By Jennifer Whitmire, MS, MEd, MH, CHES, NEP

One of the things I hear all the time is, “I just don’t know what to eat for breakfast.”

For years we started our day with cereal, toast, eggs, or a protein shake. In high school, I always had a Carnation Breakfast Bar. Does anyone remember those? Somewhere along the way, breakfast became complicated.

It doesn’t have to be confusing.

This Banana Bread Breakfast Bowl is one of my favorite examples. It tastes like warm banana bread, and it’s naturally rich in protein, fiber, healthy fats, and a wide variety of plant foods that feed both your body and your gut microbiota.

Even better, it doesn’t require protein powder or a long list of specialty ingredients. The ingredients in this recipe are staples I keep in my kitchen every week.

You can see the difference when you are using the grain. Oat groats are not the same old fashioned oats.

A Healthy Breakfast Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

People sometimes ask how I remember to include enough protein, healthy fats, fiber, and all the other nutrients we talk about. The truth is, I don’t think about all of those things every morning.

After years of eating this way, it’s just a habit.

My pantry is stocked with foods I know I need, so when I make breakfast, I naturally reach for whole oats (I actually keep these in the freezer), beans, berries, seeds, homemade yogurt, and maybe some flavoring from herbs and spices. The nutrition takes care of itself, because the ingredients are so nourishing.

That’s one of the beautiful things about eating whole foods. Once you learn a few simple building blocks, healthy meals become simple and easy.

Banana Bread Protein Breakfast Bowl

Ingredients for 2

• ½ cup oat groats, soaked overnight and drained (or ½ cup organic, gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats—avoid instant oats)
• 1 cup cooked cannellini beans, mashed or blended until smooth
• 1 small ripe banana, mashed
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1 cup water, plus more if needed for your preferred consistency
• 4 Tbsp hemp hearts
• 4 Tbsp chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves (optional)
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Toppings

• Homemade nut-and-seed yogurt
• Mixed berries
• 1 Tbsp chopped walnuts or pecans
• Sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions

Mash the banana in a saucepan over low heat until it softens and becomes fragrant.

Add the cannellini beans and mash them into the banana.

Stir in the oats, soy milk, and water. Simmer for 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and stir in the hemp hearts, flaxseed, chia seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and vanilla bean paste.Cover and let the oatmeal rest and the chia a flax soak up the liquid for about 10 minutes before serving.

Top with homemade yogurt, berries, walnuts or pecans, and one more sprinkle of cinnamon.

My Favorite Trick

The beans completely disappear into the oats, the banana caramelizes slightly, and the cinnamon and nutmeg bloom.

The finished bowl tastes much more like banana bread than oatmeal.

Why I Love This Breakfast

This recipe isn’t healthy because of one “superfood.”

It has so many nourishing ingredients from the oats that provide whole-grain carbohydrates and beta-glucan fiber. The cannellini beans add protein, resistant starch, minerals, and even more fiber while making the oatmeal incredibly creamy.

Hemp hearts, flax seeds, and chia seeds add protein along with healthy fats important minerals, and lignans. The berries add antioxidants and polyphenols. Even the cinnamon contributes beneficial plant compounds of its own.

Every ingredient has a purpose, but none of them has to do all the work alone.

Should You Be Worried About the Banana?

My answer is no.

A healthy meal is about the whole picture, not one ingredient.

Yes, bananas contain natural sugars, and bananas have a high glycemic load, but this one is paired with protein, fiber, and healthy fats from the beans, oats, hemp hearts, flaxseed, yogurt, and nuts. Together they help slow digestion and make this breakfast much more blood sugar friendly than eating a banana by itself or eating a muffin that tastes like banana bread.

If you’re worried about your blood sugar, leave it out or only use a small part. Or, choose a green banana which is better for blood sugar and gut health.

If bananas aren’t your favorite, don’t worry.

Pumpkin purée, mashed roasted sweet potato, unsweetened applesauce, butternut squash purée, or pear purée all work as well. Or, you can sweeten it with a monk fruit extract or real stevia.

Why I Don’t Reach for Protein Powder

People are surprised to learn that I hardly ever use protein powder. In fact, I haven’t even had any in my kitchen for months.

It’s not that protein powder is “bad.” It can be a helpful tool for athletes, people recovering from surgery, or anyone who struggles to eat enough, but for most of us, I believe food comes first.

Whole foods don’t just give us protein. They also provide fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and thousands of beneficial plant compounds that support our entire body.

It’s not difficult to meet your protein needs as long as you are eating a variety of foods and enough calories for your body.

One Bowl, Many Happy Microbes

One of my favorite things about this breakfast has to do with the trillions of microbes living inside us. Different microbes thrive on different types of fiber, and this bowl provides quite a buffet.

• The oats provide beta-glucans.
• The beans add resistant starch and fermentable fiber.
• The flaxseed and chia seeds provide soluble fiber.
• The banana supplies prebiotic fibers.
• The berries add polyphenols that many beneficial bacteria love.

When we eat a wide variety of plants, we’re feeding a wide variety of microbes.

That’s one of the reasons I tell people to eat the rainbow whenever possible.

Approximate Nutrition

One serving (½ of the recipe), before toppings, provides approximately:

• Calories: ~390
• Protein: ~21–23 g
• Total Carbohydrates: ~40–42 g
• Fiber: ~14–16 g
• Net Carbohydrates: ~26–28 g
• Healthy Fats: ~18–20 g

Top each serving with your homemade yogurt, mixed berries, and chopped walnuts or pecans to boost the protein, fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidant content even further.

Nutrition values are approximate and will vary depending on the brand of soy milk and the protein content of your homemade yogurt.

The Bigger Lesson

I don’t think healthy eating has to be complicated, and I certainly don’t think breakfast has to be.

Stock your kitchen with healthy ingredients, learn a few recipes you enjoy, and make meals using foods that naturally work well together.

Soon, you’ll stop worrying about protein, because it will become part of how you eat.

If one of those breakfasts tastes like banana bread, I’d call that a pretty great way to start the day.