Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Breakfast in a Hurry

Just like our mommies always told us, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Studies have shown if you start out eating bad foods for breakfast, or God forbid, no breakfast, then people are more likely to eat fattier foods, as well as, snack more throughout the day.  Breakfast is known to increase productivity, concentration, creativity, and hand-eye coordination.  Eating breakfast is crucial to living healthy!

Any meal should contain protein, dairy, whole wheat, and fruits/vegetables.  With this said, a cup of coffee is not breakfast.  Breakfast should fill you up and not let you crash an hour after you eat.  Also, for most of us, we are staying in bed until the very last second, so breakfast needs to be quick.  This combination make breakfast a difficult meal.

If you are like most people, planning breakfast is the last thing you want to do, especially if your brain hasn't joined your body for the day.  I have several quick breakfast ideas that you just have to throw together and eat it.  It doesn't get much better than that!

Breakfast Crunch



1 cup of Oikos Greek yogurt (fruit on the bottom)
1/3 cup of bluberries
3 large strawberries cut in slices
1/4 cup of granola

Mix all of these ingredients together.  Eat.  Enjoy!  Greek yogurt has so much more protein than regular yogurt, and when you add all of these berries and the whole grain granola, you make this a truly well-rounded breakfast.

Whole Wheat Bagel



1 low calorie, whole wheat bagel or 1/2 regular wheat bagel
1 TBSP peanut butter
Blueberries

Toast the bagel.  Slather it with the peanut butter and sprinkle the berries on top.  This is a great savory breakfast with whole grains of the bagel, protein in the peanut butter, and the blueberries add a lovely sweetness.  You can also substitute the blueberries with any fruit!  Try bananas, strawberries, or even chewy raisins.

One-Eyed Toast



1 large egg
1 slice of wheat toast
thin slathering of butter
pinch of salt and pepper

This recipe is inspired by my dad who knows how to cook approximately 5 things.  Whether as toast or as a ham sandwich like my dad makes it, this is a yummy dish!  Heat a skillet to medium high heat.  Spread a thin layer of butter on either side of your bread.  Cut a hole in the center of your bread.  As you can see, I accidentally cut my hole too big, but it was still delicious!  Lay your bread in the skillet and crack the egg in the hole.  Once the bread starts to toast up, flip it.  When the egg is cooked, remove the toast from the skillet and serve with fruit.  I sprinkled the toast with chopped parsley just for effect...it is not a quick breakfast essential!

If even these recipes are too much to for you to whip up in the morning, other options are getting a whole wheat cereal and cutting up fresh fruit in it.  You could also get some instant oatmeal and mix in some raisins, cinnamon, and honey.

I hope you enjoy this quick dishes, because breakfast really is the best part of waking up!