At the risk of alienating breakfast mush enthusiasts … I’m kind of over oatmeal. I need a break on the whole slop for breakfast routine.
To be honest, I don’t want to do much about breakfast, because I am someone who can live quite happily from 6:30 am until almost noon on a single fat-free latte. My stomach doesn’t even notice this neglect until it’s time for lunch, and then it is an angry beast who demands carbs and cheese and I reward it handsomely for its patience. Unfortunately, Stomach and Metabolism aren’t on speaking terms so while Stomach is fine on a little bit of tea and frothy milk, Metabolism is like “Oh, really? Don’t you know about six small meals a day to maintain a healthy weight? HERE’S AN EXTRA FORTY POUNDS, SMUGGY.” So, breakfast. Jump-starting the day, and all of that.
I tried smoothies – both with yogurt and vegan-styles – but those are worse than eating nothing. It’s like that little bit of fruit and yogurt and flaxseed reminds my metabolism that I am awake and doing stuff in a way that a latte does not, and my stomach gets pretty angry about it. I have found myself eating broken, linty teething cookies from the dregs of my purse in fits of famished panic. I’ve swallowed gum. In trying to do something healthy, what I’ve done is turned myself into the kind of person who angrily eats beef jerky from a vending machine at 9:30 in the morning.
Bacon, eggs and toast are good, but they’re hard to eat when you’re trying to evenly apply mascara with one hand while fighting off a cat and a baby while the two of them battle over who gets to be the one to unroll all the toilet paper directly into the toilet. Cold cereal leaves me starving immediately after I eat it. I hate bananas so much. But I need options.
I’ve put my question out into the ether (the Googles) and it’s too much. I can’t read 80,000 blog posts and forum discussions about 80,000 slightly different recipes for green smoothies – it’s overwhelming, and I distract easily. Also my kale has wilted in the crisper. So, why not try a smaller sample group?
What do you eat for breakfast on your weekday mornings, and does it keep you from starving? Can you recommend a smoothie recipe, a breakfast sandwich, or some other magical, convenient (homemade) weekday-morning-friendly thing that will leave me full until lunch(ish)? I suppose it could even be oatmeal, but maybe something new and different to do with it.
I should also announce the winner to that little photo giveaway we talked about last week. I was supposed to do it at 5:00 and then I set my oven on fire, as you do, and as a result lost track of time.
The winner is Aim Harder, who wants to prove to her new little person that it’s not so scary out there in front of the camera. Congrats, Aim, and all the best! Shoot me an email at emily.wight@gmail.com and I’ll put you in touch with Bethany so you can schedule your session.
well fed, flat broke 
I confess I usually have oatmeal. Sometimes what works is one of those small wholewheat wraps, with scrambled egg or egg white, some low sugar low sodium salsa, and if I have them some fresh diced tomatoes or green peppers. I find that any breakfast at all makes me hungry early but those two tjings hold off the pangs a little longer.
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Hummus on toast and grapes (or strawberries, or half a pear), and then some kind of snack at around 10:30, like yogurt or cheese and crackers. If I eat something with protein (hummus) and something with natural sugars (fruit) in the morning, I survive more easily until lunch. For a while I gave in to the raging monster and ate lunch at 11:00 (essentially counting the minutes all morning), and then ate another meal around 2:30 or 3:00. But that doesn’t really work for my budget, either monetary or caloric.
I am hypoglycemic and have IBS, and it’s always a tough balance between the one and the other while still fitting into my jeans, so I majorly sympathize with you. Especially on the beef jerky in the morning. It always sounds like it would just hit the spot before 11. (While we’re talking about hiking foods: healthy trail mix, full of nuts, seeds, and dried cranberries or blueberries, is good for that 10:30 time.)
While I was working outside the home, I ate a big tub of oatmeal every day. I mean every day, for like three years. And I do not do well with a lack of variety. I got so [expletive] tired of it but I just stuffed it in my face every day with the knowledge that it would take a lot longer to digest than virtually anything else I could eat for breakfast that wouldn’t entail 650 calories. Sometimes I’d add pecans, or brown sugar, or chia seeds, or dried cherries, or whatever nice thing I had left over from a recipe that week.
