Cleaning up Lunch: Day 3 (Blueberries are charming, don’t you think?)

It’s Day 3 of my clean eating plan and we’re talking blueberries. I’m giving you two recipes today — one for clean eating and one treat that you can reward yourself with at the end of the week (or tonight…. I’m not judging).

First, blueberries. There are a few fruits that I am utterly charmed by. Blueberries, cherries and blackberries are at the top of my list. These berries remind me of everything that’s wonderful about spring; tarts and pies, white eyelet dresses, bare feet in grass. Divine.

As part of my clean eating plan, I bought a mega bushel of blueberries last week…more than the challenge called for. Not wanting to waste anything, this weekend I put the excess berries to use in one of my favorite breakfast breads.

May I introduce you to Blueberry Oatmeal Bread with Agave Nectar*. It is scrumptious and (as far as breakfast breads go) on the healthy side.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup blueberries
1 ½ cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
1/3 vegetable oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is warming up, mix together your dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add the yogurt, vegetable oil, vanilla and agave nectar. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, continuously mixing. Once the batter has been mixed, gently fold in your blueberries. Bake the bread for 45–50 minutes, testing the center with a toothpick. When your toothpick comes out clean, the bread is deliciously ready to eat.

[caption id=”attachment_99" align=”aligncenter” width=”300"]

I cut into this almost immediately and (because I made it at night) may have washed it down with a glass of wine.[/caption]

I LOVE this bread for so many reasons. The charming blueberries, the oatmeal, the sweetness that’s not overpowering. If you’d like, you can add chia seeds or wheat germ to it and up the protein ante. I hope you make this today and enjoy it tomorrow morning with your cup of coffee/tea.

Now, let’s shift gears a bit and talk about one of my favorite clean eating recipes. It’s actually a breakfast smoothie made up of kale, banana, dates and almond milk.

I love breakfast smoothies, especially during the week when you’re extra rushed in the mornings. My tip — I usually buy fruit on the weekend, separate them into baggies for each day and stick them in the freeze. In the morning, I can quickly whip them out, throw them in the food processor with a little almond milk and voilà!

It’s pretty self explanatory but here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 handful of Kale (I usually use about ½ a cup)
• 1 banana
• 2 Dates
• 1 cup of Almond Milk (Use your discretion. I like my smoothie to be a bit thicker, so I may use less than a cup)

[caption id=”attachment_96" align=”aligncenter” width=”300"]

Here’s my baggie- ready to go![/caption]

And here’s the finished product, which I credit Julia Frodahl’s blog for the image (I drank mine this morning before remembering to snap a picture).

Now, the reason why I am including this recipe in today’s clean eating post is because: 1. This was my lunch today and 2. Sometimes our day is so crazy, that we need a lunch we can eat with one hand so we can keep typing with the other. Rather than turn to a hamburger, I made this super quick smoothie and it was dynamic enough to get me through the afternoon slump.

What are some of your favorite breakfast smoothies?

*Thanks to the yummy blog The Lemon Bowl for the blueberry bread recipe inspiration.