So... What's for breakfast?

[Conuly]

I have a couple of rules about food, and one of them is that I don't repeat breakfast options twice in one week. The other one that's relevant to breakfast is that every single meal or snack has at least one serving of fruit and/or vegetables.

As you can see, this puts me in a bit of a rut. The nieces don't always appreciate novelty in the morning (they're not picky eaters, but neither are they morning people), and unless it's an all time favorite like fried plantains with lime juice they don't want to mix breakfast foods with lunch and dinner foods. But if I repeat a dish too often, they decide they don't like it and won't eat it. Also, nearly everything I make is made from scratch, because, as I tell the girls, we have just enough money to buy good food, and not enough to spend it on lots of treats. If they want to spend their treat money on cold cereal for breakfast instead of cake on Thursday (joke's on them, the cake is a lot cheaper), then they have to live with that and no complaining.

(Also, I just don't think cold cereal is that healthy, but the fact that it's so pricey is definitely the deciding factor here.)

So I thought I'd ask for help! I also thought that a breakfast thread to complement the dinner thread might be fun.

The items on my regular rotation are:

Scrambled eggs with vegetables

Sunny side up eggs fried in bell pepper rings

Sweet omelette, which is largely a fruit crepe without the flour

Greek yogurt with various fresh fruits

Fried plantain

Potato hash with peppers

French toast with a fruit topping, usually apples in butter but as we head into summer I'll more often use berries or peaches

Oatmeal with fruit or raisins

Pancakes with fruit mixed in

The occasional muffin if I remember to wake up and bake.

Smoothies, aka "breakfast soup"

It seems like a lot, but repeating meals this often increases the risk that sooner or later one or both nieces will decide they can't stand that. As it is, some of the rotation isn't precisely because one of them is sick of it. And when they're up in the morning they cook their own breakfast and it's awesome, but they're just as likely to sleep until we shake them awake, me and their mom. We aren't going to wake them early to make them cook for themselves, they need their sleep. (Besides, our emphsis now is getting them to consistently comb out their own hair, and it's a work in progress. They have a lot of it to comb....)

So, if anybody has novel options, I'm ready to hear it! Or if you just want to share what you had for breakfast, that's fine. I have access to a slow cooker, so I can start some foods overnight if necessary.

[happy atheist]

You make me feel like a total slacker. Breakfast in the Atheist household is almost always cold cereal.

We do sometimes liven it up though:

Bagels or English Muffins

Waffles (I usually make buttermilk waffles, or you could use yeast instead and go Belgian, but it takes longer)

Apple pancakes - make with applesauce or chunks of apples, some cider, and a little oatmeal for texture

Baked pineapple rings with a little brown sugar

Grapefruit

Leftover rice, warmed up, topped with milk and a little sugar

Quiche with veggies

And since you said you have a slow cooker:

Irish Oatmeal (steel cut) with a variety of dried fruits, and some nuts if you like - cooked on low overnight with apple juice or apple cider instead of water

[Violet]

This reminds me a bit of my grandparents, they used to have museli on certain days, boiled egg on others etc (but we always got to have splodgy egg and toasted soldiers whenever we were there for breakfast :) )

I must confess that I do not put that much effort into breakfast, it's usually 2 slices of toast with butter (sometimes I swap the butter for Nutella or Speculoos.) Sometimes I'll have pancakes or cereal or a pain au chocolat.

Sorry this actually wasn't the least bit helpful! :oops:

(Edited for spelling)

[Conuly]

Toast with Nutella certainly is nummy, but not for everyday, I think :P

Waffles are delish, of course, but our waffle iron is totally broken. No joke, it exploded. :shock: (well, the cord fell off with sparks and a loud popping noise.)

[2xx1xy1JD]

We have a few smoothies in the rotation.

Frozen strawberries and blueberries with pineapple juice is really, really yummy. I mix in protein powder for the adults.

I also like blending a green apple (no seeds!), handful of spinach, dash of cinnamon and fresh apple juice.

[gezykah]

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal except I'm more likely to have french toast at 10 pm than 10 am ;) In the morning I have coffee or tea, fruit, and usually either yogurt or something along the lines of granola or bread.

Awhile back I ran out of butter when I was making bread so I used Nutella instead. I think this pic is from that day-

Ever since then I substitute Nutella or peanut butter for butter every chance I get when baking. Maybe just a simple change like that to a couple of your favorite recipes will give you a bigger variety of options?

