Five raw vegan breakfasts to pack for work, school, or light travel

Day One - Buckwheat and fruit

Sunday Night

Soak overnight 1/2 cup raw whole organic buckwheat groats in water or pomegranate juice in a jar in the refrigerator to which you've added 1/4 cup golden raisins, blueberries, or dried nectarines or figs,1/4 cup cashew pieces, 1/4 cup raw almonds, and 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds (shelled).

Monday morning, spill out the water, rinse off the ingredients, and put in a jar, covered cup, or sealable bag. Keep refrigerated at work until you eat for breakfast, as a snack, or with a light lunch.

Tuesday: Day Two - Nut butters, fruit, sesame seeds, nuts

Mix 1/4 cup of peanut butter with 1/4 cup raw grated coconut or raw grated carrot. Add 1/4 cup of chopped dried fruit such as figs, dates, nectarines, raisins, or apricots. Add 1/4 cup of chopped nuts--almonds, cashews, pistachios, sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, or pecans. Press into balls or cookie shapes. Roll in sesame seeds. Try black sesame seeds for variety. Put in ziplock-type bag or jar and take for breakfast on the road, to work, or school.

Wednesday: Day Three: - Multi-grain salad

Cook a cup of mixed half-and-half quinoa and amaranth in one to two cups of water. Drain any excess water. Fluff the grain as you would do with rice. When cool, add a tablespoon of lemon juice and a table spoon of extra virgin olive oil (optional). Dice a roasted red pepper, a celery stalk, and a scallion. Mix into your grain salad. If you don't want to cook the grain, soak it three days in the refrigerator until it's soft enough to chew. Put in a jar and take to work, school, or on short busines travel as breakfast or snack. Season to taste.

Grain can be varied if you don't have celiac disease or other grain-sensitive adverse reactions. Try soaked barley or whole oat groats soaked two days in water in a jar in your refrigerator until the grain is soft and chewy. Or use cooked, drained grains.

Thursday: Day Four: - Raw chickpea/garbanzo hummos

Soak garbanzo beans, chickpeas over night until soft in a jar of water in the refrigerator. Drain, rinse, and put in a blender with 1/2 cup of water and a tablespoon of olive oil or sesame oil. Add 1/3 cup of sesame seeds. Blend until liquified. You can also use ready-made tahini sauce from a jar, which is pureed sesame seeds. If you use fresh sesame seeds and mix with a tablespoon of flax seeds, you'll get fresher enzymes. Add 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 cup chopped onions. Blend everything until liquified to a paste consistency. Use as a dip or sandwich spread.

Spread the raw, liquified garbanzo beans mixed with pureed sesame seeds on whole grain flat bread or use yeast-free bread, pita, or your favorite crackers. You can also put the spread in small containers and eat without bread or use as a dip. Season to taste with salt and pepper and lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, garlic, and chopped onions that you also liquify in the blender.

Friday: Day Five - Amaranth or Quinoa Granola, Nuts & Honey cookies

Mix 1/4 cup each of chopped cashews, walnuts, pistachios, sun flower seeds (shelled) and almonds. Add 1/4 cup hulled or unhulled sesame seeds, either white or black sesame seeds or mixed. Add 2 tablespoons of unfiltered, raw, organic creamed honey or use agave nectar in place of honey, same amount. Add 1 tablespoon of carob powder.

To make a granola, you can use amaranth flakes, quinoa flakes, or lightly toasted oatmeal flakes. Or for a more moist grain, nuts, and honey combination, instead of the dry granola-type flakes, you may add 1/2 cup cooked or soft, raw, soaked and chewable grains such as whole quinoa, amaranth, oat groats, barley or unsweetened granola, oat meal flakes and amaranth flakes.

Add 1/4 cup almond, cashew, or peanut butter to the mixture of either the dry amaranth or quinoa flakes or the moist whole amaranth or quinoa grains. But don't combine both types of grains. Use one or the other. Roll into ball or cookies, coat with more sesame seeds (optional), and chill in refrigerator overnight. Put in sealed ziplock-type bag. Take to office and eat as a snack or for breakfast on the go. Yes, this family eats these vegan grain and nut breakfasts daily.

Those with grain sensitivities, such as celiac disease, be aware no wheat is added. For those without grain, nut, or dried fruit sensitivities, you can pack a school breakfast, work lunch, or use these vegan breakfast recipes as a snack during the day. Optional ingredients: for variety add a tablespoon of protein powder or a teaspoon of barley green powder to the liquid part of the mixture.

If you're at a business convention/conference or on vacation and your hotel has a small refrigerator in the room, you can put these ingredients in ziplock-type bags or jars and enjoy this type of healthier breakfast or snack instead of the usual eggs and pancakes for variety. Or use as a snack while hiking for the day.