out before I had even started my whole foods experiment. Thank goodness I didn’t. My health has greatly improved, and I’m stronger and leaner than I’ve been in decades.     

Curious about changing your diet? Don’t procrastinate like I did. Just do it. What was I scared of? Failing. Not having enough time and energy to succeed. 

So what have I learned over the last seven years?

  1. How we spend our time is a choice. I choose to prioritize a nutrient-dense breakfast over hitting the snooze button. Eating a whole foods breakfast will take slightly more work and effort than pouring and consuming a bowl of cereal. Yet the health payoff is huge—steady energy, laser focus and a full tummy for hours. It’s not extravagance or luxury. It’s self-preservation.

  2. Be mindful of your mindset. Before I started the experiment the idea of cooking overwhelmed me. The conversation in my head was ‘It may be possible, but it’s too difficult.’ After just three days of my new food plan, my mindset shifted to ‘It may be difficult, but it’s possible.’

  3. Processed foods encourage passivity. I was on autopilot for decades. ’Pour the cereal into the bowl’ doesn’t require much brain power, nor does it give you much brain power. Once I started eating whole foods I had more energy to focus on the things I cared about most.

  4. Attention and intention is a gift. With a little planning, you’ll experience a greater connection to what you’re eating and more moments of appreciation for the meal in front of you. There are 168 hours in a week—I “gift” myself and my family 30 minutes of those 168 hours to flip through cookbooks so that we are well nourished throughout the week.

  5. Cultivating a new skill takes practice. I was not born a natural cook. In fact, 7 years ago I was clueless in the kitchen. Boil water—how do you do that? So I had to roll up my sleeves and practice. We’ve eaten a lot of mistakes over the years, but with each mistake I’ve become closer to the cook that I am today.

Interested in knowing my go-to breakfast today? It’s not canned pumpkin. What I find delicious? Sautéed veggies, 2 soft-boiled eggs and an avocado. This is a breakfast that takes me 9 minutes to prepare and 6 minutes to enjoy. I’m sure I could devour it in 3 minutes but I’m working hard on slowing down and savoring my meals.

Want more breakfast ideas?

The following are all quick and easy as long as you do a little food prep ahead of time: 

Monday: 2 hard boiled eggs, an avocado and a large spoonful of raw sauerkraut

Tuesday: Beef jerky and a smoothie. Think a smoothie feels too complicated? A clever client gave me this hack. When you come home from the grocery store, split up your veggies into 5 portions. Place those portions in separate bags. Each morning, grab a veggie bag out of the fridge, toss in blender, add your choice of liquid (almond milk, coco milk or water), add one serving of fruit, and blend. 

Wednesday: Coconut chia pudding, trail mix and cucumber slices

Thursday: Sautéed boy choy and rainbow chard, 2 fried eggs and an avocado

Friday: a bowl of zucchini noodles, with a few spoonfuls of kimchi, an avocado and some diced ham

Difficult times cause us to grow the most. I took a big step out of my comfort zone, slowed way down and dove deep into my whole foods experiment. I haven’t had to go on Methotrexate and cooking no longer feels difficult, so I deem it a roaring success.

There are many places where renewal and truth can happen.

For me, it’s been in the kitchen.

 

In nutrition Tags breakfast ideas, simple breakfast ideas, whole foods, homemade, food experiment
← Chasing joy and finding minimalism | on No SidebarEasy back to school lunches →

Meet Heather

National Board Certified + Functional Medicine Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Life Enthusiast + Founder of Root of Wellbeing

