My Breakfast of Champions

Let me be clear about this: I am not an elite runner. I am not even a moderately fast runner. As I’ve written here before, I'm a disciple of "The Penguin," John Bingham, which means I am a "waddler." I did finish second in my age division in a 5K race a few years ago...there were 3 guys in the division that year. So, I beat one other guy. My mom was so proud. It was a cold February day, and there was also a 10K race going on…that’s where most of the real men were running. I didn’t even stay for the awards ceremony, not thinking I had any kind of a chance of placing, and so I missed out on my trophy. And then I did finish 3rd in my age division in a small race a few weeks ago- there were 6 guys in the division in that race, so I beat 3 other dudes. I actually stuck around and picked up the plaque in that one. My mom was real proud about that.

My point is simply this: I love running and eating fairly healthy, to feel the best I can. For me running is a relative thing...I compete mainly with myself, and as long as I keep ahead of myself, I feel like the years are not overtaking me quite so fast. So, I thought I'd share my breakfast with you. It's some pretty simple stuff, but put together it's a powerhouse of vitamins, fiber, nutrition, omega-3's...and the best part -I've been eating this same concoction for over 2 1/2 years, almost every day! And I never get tired of it. If you get this right, it tastes like a fruity ice-cream, with the cone crunched up in it. Tell your kids, "It’s an ice cream cone, in a bowl." …I guarantee, they will love it.

1 cup Nature’s Path Organic Multibran cereal
1/3 cup frozen berries...blueberries, mixed strawberries, blues, raspberries
3 tbs Stonyfield Organic Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt
3 tsps chopped walnuts
3 tsps ground flax seeds
1/2 cup Silk Heart Health Soy Milk

I put the frozen berries in the bottom of the bowl, add the ground flax seed and walnuts, yogurt, and the soymilk. I mix that all together, and then add the cereal.

The frozen berries, slightly freezes the soymilk and yogurt to create an ice cream-creaminess, and the crunchy cereal gives it the ice cream cone effect. I've tried other cereals, but this one is the only one that holds up the crunchiness, and it's pretty darn good for you to boot.

So there it is, my Breakfast of Champions. Give it a try and see if it doesn't get you down the road a little quicker.