If you follow my blog regularly, you’ll see that I have been using some shakes to shift a bit of weight, and so far it has been doing the trick. I have those shakes, made up with milk, for one of two meals a day, with a balanced meal for the other meal in the day (along with snacks). So I thought for this post I would share a little more about what I have on a ‘normal’ day.

Breakfast

Breakfast is literally my favourite meal of the day. If for some bizarre reason I was only ever able to have only one meal a day, it would be breakfast. Weekends are times when I can be a little more extravagant, but weekdays will tend to be along the lines of overnight oats, and a green juice or smoothie. I am always in such a rush when it comes to breakfast, but I don’t want to miss it, so things that are quick or can be made ahead of time, like the oats, is a winner with me.

If you’ve not had overnight oats, then where have you been? They sound a bit random, but when you get the combo right, they’re amazing.

The Basics

• Start with the oats, naturally. Good old fashioned rolled oats are the best ones that you’ll need to use. Around half a cup of oats into a Kilner jar will make a good portion size for one.
• Add your extras. If you want to make the oats a little bit thicker, then a spoonful or two of chia seeds can be a good idea to thicken it up (though it can be an acquired taste for some). You could use any other seeds as an extra nutritional boost, or my favourite, almond or peanut butter. The extras need to be about one quarter amount of the oats that you used, so around two tablespoons per 1/2 cup of oats is a good rule of thumb.
• Now for milk.The good thing about making overnight oats is you can just use what you like and what you have in your cupboards. Sometimes I will use yogurt, but usually I will add milk. There are many benefits to milk, and one of them is that a glass of milk can give us 41% of our recommended daily iodine, that contributes to the production of thyroid hormones and thyroid function. As someone with a hormone imbalance and thyroid issue, this is a big deal!
  • You need to use twice as much liquid as you have oats. So for 1/2 cup of oats, use one cup of milk. The oats will absorb it overnight, if it looks a bit ‘watery’ to start with.
• Stir in sweetness. Totally optional, but a little bit of something sweet, like maple syrup or honey, or even some spice like cinnamon, can give you a tasty twist for when you’re on the go in the morning. You only need a teaspoon, if anything. Then you leave it covered in the fridge overnight, and eat as is in the morning, or top with fruit, nuts, seeds, or things like cacao nibs.

Lunch

Some of my favourite lunches are things that are quick and easy, but ones that have plenty of protein in. Getting lots of protein is a great way to lose weight and focus your loss on your body fat, rather than your muscle mass. So having plenty of it alongside lots of vegetables is a good idea. I’m a veggie now, so my go-to protein is eggs. I think that it is best to go for organic when you can, and as I have a hormone imbalance. Hummus, tofu and beans are a great way to go too.

You could make bean burger patties and have them in lettuce wraps, or hummus on rye bread. Nut butters are great option too, so a pure nut butter on toast is a quick option. I love scrambled eggs on toast with some avocado. I am a fan of using milk with my eggs, though, as it makes them so much creamier. Plus, when you have milk in your everyday life, organic, of course, you can get 14% of your recommended daily protein, so added bonus (14% per 200ml glass of milk).

The Basics

All you need is 4 eggs, to serve two people, and a 1.4 cup of milk. Salt and pepper to taste, and then stir and fold in a pan over a medium heat 🙂

Smoothies

Smoothies are something else that feature really regularly in my day. If I’m not having one for breakfast, then chances are they’ll be an elevenses pick-me-up or they’ll be what I have for lunch or dinner on a busy day. One of my favourite recipes to use is this frozen fruit smoothie using milk and yogurt.

Not only does it taste good, but when we have the recipe’s amount of milk in our diet, we can get 23% of our recommended intake of vitamin B12, which is essential for iron in our bodies and helping us to not feel as tired. I’m anaemic (is there anything not wrong with me?!) so this is an added benefit for me.

Ingredients:

• frozen banana
• frozen berries, around 1 cup
• 1 cup organic milk
• 1/3 cup natural or coconut yoghurt
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp maple syrup, optional

Then just bend it all in and serve immediately. If you’re feeling wild, then you could add some spinach too, to get more nutritional bang for your buck.

Eating Organic

Eating organic food is something that I have been doing more and more of in recent months and years. For some things, buying local is a good way to go, but where I can, I will buy organic food. I haven’t eaten anything with a face since January, but prior to that, or when I’m cooking for my husband and children, I do shop for organic meat products. There can be a lot of junk and pesticides fed to animals, especially the ones that are raised to eat, and there is no need for us to be consuming them too.

Take the Arla milk I have been using for these meals. Choosing organic milk guarantees no artificial fertilisers or herbicides are used on the land, and the organic farmers adhere to higher additional animal welfare standards and sustainable farming practices. Which as a vegetarian, is a big deal to me.

Arla are very proud of their organic milk should be available to everyone and their farmers take great pride in the product they produce. My family and I have enjoyed using it over the last few weeks and are defiantly organic fans. It is available as whole milk or semi-skimmed in 2l bottles, and can be found in several large supermarkets (we found ours in Asda).

How do you use milk in your day? Do you shop organic? It would be great to hear what you think.

*collaborative post – all opinions are my own.