[Bethella]

I'm not really a breakfast person (Lots of times I just eat leftovers). But when I do eat breakfast I do things like bagels or baked goods (muffins, scones, breads, cinnamon rolls...) with a cup of tea. Other ideas include granola (recipe below), other types of hot cereals (grits, cream of wheat, etc), biscuits and gravy, and Pannukakku (Finnish baked pancake-recipe below).

Granola

3 cups old-fashioned oats (not steel cut-gives it the wrong texture, Bob’s Red Mill are great)

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1 cup coarsely chopped and toasted almonds or walnut or pecans (or do 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup roasted but UNsalted sunflower seeds)

1/2 cup shredded or flaked coconut

3 tbsp packed brown sugar

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/3 cup Karo syrup (or honey or molasses, whatever you choose will give it a slightly different taste-experiment until you find what you like best)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup assorted dried fruit (optional-add to granola AFTER baking)

Preheat oven to 300*F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Make sure the parchment edges protrude above the edge of the baking sheet. This makes it easier when you stir the mixture during baking. Mix all the dry ingredients in large bowl. Add Karo (or honey or molasses) and vegetable oil. Mix into dry ingredients. The best way is to use your hands. (That is also why you want to prep your baking sheet / parchment paper in advance. It’s kind of messy at this point.) Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool completely, crumble/break up big chunks. Mix in fruit. Store airtight in the refrigerator.

Pannukakku

The following recipe can easily be altered to personal taste; so long as you stick to the simple formula of using 1/4 cup flour = 1/4 cup milk = 1 egg / per serving, you can add sugar and flavorings to taste and either decrease or increase the number of servings.

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup sugar (optional)

1 Tbsp. vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

1/8 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup butter

1 cup cream, whipped until stiff peaks form

Fresh fruit, fruit compote, or sautéed apples

Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla sugar (or vanilla) until creamy. Stir in grated lemon zest. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder and stir into egg mixture. Allow batter to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450º. When pancake batter has rested, place butter in an oven-proof frying pan. Place pan in oven and allow butter to melt without browning. Once your butter has melted, remove pan from oven and use pastry brush to coat surface and side of pan evenly with the melted butter. Pour pancake batter into the hot, buttered pan and return to oven. Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit, fruit compote, or lightly sautéed apples. Yield: 5-6 servings.

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow! I have never seen so many breakfast options! I grew up with cereal/toast/juice and maybe something more elaborate on a weekend, so I am in awe! :)

I can't suggest more options but what I am thinking is why not change up your rules, if they are causing problems? What about counting fruit/veg portions per day, instead of per meal, which frees you up to have say, eggs on toast for breakfast and then a vegetable soup for lunch to even the score? Why can't you have the same breakfast twice in a week - will the world end??

Have you tried anything like the tangle teaser for the girls to get their hair done quickly - that way they could take responsibility for getting their own breakfast some days, which is likely to cut the pernicketyness right down.

Edited to add: re the price of cold cereal - can you not get cheaper 'value' brands of cold cereal? Eg Weetabix might cost £1.99 a pack but Tesco Value Wheat Bisks will cost 69p for essentially the same product. If you can get them eating the sugar/salt free options of cold cereal with milk and a glass of juice say, then that's easy, quick and nutritious, and you could save fancy cooking for days when you all have the energy for it.

[OkToBeTakei]

Wow! I have never seen so many breakfast options! I grew up with cereal/toast/juice and maybe something more elaborate on a weekend, so I am in awe! :)

I can't suggest more options but what I am thinking is why not change up your rules, if they are causing problems? What about counting fruit/veg portions per day, instead of per meal, which frees you up to have say, eggs on toast for breakfast and then a vegetable soup for lunch to even the score? Why can't you have the same breakfast twice in a week - will the world end??

Have you tried anything like the tangle teaser for the girls to get their hair done quickly - that way they could take responsibility for getting their own breakfast some days, which is likely to cut the pernicketyness right down.

Edited to add: re the price of cold cereal - can you not get cheaper 'value' brands of cold cereal? Eg Weetabix might cost £1.99 a pack but Tesco Value Wheat Bisks will cost 69p for essentially the same product. If you can get them eating the sugar/salt free options of cold cereal with milk and a glass of juice say, then that's easy, quick and nutritious, and you could save fancy cooking for days when you all have the energy for it.

