I am making effort to eat food that I enjoy at breakfast. I think it is about slowing down . I am working hard to try and stop the frenetic pace I am so used to and that has not done me any favours over the past two decades. I’m not sure if it is too late to reverse the damage done, but I will try. This week I very much did try very hard…!

Sunday

I went back to Sabrina Ghayour’s version of French toast. It was not disappointing and made for a peaceful breakfast out in the garden. It was so warm and sunny, it was not difficult to feel at peace.

Monday

I was working from home. I logged in early, worked out what I needed to do for the day, and then went downstairs to make my breakfast. I enjoyed it in the conservatory, which as you know, is my happy place.

Tuesday

Tuesday is always clinic day for me. So Monday evenings are spent preparing physically and emotionally for the day ahead. It now includes making this chia seed and oat pudding. I tried to eat this mindfully, focusing on the lush green of the garden that I could see through the kitchen window and the sound of the silence in the house. It was calming. I needed it, as not only did I have to do my own clinic in the morning and I had to race home after clinic to get to my own personal clinic appointment later in the day.

Wednesday

Another day working from home, usual for me. There was one meeting in my diary and I needed to complete the admin from the Tuesday clinic. However, before all of that, and all the other things I needed to do, I made my favourite breakfast of French toast and ate it in the garden. My husband joined me part the way through which was nice. Given that I was not going to have any other face to face interactions for the working day it was nice to this pleasant human contact and get some fresh air.

Thursday

I was working from home this week. A change to my usual schedule from my clinic. I had nine o’clock meeting and them plenty of admin to get through. I did do the nine o’clock meeting first – but it was not at all a stressful thing that I had not eaten before hand! And then I made myself breakfast. I just was not organised enough to get it all ready beforehand. And of course the point of all this, is to be relaxed and enjoy breakfast. So maybe this exception proves the rule or something like that…

Friday

The last day of the working week. The day when I need the most positive of energies as I am also the on call paediatrician for our department. So it is important to start the day correctly. Thursday night I prepared another chia seed and oat pudding and enjoyed the result on Friday morning. I have to say, I left for work, just a shade later than usual and the traffic was horrible and it took almost two hours to get to work. However, before I would have been in some sort of distress with myself but on Friday, I was feeling a little ‘zen’. Figuring that I at least got to work safely, I listened to an interesting podcast on the way and enjoyed the sunshine. All because I was full and sated before I left my home.

Saturday

It should have been a relaxed start to the weekend. However, I had another hospital appointment to get to and I needed to fast for 6 hours before. Therefore there was no breakfast for me. I went to hospital, lay in a scanner for however many minutes and used my breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques to get through it all. I was planning a romanticized brunch at whatever local cafe their might be by the hospital. However, as I sat in my car in the carpark Googling places to eat, I just felt this overwhelming desire to get back to my own home and enjoy the peace of my humble abode. So I raced away and made myself the brunch I wanted – cardamom doughnut brioche french toasts with blueberries and kiwi fruit.

Sunday

Today is Sunday. I afforded myself a lie-in, I tied the kitchen a little bit and ate a very small breakfast. Tahini, almond and orange brownies, made yesterday (post coming soon) and eaten with some Greek yoghurt and coffee. Coffee has not been part of my ‘relaxed breakfast’ conversation for a while. It was upsetting my stomach and making me feel quite anxious when I was drinking it in the car on the days when I was the most tired and stressed. So I could see that it was not healthy for me in those situations. However, today I thought that a small cup with some skimmed milk would not be a bad thing. I was correct, it went down very well.

Everyday this week I have eaten a breakfast that I enjoy. I have taken time to stop. I have tried very hard not worry about traffic , my ever increasing task list and of backlog of reports. It has been good and I think I have benefited from starting my days in this way. I have felt recharged after a longer nights sleep and ready to face whatever the day brings. I am hoping I can sustain this. It is very easy for stress and anxiety to drive me back to bad habits. I am learning better manage those overwhelming thoughts and feelings and give them the perspective they deserve and need. Essentially, trying to put myself into a better mental state, one that I can sustain, before I have to give pieces of myself to the outside world.

It maybe a small thing that I am doing but it is working for me and perhaps helping make better use of the life that I have been so blessed to have.