In Pursuit of the "Magical Breakfast"

One of the first (THE first, perhaps?) books I read on French lifestyle was French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating For Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano, former CEO of the luxurious Veuve Clicquot.  In this first of her six book, Ms. Guiliano introduces the simple secrets of the "French paradox" of how French women enjoy their food all the while staying slender and healthy.  

One of Ms. Guiliano's "secret weapons" in her arsenal of tricks and recipes is introduced in her fourth book, The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook .  The recipe is for her "Magical Breakfast Cream" and has come to be one of my breakfast staples as well as go-to snack.  There are many variations to this recipe- an entire page of tips and tricks to help you find your own favorite version is included with the original recipe!  The recipe below is the version that I make and have varied little from over the years:

Ingredients:

• About 1/2 Cup of plain, fat-free yogurt
• 1 teaspoon flaxseed oil
• Juice of half a lemon (I love Meyers but any yellow will do)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons raw rolled oats
• Half a dozen walnuts

Ok, so this definitely looks like more than 1/2 a cup of yogurt... which means I will make up for it by using more of the other ingredients.

Start by mixing the flaxseed oil into the yogurt.  Squeeze the juice from one lemon half and mix completely.  Add the honey and mix completely.  Ms. Guiliano states that "It is important to add each ingredient one at a time and mix well to obtain a homogeneous preparation."   

Next, prepare the oats and walnut mixture.  I add my 2-3 tablespoons of oats and half a dozen walnuts to my chopper and chop away.  I actually do this a few times and keep the mixture in a jar in my fridge.  This really helps save time!  Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the mixture over the top of your honey and enjoy!

So, why does Ms. Guiliano call this recipe "Magical?"  In addition to the benefits of detoxifying lemon juice and high-fiber flaxseed oil, it's a perfectly complete breakfast that will keep you from getting hungry until lunch.  Substitute this for a week after a more indulgent period of time (ahem, Christmas holidays, anyone?), along with omitting two other "offenders" (foods you tend to consume out of proportion) for the week and see if you don't say good-bye to pounds that accumulated during said time.  

All Photos ©Fiona Diaz, 2016