My house and it's waist length hair 10 yr old occupant is a very happy place since tangle-teaser :lol:

[Conuly]

Wow! I have never seen so many breakfast options! I grew up with cereal/toast/juice and maybe something more elaborate on a weekend, so I am in awe! :)

I can't suggest more options but what I am thinking is why not change up your rules, if they are causing problems? What about counting fruit/veg portions per day, instead of per meal, which frees you up to have say, eggs on toast for breakfast and then a vegetable soup for lunch to even the score? Why can't you have the same breakfast twice in a week - will the world end??

Have you tried anything like the tangle teaser for the girls to get their hair done quickly - that way they could take responsibility for getting their own breakfast some days, which is likely to cut the pernicketyness right down.

Edited to add: re the price of cold cereal - can you not get cheaper 'value' brands of cold cereal? Eg Weetabix might cost £1.99 a pack but Tesco Value Wheat Bisks will cost 69p for essentially the same product. If you can get them eating the sugar/salt free options of cold cereal with milk and a glass of juice say, then that's easy, quick and nutritious, and you could save fancy cooking for days when you all have the energy for it.

If you intend to have seven servings of produce daily, and don't want to eat vegetarian for all meals, then you pretty much need one serving per meal. It's actually not that arduous in summer, but here it is march and I am sick of apples, raisins, and tangerines. The second strawberries are ripe, good ones, I'm going to gorge myself silly. Well, sillier. And unfortunately, to get an affordable cereal that isn't largely sugar I have to go far enough out of my way that it's kinda not. Our supermarket is great in a lot of ways, but not in the cereal department.

I would repeat within a week, but if I do that then we all get sick of it and whatever it is is off the rotation for a month or so. I used to do it that way, and the end result is I had to wait half a year to rotate oatmeal back into our diets, and don't ask me about egg-gate 2012. I'm amazed we ever did get through our backlog. (Do you know how many eggs one fridge can hold? It is terrifying. And that was after I donated some to the food bank!) LOL, that actually happens every time I *do* buy cereal! They beg for it, I buy it, I say sure, they can eat it every day until its gone, better than letting it stale, and after three days they are hurt and astonished that we don't love them enough and are forcing them to eat nothing but cereal for breakfast. With soy milk, because plain cow milk gives us all the runs. (The other reason we don't have yogurt twice a week, because it is okay if and only if it is in moderation.) Same thing happens with free breakfast at school, they love it as a treat, but then they realize it's the same two meals over and over and beg their mother to wake them earlier so they can eat breakfast BEFORE leaving with her. (If they leave with her in the morning, they get there in time for breakfast. If they don't, they don't.)

What is a tangle teaser, and does it help them remember to get the bottom half of their hair? By which I mean the half closer to the head and farther from the sky, not the half closer to their feet. Some people I know have so much hair that it is easy to comb part of it and never realize the rest is hugely tangled.

Of course, upon reflection, the real problem is that if they wear their hair down they forget to braid it overnight. So I guess we really need to work on that with them, and then combing in the morning will be easier. Well, now that that's worked out it seems obvious, thanks. Can't believe I didn't realize that.

[Guest Anonymous]

7 a day? In the UK guidance is 5 a day and a glass of juice counts as one, which sorts breakfast out for me, or else I'll have fruit mid-morning when I have woken up. With snacks and lunch and supper it doesn't have to become a big issue. In winter, I sprout beans for really cheap and super-nutritious snack food.

How do these children get on with school lunches? Or eating at other people's houses? It sounds as if food has become a bigger issue than it needs to be. If it were me, and providing there were no major food sensitivities, I'd provide one or two options each day (sensitive to their likes and dislikes) and expect them to make a meal from it and move on with the day. In my home, it is reasonable to have likes and dislikes, and to have allergies etc catered for, but expecting a short order kitchen service every day as a demonstration of my love? - no chance. There are other ways to express love than having a full monthly rotation of breakfast ideas. But that's not the question you asked, so I'll duck out of the conversation here.

Tangle Teaser: best to leave you to google it; doesn't work for everyone but saves time and tears for many. :)

[OkToBeTakei]

http://www.tangleteezer.com/

My daughter's is lime green and yellow a right eye sore. :lol: Yes they do work.