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I started having more stable blood sugar the day I started adding vegetables at breakfast. I have friends who say the same thing. So, a whole grain and a vegetable every morning. Sometimes with a protein like black beans, tofu or tempeh, or toasted nuts or seeds. (I’m vegan) The hummus idea above is great.
If you can handle non-traditional breakfast food for breakfast, I would try something like a quinoa salad with vegetables and maybe some beans for protein, or cooked cubed tofu in stir fried rice. Both things you can have already to go in the fridge and they are satisfying.
I love any kind of cooked greens, sauteed, steamed or blanched, with lemon or rice vinegar. Thai rice paper fresh garden rolls are nice. Sometimes soups are nice, too, and easy because they are leftover and easily digestible.
I did a post on my site about 4 different ways to make breakfast porridge if you have any interest.
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love this post. seriously you’re hysterical. I occasionally eat eggs and avocado over quinoa for breakfast, and it’s delicious. the idea is every Sunday we make a batch of quinoa that saves nicely in the fridge for the weeks worth of morning meals. we dry fry the grain first, then cook it in chicken broth so it’s more flavourful. I can send you more info if you’re interested 🙂 each morning I put a bit of the quinoa on the fry pan with tons of butter of course, and an egg or two. into a bowl when it’s done with at least half an avocado. mmmmmmm…..
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You guys are amazing! YES, send me recipes Bethany and Sweetveg! I may get into veggies for breakfast tomorrow.
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When I was a kid my mom would make us hamburgers for breakfast in the winter – protein, carbs, plus cheese and milk and we’d be good to go. Stomache isn’t quite up to that any more but scrambled eggs (with diced pepper and brocolli) in a wrap works well. So does a fried egg in a hamburger bun, sometimes with a slice of bacon (the A&W bacon and egger). A favorite is fruit bread (also called chop suey bread) with a little bit of soft cheese. Steel cut oats dressed up with blue berries and brown sugar is good too. I tend to undercook it to keep that chewy nutty flavour.
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Yay Aim Harder! Most deserved too. 🙂
For breakfast I always eat fruit + peanut or almond butter (CRUNCHY FOR PB. ALWAYS CRUNCHY.) I know you don’t like bananas, so I would recommend an apple (granny smith in my opinion is best because of the tartness.)
Either just cut up the apple and dip in butter OR make the most amazing breakfast sandwich of all time – toasted english muffin with nut butter and apple slices. AMAZING. (and fibrous so be prepared.)
LOVE YOU!
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I make two eggs plus a generous glug from a carton of egg whites and scramble them, sharing about a third of it with Elliot. I have that with a slice of toast from my Serious Bread (made with the CSA flour which you still need to get some of) and low-sugar raspberry jam. I often make a smoothie with banana, yogurt, apple, spinach and ginger a little later. I’ve also been making a breakfast pudding type of thing with chia seeds soaked overnight in a mix of coconut milk, regular milk and unsweetened shredded coconut. Benefit of that is I can just stir it and top with thawed frozen blueberries and it’s done. Plus chia is super filling.
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Breakfast is my favorite meal. It’s the reason I get up in the morning. These are the reasons why:
1- Pie porridge ( pumpkin puree, or banana puree with pie spices + 1 egg white + oats + syrup and nuts) That will keep you going until at last 3pm.
2- Yogurt + fruit + nuts + syrup (I eat so much yogurt that I had to start making my own, lest those stupid white containers go extinct)
3- Toast!!! (w/peanut butter, cream cheese and jam, butter and cheese, almond butter, blue brie and honey) goes well with tea and lattes.
4- berries and whipped cream
5- waffles and pancakes
6- french toast with muffin bread. (I call all sweet breads muffin bread)
7- cottage cheese and anything
8- put cardamom in your smoothie (and yogurt) and you will never diss a smoothie again.
