Simplifying Breakfasts
Posted on June 24, 2009 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Simplification
Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.
There is no doubt in my mind of the importance of breakfast. If I eat well in the morning, I have high concentration, energy and I’m not focused on food. If I eat poorly, I inevitably have a sugar crash, get tired, grumpy and all I can think about is lunch.
But I also don’t eat first thing in the morning because I am not hungry. So I need to have breakfasts that are nutritious and portable. In order to do this, I plan ahead a bit, and have nutritious and filling breakfasts about an hour into my workday.
My Favorite On-The-Go Breakfasts
Oatmeal…The Old Way
My old standby is oatmeal. But I don’t use those fancy instant packets laden with salt and sugar. Instead I keep a small cannister of quick-cooking oats on my desk. I can make it with hot water from the break room, and if I’m feeling particularly low-energy, I add a pinch of sugar. If I have nuts or dried fruit in my lunch, I can throw those in as well.
Pancakes/Flapjacks
On weekends I will make an extra-large batch of pancakes (or my most recent favorite, sourdough flapjacks) and freeze the extra in batches of 2 to 3. I pour a small amount of real maple syrup in a container, then take the pancakes, still frozen, with me. I put the pancakes on top of the syrup and microwave for 30 seconds.
Bagels and Cream Cheese
A very quick and portable breakfast (that doesn’t require outside ingredients or equipment) is a bagel spread with cream cheese. I do this at night and wrap it up with my lunch.
Yogurt and Accessories
When I have yogurt on hand (read: when my husband and daughter leave me some) I will take a small container to work. I will put granola, dried fruit and nuts in a bag, or fill another container with frozen berries. A quick stir and I have a nutritious and filling breakfast.
Other Things I Have Tried and Liked
Breakfast Burritos
The easiest instructions I have ever run across for breakfast burritos can be found at The Simple Dollar: Bulk Breakfast Burritos: Convenient, Cheap, Healthy, and Easier Than You Think. Breakfast burritos are good if you can spend some time making up a batch ahead of time. I like the fact that you can vary the ingredients to suit your tastes and whims.
Breakfast Quiche
A friend of mine shared her method to deal with excess summer produce: breakfast quiches. You take a pre-baked pie shell, fill it with chopped veggies, then pour a milk/egg mixture over the top (more egg than milk, please!) Bake until set. These freeze well. Since my family won’t eat quiche, this quickly fell out of favor.
The Ubiquitous Breakfast Casserole
I’ve seen many different variations on this one, but it consists in stale bread, veggies, some sausage, then covered in an egg mixture and baked until set. It also freezes well, and can be spiced up to whatever level you want.
Do you have any favorite ideas for breakfasts on the go?
Photo by lepiaf.geo
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Comments (3)
I like Fiber One or similar high fiber breakfast bars. They taste decent and, like oatmeal, give a good extended energy boost.
A lot of times I grab two on the way out the door and eat them on the way to work and am fine until lunch.
I love these too. They don’t always cooperate with digestion, though…my husband started eating these for breakfast and couldn’t handle the fiber content (enough said?). I like the way they taste like candy while being very filling…
This is kind of odd, but delicious, nutritious, easy and rib-sticking: a baked sweet potato with yogurt and walnuts. The night before, I rub margarine on the potato and wrap it in foil, then put it in the crock pot on the low setting. Next morning, it’s soft and oozing sweetness. Mmm.