Breakfast Ideas

Day 10

I stuck with another smoothie this morning and it was, again, delicious. I was going to try and make a delicious egg white breakfast burrito, but they are currently doing construction on the main bridge to get to work. This is going to create some challenges on my quest for healthy breakfasts! Basically I am going to either have to get into work around 6:30 every morning or sit in traffic for an hour…I choose to get in early, which means I might be even more rushed in the mornings. I need to commit to waking up 15 minutes early to prepare better breakfasts, but having a quick 3 minute smoothie in my back pocket isn’t a bad thing!

This brings me to my post for today. One of the main reasons that I am not a huge breakfast fan is due to the fact that there aren’t a lot of fast options that I can make work during a hectic week. I love to cook and breakfast can be so amazing when you have the real time to make it happen, but when I wake up and need to rush to work, let’s face it, I need something fast.

Today I am looking into some quick, easy and healthy breakfast recipes that I can use to during the week to meet my goal of having a good breakfast every morning.

The first thing I found is a Peanut Butter Waffle. After heating up the waffle, spread two tablespoons of peanut butter on top and your done! This will add a lot of protein to your breakfast and will hopefully fill you up until lunch!

Another great morning recipe is steel-cut oatmeal with blueberries and almonds!! All you have to do is heat up the oatmeal according to the package instructions, throw in some blueberries (or my favorite, raspberries) and slivered almonds and you have a good heart breakfast that will for sure keep you full! I like my oatmeal on the sweet side, so I would probably add a packet of no calorie sweetener, like Splenda, to give it a little more sweetness!

Something I tend to make often is smoothies. Typically, I make these after a workout or for a low calorie snack, but I am starting to realize how good they can be for breakfast. I mentioned a new recipe yesterday and another favorite of mine is just plain old strawberry banana! I take frozen strawberries, plain low fat yogurt and a banana and blend until smooth! It’s great!

For a short time I did Weight Watchers and even though it wasn’t the program for me, I gained a lot of knowledge and tricks that I still used today! One of those is a cupcake/muffin recipe that is great for a snack or breakfast. All you need is a premade cake mixture (like Sara Lee or Pillsbury) and a can of pureed pumpkin. Mix those two together with just a splash of water and bake according to the cake instructions. These are so delicious, very low in calories, high in fiber, and will definitely fill you up!

Boiled eggs are also an option. Typically for this, I will boil all the eggs on Sunday, before the week starts, so they will be available to me throughout the week. I like to make a rough chopped egg salad with three boiled egg whites and only one yolk. The yolk is the “bad” part of the egg, but gives a lot of flavor and texture to the salad. I then add a tablespoon of low fat mayo, salt and pepper to taste then spread on a whole wheat English muffin or toast. This is another good breakfast that is pretty quick and adds a lot of the “good” stuff into your diet.

I think the main thing I am taking away from today is that there are a ton of options for quick and healthy breakfasts once you really sit down a think. I have found that planning is an absolute must! I knew that I was going to have a smoothie at one point this week, so I already had all the ingredients I needed. I tend to make bad decisions when it comes to breakfast when I just don’t have everything I need to enjoy a good breakfast. Keeping a box of high fiber (low sugar) cereal can also be the key for those days when you have jut forgotten to go to the grocery store.