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Heather


Daily snaps from Heather’s life

Be still my heart. They're giving each other homework assignments. On a Saturday. It's not supposed to be this easy.🤞
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#pinchme #bestfriends #loveyourselffirst #lovecanbesimple #livewithallmyheart #livewithmeaning #livedeliberately #relationshipsmatter #speakyourtruth #heartotheart #lovemonth #functionalove #functionalcertifiedhealthcoach #rootofhappiness #rootofwellbeing
End of the week food. Kitchen sink soup. Light in taste and lovely to look at. *
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#feedfeed #huffposttaste #buzzfeedfood #foodgawker #dairyfreeketo #autoimmunedisease #healinginprogress #workinprogress #weightloss #weightlossjourney #paleodiet #nightshadefree #whole30 #aipfriendly #whatsonmyplate #functionalmedicine #functionalmedicinecoach #functionalmedicinecoachingacademy #holisticcoach #intuitiveeating #mindbodygreen #mindbodyspirit #mindsetiseverything #mindsetcoach #getoutdoors #growhealthy #livefully #rootofwellbeing
I not only see YOU, but I can pull out the best in you. When I worked in Corporate, there were a lot of personalities who thought they were the best at what they did. Maybe they were. My strength was not that I was the best or better than anyone else, but that I could pull out the best ideas in each individual. I love that my Corporate skills translate so beautifully to my health coaching skills. I know I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing and that is such a GIFT! *⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#loveyourselffirst #lovecanbesimple #livewithallmyheart #livewithmeaning #livedeliberately #relationshipsmatter #speakyourtruth #heartotheart #lovemonth #functionalove #functionalcertifiedhealthcoach #rootofhappiness #growhealthy #livefully #rootofwellbeing
Two of us love OUT LOUD and the other two of us, well, we love not quite so loudly. I look at this and can't stop laughing. Randy and his mini-me and me with my mini-me, that's of course if you looking at mouth sizes and how loudly we love. And since we're eating at our favorite restaurant @JustBeKitchen with the best, most delicious, most nutritious food in town, our hearts are FULL. *
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#denverrestaurants #familytime #birthdaymeal #loveoutloud #dairyfreeketo #autoimmunedisease #healinginprogress #workinprogress #weightloss #weightlossjourney #paleodiet #nightshadefree #whole30 #aipfriendly #whatsonmyplate #functionalmedicine #functionalmedicinecoach #functionalmedicinecoachingacademy #holisticcoach #intuitiveeating #mindbodygreen #mindbodyspirit #mindsetiseverything #mindsetcoach #getoutdoors #growhealthy #livefully #rootofwellbeing
Out of red cabbage so today it's green. Lunch doesn't have to be complicated. At all. It also doesn't have to be processed. Kids will quickly latch on to real foods once the artificially processed foods disappear from your kitchen cupboards. You can do this!! 💪✌️☀️
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#feedfeed #huffposttaste #buzzfeedfood #foodgawker #dairyfreeketo #kidapproved #kidapprovedfood #autoimmunedisease #healinginprogress #workinprogress #weightloss #weightlossjourney #paleodiet #nightshadefree #whole30 #aipfriendly #whatsonmyplate #functionalmedicine #functionalmedicinecoach #functionalmedicinecoachingacademy #holisticcoach #intuitiveeating #mindbodygreen #mindbodyspirit #mindsetiseverything #mindsetcoach #getoutdoors #growhealthy #livefully #rootofwellbeing
Change does not come easy, it's hard work, but I know you have it inside of you. It's Monday. Now go get after it! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#coloradocoach #minimalist #simpleliving #dairyfreeketo #autoimmunedisease #healinginprogress #workinprogress #weightloss #weightlossjourney #paleodiet #nightshadefree #whole30 #aipfriendly #whatsonmyplate #functionalmedicine #functionalmedicinecoach #functionalmedicinecoachingacademy #holisticcoach #intuitiveeating #mindbodygreen #mindbodyspirit #mindsetiseverything #mindsetcoach #getoutdoors #growhealthy #livefully #rootofwellbeing
Making SPACE in my life for the things that matter most. I used to think that my happy place was sitting in the sand in front of an ocean. Who am I kidding it probably still is. But I also really like hiking in the front range and getting glimpses like this. As someone with multiple autoimmune conditions it's extra important to figure out my stress relievers. I've realized it doesn't take much to put a smile on my face. Maybe that's the minimalist in me. Getting into nature always does the trick. I mean, does it get any more beautiful than this??
