We here at VeggieVision TV just love Marlene and her amazing recipes – enjoy this clip that contains 4 super vegan breakfasts recipes and for more about Marlene click here: www.marlenewatsontara.com

Would you like to join me for Breakfast?

It is indisputable; breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
Breakfast makes the biggest impact on your health, it is true medicine.  Breaking the ‘fast’ after sleeping we need energy to get going.  Blood sugar can be low from fasting during the night.
Wholegrains are the top of my list for breakfast releasing energy slowly and keeping you on your toes all morning because they are burned most efficiently as a fuel source.
Miso soup is a great vehicle to nourish the spleen which governs digestion.  Beans are the most alkalizing form of protein and as you know miso is made from soya beans. Green Juice is a part of our morning ‘ritual’ delivering incredible health benefits or for the more adventurous of you some steamed greens.
Avoid high calorie low nutrient breakfasts such as cereals which can be high in added sugars, flavourings and colourings which will leave you feeling lethargic, read the labels to make sure you purchase cereal with only natural ingredients and no artificial additives or preservatives.
If you would like to join me for breakfast then choose from my recipes below.  Enjoy:
Steamed or Toasted Sourdough Bread
Delicious with sugar free spread, peanut butter or tahini.
Bancha Twig Tea (Kukicha) , Green Tea or Grain Coffee
Breakfast Granola
This is a great way to support yourself by eating a breakfast cereal which contains slow energy release foods to sustain you through your busy day.
I am sure many of you will be familiar with Glycaemic Load (GL) which is a simple explanation of the direct measure and the effect that food has on your blood sugar level.
In terms of commercial cereals that use raw cane sugar, glucose syrup, honey etc., to sweeten the cereal these products normally have a high GL.  Anything less than 10g is regarded as having a very small effect on your blood sugar level.  Making your own breakfast granola with natural rice syrup is your healthiest choice.  Your kids will love being involved.
6 cups Jumbo Oats
¼ cup organic vegetable oil
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup mixed seeds
1 cup flaked almonds
1 cup Desiccated coconut
1 cup organic apple juice
½ cup Rice Syrup
Depending on the amount of Granola you are making will of course determine the quantities of the ingredients you will use.  The above is a guideline.   Place the oats, nuts, seeds flaked almonds and coconut in a large bowl and mix together.  In a small bowl whisk the apple juice, organic vegetable oil and rice syrup and pour over the dry mixture stirring thoroughly.
Heat the oven to 180oC360F.  Add the mixture to a baking sheet and bake for around 20 minutes until golden brown and crisp.  Every 5 minutes, stir the mixture and turn it over to allow even browning of the oats.  I find it easier to us a fish slice to do this.
Serve topped with fresh berries in season and pour over cold rice, oat or almond milk. Delicious!
Brown Rice Porridge
Make a batch of rice to use for a few days, (stores well in the fridge for 5 days in a glass container). You can use this rice for your morning porridge.   Warm the required amount in a pan on the stove by adding some water, rice or almond milk and simmer for 5 until creamy.
For a sweet taste, add some dried fruit, nuts seeds, ground flax seed, linseed, hemp or chia seeds,
If you prefer a salty taste, add a small drop of Shoyu or tamari (naturally fermented soy sauces), some ground seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, gomashio or sunflower seeds

Green Juice – Marlene’s Garden in a Glass!
Drink Your Greens – Your Daily Vitamin & Mineral Cocktail
In the morning make yourself a ‘green juice’.  Green juices, made from a variety of green vegetables have a rejuvenating effect on the body because they are rich in chlorophyll (the life blood of the plant), which helps to purify the blood, build red blood cells, detoxify the body and provide fast energy.
It is the highest form of energy you can intake. The sun gives its light to plants that make chlorophyll. This makes the oxygen we breathe. Plants live on sunlight. So if we eat plants we are eating sunlight once removed. That’s like eating energy straight from the source. For many people it is hard to eat lots and lots of greens, but you can juice and take in quite a bit. It is by far the most intoxicating liquid you’ll ever encounter.
Green Juice increases your cellular health, rejuvenating every atom in your body, cleans out toxins, and makes you feel so vital and clean. Green juice is the perfect fuel for your body.  Its high water content means it is easily assimilated and it contains the whole vegetable except for the fibre, which is the indigestible part of the plant.
Green juice therefore provides all the healthful ingredients in a form that is easy to digest because the micronutrients are broken down it is easy to absorb and is wonderful for people with digestive issues.  Here is just one option, feel free to experiment with your own ideas –
1 carrot
1 cucumber
4 celery stalks
1 fennel stalk
Some green leaves (kale, chard, spring greens etc.)
A tiny piece of root ginger
A parsley sprig or two
A handful of alfalfa sprouts (optional)
Put all the ingredients through a juicer and add the alfalfa sprouts before drinking.
You could also add one teaspoon of a super food green powder.  I use barley grass. (Green zymes)
 
Marlene’s Breakfast Miso
Follow the instructions below and add two or three finely chopped spring onions if you desire.  Store the stock in a glass jar in the refrigerator.  In the morning take the desired amount (one cup per person) of stock and warm in a pan.  Place a teaspoon of miso in your cup and pour in the warmed dashi and stir.
Dashi stock – Dashi stock is an essential ingredient in macrobiotic dishes and Japanese cuisine.  It’s an earthy flavoured stock made from Kombu soaking water. It’s a great base for soups, stews, sauces, noodle broths and dips.  Usually dashi is seasoned to taste with a generous serving of Shoyu. Often Mirin is also added, plus a little juice squeezed from a piece of grated ginger root. This simple soup stock can be stored in the fridge and used for several days. With additional vegetables it can be used as a clear broth served hot or cold.
To prepare a basic dashi, soak two 5 inch pieces of Kombu and two dried shitake or maitake mushrooms in about 8 cups of water for at least 15 minutes.
(Visit my you-tube channel and make this with me)
Remove the mushroom, and thinly slice the caps.  Discard the root, as it can be bitter tasting.  Return them to the water, bring it to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the Kombu and keep it to use for cooking as a condiment or with beans.  This stock gives all your soups a delicious taste.
If time is of the essence I use Clearspring Miso Bouillon which is a wonderful tasting concentrated stock that only needs water added to it..
Steamed Greens
Greens, rich in chlorophyll and minerals like calcium, strengthen the bones, help the blood to absorb oxygen, and bring energy upward in the body, leaving you feeling light and refreshed. Because greens have absorbed so much light, they are like “eating sunshine.”
1 bunch fresh greens or kale
Water for boiling
Wash the greens carefully and separate the green leaf from the tough stem by slicing carefully along each side of the stem. Slice the greens into 1-inch strips. Bring water to a boil and steam the greens in a steamer on top or place them in a steaming basket within the pot. Cover and let steam for 2-3 minutes.   Dress with some gomashio.
For more recipe ideas visit my website www.marlenewatsontara.com