FUEL UP FRIDAY | Nordic Breakfast
My favorite! This has been my go-to staple for years. When I first started teaching in 2013, I'd burn through breakfast so quickly that my stomach would growl about halfway through class and I'd have trouble concentrating and cuing properly. NOT ideal as an instructor, trying to do your best!
So, I thought back to when I'd felt light and alert after breakfast (no easy task, considering I frequently skipped breakfast growing up in the rush to get to school, or ate sugary cereals that left me foggy-headed.)
One memory stuck out clear as day- a trip to Skane when I lived in Sweden, and the first time I'd had the traditional breakfast of yogurt and musli. We went for a walk after that breakfast, and I marveled (seriously- no other word to describe it!) at how great I felt, rather than heavy and sluggish.
It was a breakfast I continued to eat randomly in the coming years, but living in Boise where no one had ever heard of it made it tough to find. Luckily, now, it's a "new", hip thing (or old news for hippies who eat the Swiss version, muesli), and here in the Boston area, it is readily available at Whole Foods, Ikea, Stop N' Shop... everywhere!
In Sweden, they use filmjolk (a drinkable, runny yogurt) but for teaching, I go for the big stuff: Icelandic Skyr. More protein that Greek Yogurt, less sugar, and it keeps it somewhat Nordic :) There are a few brands that you can find in most stores: Siggi's, Smari, or Icelandic Provisions.
Mix and match your flavors! Try a tropical theme with coconut skyr and sliced bananas or mango, or a British summer blend of vanilla skyr and sliced strawberries. There's literally no wrong way to make it, and you'll stay full throughout an Essentrics class, while still feeling light and energized!