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#minimalst #movementmatters #stretchingfeelsgood #functionalmovements #functionalwellbeing #moveyourbodyeveryday #parkfartheraway #greatoutdoors #loveyourselffirst #lovecanbesimple #livewithallmyheart #livewithmeaning #livedeliberately #relationshipsmatter #speakyourtruth #heartotheart #lovemonth #functionalove #functionalcertifiedhealthcoach #rootofhappiness #rootofwellbeing
Going grocery shopping this weekend and need to pick up food for your kids' lunches? My boys LOVE raw red cabbage. It's pretty, crunchy and kind of sweet. ❤️❤️ We also love our @lunchbots! I bought these almost 5 years ago and they’re still holding strong! *
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#kidapproved #lunchtime #quality #schoollunchideas #feedfeed #huffposttaste #buzzfeedfood #foodgawker #dairyfreeketo #autoimmunedisease #healinginprogress #workinprogress #weightloss #weightlossjourney #paleodiet #whole30 #aipfriendly #whatsonmyplate #functionalmedicine #functionalmedicinecoach #holisticcoach #intuitiveeating #mindbodygreen #mindbodyspirit #mindsetiseverything #mindsetcoach #getoutdoors #growhealthy #livefully #rootofwellbeing
My husband Randy grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. It's a beautiful, old-money city full of 1920s mansions next door to Detroit. I lived there for 7 years in between South America and Colorado and that’s where we met. From an early age he started working in those homes doing renovations. This experience was transformative for him. Amongst the great wealth he saw a lot of unhappiness and dis-ease. He realized that what mattered most to him was having a healthy body and time to enjoy it. This is a guiding star for him, his True North. Today Randy and I, along with our two growing boys, live in our 1300 square foot house. There are times when it feels teeny-tiny, but then I look around and I think what else do I truly need? And the answer is nothing. I have healthy kids, a healthy husband, and the more I experiment with principles of Functional Medicine, the healthier I get. We don't have kids addicted to screens (yet) and we PLAY together a LOT! We strive to show our kids that contentment comes from within and that it doesn't take much to fill one's heart. A lesson that I hope I never forget. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#aboutme #introductions #minimalist #minimalismliving #simpleliving #functionalmedicinecertifiedhealthcoach #enthusiast #ballofenergy #wellnessinspiration #autoimmunethriver #lifeenthusiast #adventurer #coloradonaturelove #wellnesswarrior #wellnessjourney #functionalmedicine #holisticcoaching #mindbodyspirithealth #entrepreneurmom #growhealthy #livefully #rootofwellbeing #grossepointe #grossepointepark
Meet my sweet Lulu. She's trying to be patient with my photo shoot of her but all she wants to do is go inside and shake off all the snow on my new rug. 🤪🤪 Lulu I love you so much and thank you for getting me out for a GLORIOUS brisk walk. Someone smart said, "there's no bad weather, only bad clothing." Whoever you are, I agree!!!
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#aboutme #introductions #puppy #furkids #coloreadocoach #colorado #mutt #functionalmedicinecertifiedhealthcoach #enthusiast #ballofenergy #wellnessinspiration #autoimmunethriver #lifeenthusiast #adventurer #coloradonaturelover #sunshineworshiper #snowlover #wellnesswarrior #wellnessjourney #functionalmedicine #holisticcoaching #mindbodyspirithealth #entrepreneurmom

Disclaimers:

The information on this website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your medical condition. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here.

       

Changing old patterns is hard. I coach every one of my clients through fear, overwhelm, and self-doubt to find lasting health. Your body is unique and different, therefore your results will be different. If you are looking for “get healthy quick” or “get healthy easy” and you don't plan on assessing your detrimental habits, look elsewhere. I can help you get a life and body you love if you’re committed to making it happen and are willing to show up. My clients work hard to achieve the extraordinary results they get. 

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