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In the Netherlands, chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) or flakes (vlokken), raisin rolls, syrup waffles (stroopwafels), pancakes (pannekoek) and honey cake (ontbjitkoek) are a really enjoyable start in the early morning. To balance this intense sweetness, the Dutch also like to eat a piece of bread or rusks (beschuit) with cheese (kaas), sausage, ham and salty peanut butter (pindakaas) for a hearty breakfast. And with this meal, fresh fruit, yoghurt and cornflakes ensure your health. The whole thing is rounded off with freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee, tea or warm drinking chocolate. And even twice a day.

Yes, you heard that right! The Ontbijt (breakfast) takes place twice a day here in Holland and often replaces lunch.

If you want a true Dutch breakfast experience, we explain how and also when you should eat this tasty, healthy meal.

Two breakfasts, please!

When they wake up early in the morning, the Dutch have their first breakfast with some bread, honey, jam and thinly sliced ​​cheese to get the circulation going. A few hours later, around 12.30 p.m., it is time for the coffee table in the Netherlands, a kind of second breakfast that very often replaces the actual lunch. A breakfast snack is put together from sweet and savory dishes: from bread, cheese and sausage to warm egg dishes and honey cake.

How do you prepare a Dutch breakfast?

Would you like to be in Amsterdam, but you are not and would you like to at least experience the flair of the Dutch city? Then start early in the morning by preparing a charming, colorful and delicious Dutch breakfast for you and your loved ones, or rather, a really typical Ontbijt, as the Dutch call it. With the rich variety of sweet and savory ingredients, you can already feel the anticipation on your palate!

Now let’s take a look at the ingredients you need to prepare a typically delicious Dutch breakfast.

Ingredients (2 servings)

Popular types of bread (white bread, black bread or wholemeal bread) and rusks
Some chocolate sprinkles and/or chocolate flakes (eaten sprinkled on buttered bread)
butter, honey and jam
2 raisin rolls
2 stroopwafels – available at most health food stores – and/or 2 pancakes
2 pieces of honey cake – we’ll give you the recipe for it in a moment
Sausage and cheese platter (we recommend typical Dutch Gouda cheese)
Salty Peanut Butter
2 boiled eggs
Fresh fruit (e.g. strawberries, melon, pineapple, apple, etc.) and vegetables (e.g. cherry tomatoes)
yogurt and cornflakes
8 oranges (for the juice)
Coffee, Ceylon tea or Choco Classic chocolate
some milk (for the latte)

Recipe Dutch honey cake:

Ontbjitkoek is the name of the typical Dutch honey cake, which can literally be translated to “breakfast cake”. A cake that is eaten specifically for the morning meal. It should not be missing from your Dutch breakfast. So, let’s see how to make the honey cake.

Ingredients:

Flour: 350 gr
Honey: 150 gr
Baking Powder: ½ packet
Eggs: 3
Brown sugar: 100 gr
Cream: 100 gr
Cinnamon: ½ tsp
Ground cloves: ¼ tsp
Ground almonds: 150 gr
Mace: 1 pinch

Preparation:

In a small saucepan, heat the honey, sugar, and cream, stirring constantly, then allow the mixture to cool. In a clean bowl, mix all the spices (cinnamon, cloves, mace) with the almonds and baking powder. Now whisk the honey mixture with the eggs and gradually stir in the sifted flour. Pour the batter into the pre-greased baking pan (loaf pan, length: 24 cm) and bake in a preheated oven at 175 °C for 50 minutes. Once the cake is ready, let it cool before cutting it on the breakfast table!

Anyone who likes to take time for family and friends and would like to gather everyone around a colorfully set table can score points with a successful Easter brunch. A brunch is a mixture of breakfast and lunch and lasts several hours, during which everyone sits together and enjoys. The great thing about an Easter brunch is that you can prepare a lot and nothing has to be prepared to the minute. Whether hearty or sweet, cold or warm – there are numerous ideas on how to conjure up a festive Easter table.

Of course, this also includes the decoration for the Easter brunch. This should contain classic Easter motifs and bright colors. Set accents with colorful serviettes and egg cups and decorate the table with the first heralds of spring, such as daffodils, hyacinths or primroses. A brunch can either be set up at a table where food is eaten or separately in the form of a buffet. It depends on the space and the number of people to be catered for.

What is on the table for Easter brunch?

At Easter, of course, eggs are at the center of every healthy and enjoyable breakfast. Even painted or colored, they are always a highlight on the table. But no one has ever had enough at a brunch just from boiled eggs! It should be a little more fantasy – egg salad, eggs in a glass or filled eggs are great additions here. Therefore, you should provide a good mix of numerous goodies.