I am utterly jealous of your breakfasts. Like Anniec we do eggs toast and generally porridge or weetabix with some fruit. If my child does not like it she can go without. I spend way too much time making nutritious soups for her to take to school or salads etc, not to mention dinner to go over the top first thing in the morning. The amount of fruit and or veg packed in to say her lunch/dinner easily beats 5 a day. ( Today's packed lunch Curried cauliflour soup with wholemeal roll a banana, a blood orange and a bag of dried apricots for snack. Dinner is always packed with at least 3 or 4 veg. I am quite happy that a glass of pure juice with whatever quick breakfast will do. There again I am NOT a morning person :?

Going to try some of your suggestions at the weekends :D

[LillyCat]

Favorite breakfasts here are oatmeal w/ peanut butter and banana; snack plate of sliced apples, hardboiled egg, bell peppers, sharp cheddar cheese, and almonds; almond meal pancakes; mini quiches baked in muffin tins; or leftover pizza (grated eggplant based crust).

[Aerial312]

I'm not very creative for breakfast, because I hate mornings. For me its usually oatmeal, greek yogurt or cottage cheese, with a handful of fruit and nuts tossed in.

[miffy]

I'm trialling slow cooker apple & cinnamon oats. They will be cooked overnight so hopefully I don't wake up to an oat biscuit stuck onto the bottom of the dish.

I have a hot pink tangle teezer, they are AMAZING. I've got fine mid brown hair naturally which I get highlighted until its very blond & its quite long. I used to spend ages shredding with a tail comb trying to get the knots out.

[Conuly]

How do these children get on with school lunches? Or eating at other people's houses? It sounds as if food has become a bigger issue than it needs to be

No, I think you're reading that when it isn't there. The kids will eat anything that isn't squash or sweet potato. Or asparagus, but we hardly ever eat that and I constantly am trying to convince them on the sweet potato front. (They once threw sweet potatoes into the yard, which backfired when the sweet potatoes rooted, sprouted, and spread!)

Let me rephrase: I would hate to eat the same thing every day, and so we don't do that, because if I won't do it I'm not going to expect them to. I don't even make the cats eat the same thing every day. (Yes, I dote on them! Verily, I am only a few short steps from crazy cat lady.) We eat a different dinner every day of the week, and a different lunch every day of the week (if they had school lunch it would be different every day as well, and sometimes they do eat school lunch, especially since its been free for everybody since the hurricane), and breakfast as well.

And I really feel that nutrition wise you should eat mostly fruits and vegetables, with grains and meat taking up a smaller portion of the diet. I'm less, um, gassy when I do this. Since I do the cooking, and I even like cooking in the morning, it is reasonable for me to follow my own rules there. Since it isn't arduous for me, even if it would be for you, it isn't a real issue. (It helps that sometime in the last decade I became a morning person. I was surprised.)

However, I get bored with having what seems to me to be only a few things in the rotation. Just through sheer accumulation I have a couple dozen very different dinners everybody likes that I can throw together without checking the recipe, but the breakfasts are largely variations on fruit and something, and that is boring to me. It's not that eating is an issue, or food is, I just am bored with the cooking part. Eating less creatively would not help this.

I really hadn't realized most people do eat the same thing every day, breakfast wise! Nobody really bursts into tears over the same old thing (well, not normally), but I sometimes describe things with hyperbole because it makes a more interesting comment. I'm sorry for the confusion.

Funnily enough, I only have about seven lunches we run through (plain meat sandwich, salami sandwich, tuna fish sandwich, hummus and pita, peanut butter and jelly, goat cheese and jelly, chicken or egg salad; all with choice of two fruits or veggies, any uneaten fruit to be put back in the fridge, not left to rot in the bag) and that doesn't bore me at all. Lunches aren't my thing. Once in a while they get leftovers for lunch, or, of course, hot lunch. So I guess I only care if the food is eaten hot? But you know, they don't eat much lunch anyway, even on the weekend. Fill up breakfast and dinner, I guess. At any rate, there is a limit to how much effort I'm willing to put in, and two meals a day is it. Let them fend for themselves if they want more for lunch, make it the night before or pay for school lunch with their allowances.

[happy atheist]

Here are some breakfast cookbooks that I have:

[link=http://www.amazon.com/NORMAS-Breakfast-Done-Right-ebook/dp/B0068VWZ6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363549010&sr=8-1&keywords=normas+cookbook]NORMA'S: Breakfast Done Right[/link]. The Chocolate Decadence French Toast takes forever, and is not even a little bit healthy, but it is delicious.

