With a new semester comes new ambitions. We all want to believe that we’ll show up to every seminar, do our readings on time, and maybe, just maybe, fix our sleep schedule. However, the key to success can start with breakfast.
Some have the firm belief that “there’s nothing magical about breakfast,” opting to sleep in and plunge headfirst into the day ahead. Others, like me, feel ill without it. It slowly eases me into the day, allowing me to wake up and stare into oblivion. Mentally, I can just zone out and eat. However, with a tight budget and academic fatigue lingering from semester one, my meals can end up as cardboard cereal or butter on toast.
This semester, I’ve vowed to change. I will show up to every seminar (mainly because they start at 1 pm). I will do some of my readings on time. And, I will enjoy my breakfast. So, if you’re looking for a change to your morning routine, here are some tried and tested recipes for an occasionally healthy and energising brekkie.
Pomegranates galore
Pomegranates are your new best friend. Not only do they last a fair while (if you buy the fruit itself), but they zest up any meal. Each bite adds a burst of juice and flavour, making the beigest dishes fruity. Plus, it implies that you know what you’re doing in the kitchen.
Pomegranates are pretty versatile breakfast-wise, usually acting as a topping. At the most basic level, you add them to your cereal. I’ve done this with Lidl’s 99p Crownfield Multigrain Hoops, and it makes my mornings a little less depressing. However, being basic was so semester one. Go beyond three ingredients (crazy, I know, I promise it’s okay) with a healthy and fresh breakfast dish: pomegranate and granola yoghurt.
The list below will cover a few servings of the dish. We chose Aldi, however, prices may vary depending on inflation and your chosen shop. The maximum total at Aldi for four+ servings: £4.94. Roughly £1.24 per serving.
Ingredients
Pomegranate: 95p
Greek or Fruit Yoghurt (personal preference): 69p – 85p
Squeezy honey: £1.25
Granola: £1.89
Recipe
- Carefully chop and de-seed your pomegranate. I recommend using a sharp, medium-sized knife to cut the fruit into segments of 6. Store the seeds in Tupperware, allowing them to last for up to a week.
- Grab a bowl and pour out your preferred amount of yoghurt. This is the ‘wet’ ingredient of the meal, so at most fill up 1/2 of your bowl. Either distribute with a spoon or save on the washing and pour directly into the bowl.
- Time to add some crunch! Open up your granola and pour to your heart’s desire. Pour slowly though – I’ve ended up pouring half a kilo packet in less than five seconds. The more granola you add, the drier your breakfast dish will be.
- If you have a sweet tooth, this will be your favourite part: adding the honey. Without it, it feels like an almond mom keto diet, and I need all the sugar I can get to make it through the day. Here you want to pretend you’re an artisan baker in a Parisian patisserie – i.e. drizzle your honey over the bowl. This will sweeten and moisten the granola while adding flavour to the yoghurt. It also acts as an adhesive for your next stage…
- Pomegranate time! Here is where we round off our masterful, delectable, and quite frankly, eye-wateringly beautiful dish. Garnish your breakfast depending on how much flavour and pop of juice you would like. I usually go for about two to three handfuls.
All about the coffee
As a barista maestro, I know a little about what makes a good or bitter morning cuppa. Adding water to your Americano? You’re making it bitter. Not cleaning out your filter coffee machine? Ditto. Want to make an iced coffee last longer while using less? I’ve got you.
While we all pretty much know how to make an Americano (instant coffee and hot water), it’s the ice lattes and mochas that will put a spring in your step, no matter the weather. Whether you’re still after something bitter like a black Americano, or a sweeter start to the day, an iced coffee is the answer.
Tip: The main ingredient, the pre-made iced coffee, fluctuates in price between Tesco and Sainsbury’s depending on the club card deals. Check out each supermarket’s website to find the cheapest option.
Max ingredients total (serves four+): £5.19. Equates to £1.30 per serving.
Tools total: £12.83.
Ingredients
Califia Farms Cold Brew Medium Roast Black Coffee (optional: XX Expresso for bitterness or Caramel Oat for super sweetness): £2.95
Instant coffee powder: 99p
Honey: £1.25
Tools
Silicon ice tray: from £3.89
Frother: from £5.99
Straws (optional): from £2.95
Recipe
- The evening before, prep your ice cubes. This can be done with brewed coffee or water. However, using coffee ice cubes prevents your drink from being watered down. Instead, your iced coffee remains caffeinated. For coffee cubes, grab a measuring jug (preferably glass) and add 300ml of boiling water. Then, add one to two coffee sachets and mix with a whisk or frother. Once cooled, pour the coffee into the silicon moulds. I recommend placing the moulds into the freezer drawer before pouring, as it can be hard to transfer liquids in silicon moulds.
- The next morning, fill half of a tall glass with the iced coffee.
- Add two teaspoons of honey.
- Froth!
- Add half a glass of ice to your coffee, and finish off with your straw. Tip: Have a coaster under your drink, as the melting ice leaves watermarks.
A toast to breakfast
Fruit on toast – basic but delicious. It’s more about embellishment than anything else, and it’s super customizable. Prices can vary wildly here again, depending on how bougie you want to be in regards to your choice of bread and fruit. Otherwise, it’s all pretty much the same: a burst of flavour mixed in with the home comforts and simplicity of toasted bread. By adding fruit, it adds moisture and sweetness to the usual Nutella on toast without being sickly or too sweet.
Total cost? Maximum, of course depending on what fruit you buy, £3.60.
Ingredients
Bread: 45p
Fruit – E.g. satsumas, bananas, pomegranates, or raspberries: 78p – £2
Chocolate spread: £1.15
Recipe
- Toast two slices of bread. I’m hoping you know how to do this…
- While the bread toasts, chop your chosen fruit. Combinations I recommend are banana and satsuma, or banana and pomegranate.
- Apply the chocolate spread to the toast as soon as it jumps out of the toaster.
- Finish by covering as much of the toast with fruit as you can. The more, the tastier.
Avo’ slice me love
Now this is bougie-er toast and will take a little longer to prepare. Avocado on toast is culturally associated with California’s valley girls and London’s millennials – but don’t they all look so happy eating it? Pretend you’re rich and grab all the nutrients you can with this almost-five-a-day approach to avocado on toast.
The total cost here, based on Aldi prices, would be £6.78 for four servings. The cost per serving? £1.70. It’s a little more expensive than our other recipes, but that’s dependent on what margarine you use.
Ingredients
Medium-sliced bread: 75p
Avocado: £1.39 for 4
Cherry tomatoes: 75p
Pomegranate: 95p
Soft cheese: 85p
Margarine (optional: lightly salted): £2.09
Recipe
- Carefully cut your avocado in half and twist it to open it up. Use a teaspoon to ‘gut’ it, chopping the avocado flesh up before decanting it into a bowl.
- Finely chop your cherry tomatoes into small pieces, and add them to the bowl.
- Add one teaspoon of soft cheese.
- Using a fork or potato masher, mash your wet ingredients together. You’re aiming to create a smoother, spreadable consistency while mixing together the avocado and soft cheese.
- Next, chop up your pomegranate, putting all the seeds into some Tupperware to later store in the fridge. Don’t add the pomegranate to your avocado bowl yet.
- Toast your bread for four to five minutes. Once toasted, spread on your margarine to cover the whole surface of each slide.
- Spread your avocado paste over each slice of toast, followed by sprinkling pomegranate on top. The more avocado and pomegranate, the better.
- Optional: Cut your toast slices in half, and serve!
Intrigued and hungry for more? Check out our other recipes here.