Basically, bread should be served with a brunch. Here you have the opportunity to offer special varieties such as white bread, black bread and also rolls and croissants. The breakfast elements of a brunch are served with classics such as sausage and cheese platters as well as various jams, cream cheese, butter and honey. The plates can be prepared very well. Place fresh, sliced ​​fruit and vegetables, such as peppers, tomatoes or radishes. You can offer light and delicious dips with the vegetables, for example a fine egg and mustard dip, in the spirit of Easter. With salads you complement the abundance on the table. This can be fruity variants with avocado and grapefruit or classic herring salads, which are perfect for lovers of hearty cuisine.

Easter accents are of course also set with the rabbit theme. And what do rabbits like? carrots! With carrot muffins or a carrot cake you are on the safe side at a brunch. The pastry part can be supplemented with Easter lambs or small yeast wreaths, in the middle of which a brightly colored egg is placed, or with an eggnog cake. For the hearty variant, there are tender dishes and quiches, which can easily be prepared the day before. These can be enjoyed either cold or warm.

Soups are also good for an Easter brunch. These are easy to prepare and only need to be warmed up on the holiday. The table is skilfully rounded off with potato nests, gratinated pasta nests, tartlets and omelettes, which can also be served in muffin tins. It is always important to have a balanced mix of sweet and savory dishes so that everyone can find something they like to eat at an Easter brunch that lasts several hours.

Coffee or tea: what do you drink for Easter brunch?

The Easter brunch usually doesn’t start until around 11 a.m., so a glass of sparkling wine can be offered as a welcome.
Of course, juices and, of course, coffee are also offered. Good coffee rounds off every festive table and is of course indispensable for a brunch.

Poha is a hearty breakfast dish from Ayurvedic cuisine. The basis is always rice flakes – all other ingredients can be modified in many ways. We present you a traditional recipe.

Ayurvedic nutrition focuses on the harmony of body and mind. According to Ayurveda, eating right is important for both physical and mental health. The recipes of this cuisine are usually nutritious and filling and should cover all six tastes of the Ayurvedic teachings: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent.

Poha is an Ayurvedic breakfast recipe that puts this concept into practice. Among other things, the rice flake dish contains honey for sweetness (or sugar for the vegan version), lemon juice for acidity and ginger and chili for spiciness. Various spices provide further strong flavors. We will show you a simple basic recipe for poha that you can expand and vary as you like.

Basic Recipe: Hearty Poha

Ingredients:

200 gPoha (red rice flakes)
1tomato
1 piece of ginger
0.5 tsp turmeric
0.5 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3cardamom pods
0.5 TLAsant
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon cane sugar

Directions:

Place the rice flakes in a bowl and mix with your hands for 2-3 minutes to absorb moisture. Then drain the water and catch the rice flakes in a sieve. Set them aside for about ten minutes.
Wash the tomato and cut it into cubes. Peel the ginger and chop it finely.
Add the turmeric, chili powder, and salt to the rice flakes and mix in the spices with a fork.
Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds to the pot and toast them until they burst.
Once the mustard seeds have popped open, add the cardamom, asafoetida, the chopped ginger and the diced tomato. Let everything cook for about three minutes while stirring.
Then add the rice flakes to the pot and let them cook for 3 to 4 minutes while stirring. If they seem too dry, add some water.
Turn off the stove but leave the pot on the stovetop. Stir in the lemon juice and sugar and let the poha cook for another minute or two while stirring.
Divide the poha between two bowls or plates and serve warm.

Poha: Shopping tips and possible variations

While rice flakes are considered an everyday food in India, they are less common in this country. The “real” red rice flakes for poha are therefore usually only found in Indian specialty shops or in Asian shops. White rice flakes, on the other hand, are much easier to find: Drugstores or larger supermarkets usually have them in their range. If you can’t get rice flakes, you can also make poha based on oatmeal. This is actually the more sustainable option because oatmeal (unlike rice flakes) is a regional food.

Most of the spices that you need for the poha are not of regional origin either, but travel long distances. They have a correspondingly poor ecological balance. We therefore recommend that you only use them sparingly.

Buy spices, but also other ingredients, if possible in organic quality. This is how you avoid products that are contaminated with chemical-synthetic pesticides. You can find out more about this in this article, for example: Buying organic spices: the most important brands and online shops.

The basic recipe for Poha can be supplemented and modified according to personal taste. If you fancy additional vegetables, you can, for example, fry a small onion or a pepper. In summer it is particularly refreshing to mix sliced ​​cucumber with the flakes. A chopped chili pepper, cumin, fresh coriander or fresh parsley refine the taste.