[link=http://www.amazon.com/Pancakes-Morning-Midnight-Dorie-Greenspan/dp/0688141048/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363549124&sr=1-1&keywords=pancakes+from+morning+to+midnight]Pancakes from Morning to Midnight[/link]. Gingerbread pancakes with poached pears, lemon ricotta hotcakes.

[link=http://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Brunch-Delicious-Recipes-Start/dp/1845979109/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363549317&sr=1-2&keywords=breakfast+%26+brunch+tonia+george]Breakfast & Brunch[/link]. Wild mushroom mini-frittatas, poached eggs on spinach with yogurt and spiced butter.

Now I feel a little silly for having these books and not making much use of them. Maybe I'll start using some of these recipes for weekend brunches.

[Aurora rising]

Pancakes, muesli and - the best - warm shakes with (for example) banana, berries, tahin, peanut butter. Fill with milk and / or milk-alternative (at the moment I love rice milk), put in a blender and mix until its smooth. I prefer it warm, but one can eat it cold as well.

[Nastyasty]

Some breakfasts I like are:

Scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice, milk

Greek yoghurt, red berries, granola

Weetabix, banana

Peanut butter on toast, apple

Porridge with dried apricots or raisins

Mushroom omelette and toast

Waffles, raspberries, plain yoghurt

French toast, strawberry and banana smoothie

Bacon sandwich, apple

Egg, bacon, sausage, baked beans

Baked beans on toast

Crumpets, honey, banana, milk

Cold fruit pie e.g. cherry or apple

Blueberry pancakes

[gingerjo]

I find the 6-minute soft-boiled egg to be a good passive way to make breakfast, since you don't have to stir or watch the pot while the eggs cook. Also, you really don't have to wash anything after, since the pan just had water in it (I admit, I wash mine like every three times)

[tenth muse]

Beans on toast with a mug of hot milk is probably my favourite in the 'quick and easy' category'

If I was doing something special on the weekend, I love ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter and strawberries. Yum.

[stonechat]

Very happy to find this thread, as breakfast here is always dull - museli and yoghurt, toast or porridge. Was in desperate need of some new ideas!

[Aurora rising]

If I was doing something special on the weekend, I love ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter and strawberries. Yum.

oh, this sounds amazing. Do you have a recipe for it??? Pretty please?

[1004srs]

I like this thread. I must have missed it the first go-round.

We are a breakfast family. Nothing worse as a kid than being hungry at school.

I don't let them have juice very often. I think it has a lot of calories and isn't filling.

We don't eat eggs unless they are mixed with something like a muffin. We used to eat eggs from our local, small dairy, but my kids went off them for some reason about a year ago. I love hard 2 boiled eggs mashed up with real butter.....

I try to make sure there is protein, carbs, and a fruit.

Plus, my son has hit just puberty and he's an athlete, so he's always hungry. My daughter isn't there yet, but she is also an athlete. So they each take a granola bar for a snack before lunch. We go to a very small, Catholic school with about 7 kids per class. THe teachers don't mind if the kids bring healthy snacks to eat during class.

Weekdays they get to choose from one of these. I am a morning person, so it isn't a biggie.

cereal (store brand shredded wheat or cornflakes) and berries and a few walnuts - either with yogurt or milk.

PB&J or Nutella, banana and milk

Cheese quesidilla and apple slices.

Toast, Yogurt, and fruit

Steel cut oats, milk and raisins

SOft pretzels from Schwans, peanut butter or Nutella, and a fruit

Saturday, if I'm not working early - homemade muffins with real butter and a plate of cut up assorted fruit to munch on while they watch morning tv.

[1004srs]

I just re read your original post. Are the girls going to bed on time?

My DD has a 7:30 bedtime and DS has a 8 bedtime during the school year. Except on sports nights and it is snack, shower, and bedtime as soon as we get back from the field.

Both kids wake up and get ready in the morning with very little assistance. It is my expectation. They both have a checklist on their doors as a reminder and they pick up the living room before I take them to school. I won't nag them.

DD has wavy thick hair. SHe hates it to be combed. So, until she would comb it herself she had an ear length bob. She's in 2nd grade this year and has started combing her hair or letting me do it. I am letting her grow her hair out now. But, if we run into problems again - it will be cut.