Breakfast Berry Bowl 

A smart choice in perimenopause and menopause as your first meal of the day, or at any other time in the day, for so many reasons:
- The berries contain anthocyanin phytonutrients which act like antioxidants in the body.
- There are prebiotics, which are beneficial fibre supporting your gut microbiota to thrive, found in the oats, nuts/seeds especially flax seeds, and berries.
- Probiotic benefits in the kefir and yogurt.
- Phytoestrogens in the nuts and seeds
- Anti-inflammatory benefits from the oils in the nuts and seeds.
Plus, many of the ingredients contain calcium, especially in the dairy. 

Wow!

Plus did you know that flax seed contain loads of soluble and insoluble fibre and polyphenol phytoestrogens, both of which feed your beneficial microbes in your gut. This type of fibre in flax doesn’t get absorbed as carbs fast into your blood stream, so feeds your microbes rather than your waistline

And bone health benefits to this dish too!
The UK’s NHS recommends adults aged 19 to 64 need 700mg of calcium a day. Once in menopause, the British Dietetic Association recommends 1200mg of calcium per day.

One portion of this Breakfast Berry Bowl gives approximately 240mg of calcium, making for a great breakfast option! 

If you would like to see a video of how to make this easy and nutritious breakfast option, head over to my YouTube channel here. 

1 tablespoon whole rolled oats
½ - 1 cup natural unsweetened yogurt or kefir
½ cup or more of fresh or frozen berries
1 tablespoon ground flax/linseeds or whole chia seeds
1 tablespoon any other nuts or seeds
If you like ginger, then finely grate in about 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger.
Alternatively, use 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder

Mix everything together in a bowl. If soaking overnight you may wish to add a little water as this Breakfast Berry Bowl mixture gradually thickens overnight as the oats and flax seed soak up the liquid.

So in the morning, you may find you would like to add more water or milk or extra yogurt/kefir to gain the consistency you like.

I sometimes like to make up 4 times the recipe, then I store overnight in the fridge to eat a portion the following day and also on other days during the week.

The mixture keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days or whenever the use-by-date is for the yoghurt/kefir. If I have some cocoa nibs in my cupboard then I like to add one teaspoon per portion - I love the crunch and their anti-inflammatory benefits!