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I’ve been looking into a breakfast cookie/bar thing that can easily be taken on the go, goes down nicely at work with a latte or a cup of tea, and isn’t too bad for you. Alternatively, a yogurt-based breakfast loaf/cake that isn’t too high on sugar is also really easy and nice! Husband survives on homemade granola – although I think I’d recommend eating it with yogurt 🙂
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Well, we eat a lot of oatmeal. But we also like whole grain waffles (raised buckwheat, make the batter the night before) with fruit, poached eggs with salty wilted greens on whole grain english muffins (a breakfast meat can go well here, too), and we also eat tons and tons of TOAST – thick slices, with almond butter and honey, or wilted greens and an egg, or peanut butter and banana which I guess is no good if you hate bananas. I make my kids a green smoothie a couple times a week to have WITH (not AS) breakfast: frozen kale, frozen raspberries, chia seeds, 1/2 an orange with the skin on, honey, and water. Sometimes a little yogurt. It sounds gross, I can see that, but they love it and it actually tastes pretty good. We don’t really let them have juice, but I can give them this and they are content.
Also, I make “breakfast bars” that are basically glorified oatmeal cookies made with whole wheat flour and less sugar. They can even have chocolate chips. These are usually for road trips and such, but do make a nice breakfast with a latte …
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Everyone around here has to eat on the run in the morning, or else get up at 4am, and no thank you to that. I make homemade granola bars packed with nuts and seeds (Alton Brown’s recipe only with less oats and more nuts) and hand them fruit along with it. I am not a willing breakfast eater either, with the metabolism issues to show for it.
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Love my oatmeal or Red River cereal with lots of extra goodness: chopped dried cranberries and/or apricots, dates, almonds, hemp seeds. Yummmm!
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I miss having my “Breakfast Smoothie” and I have not been eating breakfast, so I will be going back to it.
Breakfast Smoothie recipe
1 cup soy milk; 1/3 cup oatmeal; 1 frozen banana; alittle honey.
Blend until smooth. For some extra flavor I sometimes add up to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or up to 1 tablespoon of cocoa, I even tried it with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.
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I just read all those lovely healthy posts, whatever happened to leftovers for breakfast? Like pizza? Seriously though, make a lovely frittata or quiche the night before and just reheat gently. I had a lovely crustless quiche made in a ramekin for lunch today and it was delicious.
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I have to say my all time favorite breakfast is left over chinese 🙂
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I try so hard to do a breakfast. On the days I do, my body thanks me, but I just cant. Smoothies leave me in the same state as you and so does monotony so yeah…what I was doing for a while was my breakfast routine:
boil water for coffee – put egg in said water
drain a bit of said water into french press with coffee grounds, let the egg cook in the hot water for the time it takes me to do the rest of my morning things like figure out where my headphones and keys are, drinking the coffee. Socks too! Damn socks. They make me resent winter.
Next: when done morning things, put the egg under cool water, at which time I throw in a whole wheat or many grain bread or whatever into the toaster, when it pops, put on almond butter, and the egg is done. I’d eat the egg at home boiled, whole, like a snake, with pepper because my coworkers think it’s gross and it makes the office smell like farts. I took the toast on transit. If possible, some yogurt would happen in there too.
When I can adhere to that, I feel like I can tackle the day till noon, 1 or 2 (if I have a snack of even a handful of nuts I can make it till 2 but that requires PLANNING).
I like the suggestions of using the dinner foods I love as breakfast, because if eating first thing in the morning is super important, then why not eat what I like, conventions be damned. Boiled eggs and toast for dinner is doable. I could probably adjust to a curry at 7 am, right?
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Oh yeah and I have to high five cardamom – I put it in my oatmeal and it makes it feel so exceptional! I also make a mean navy bean pie which translates well to a breakfast thing – beans, condensed milk, eggs, so many spices, etc…hearty and not sweet really (save for whatever magic they do to condensed milk) but so spicy.
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My fave: rye toast, slice of cheese and half an avocado… also great with hard boiled egg, but always better with an extra large latte.
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Mash avocado on toast, add Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Yum.
Ever try that yakult stuff? A really sweet fermented milk in a little bottle? Pour some on granola with goji berries.
Also, if you can handle oatmeal-like items, cream of wheat! Add apple sauce and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Plus you can microwave it, just beware it boils over easily.
But speaking of oatmeal, it’s still the meal that keeps me full longest (even compared to eggs and toast, etc) and I add pumpkin seeds, raisins and chia seeds and make it with half milk/half water. Sweeten with anything you like!
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Face the same problem – need to eat the am but mentally fine with coffee. Found a recipe for Egg, Sausage and Cheese Muffins- will try it an let you know how it goes.. calls for Bisquick but thinking of modifying flour with wheat and/or some corn meal to make them more interesting.
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