I really don’t like cooking breakfast. I really don’t like eating breakfast. I love food, but the only thing I really want to eat in the morning is some sort of sweet, starchy item (think pastry) that goes with my coffee. Before 8, that’s the only thing that sounds appetizing and, alas, it is extremely bad about expanding the love handles.
My usual morning breakfast routine is something gourmet and exciting like Raisin Bran. I am in awe of these Moms who offer all these morning food choices to their kids. Eggs? Omelet? Egg white omelet with shaved asparagus and prosciutto curls? Cheese toast? Scone with marmalade? No problem, I’ll just whip up a batch. French toast? Bacon? Oatmeal?
That doesn’t really happen in our house, like, ever. I keep going on kicks where I try to cook us up a nice hot breakfast before my husband leaves for work, and I usually do a nice job for one morning. Or two, on a good stretch. Then it’s back to bowls of cold cereal or a granola bar and a banana. (That’s my other morning standby. )
I usually make myself eat something just because I know it’s important for my metabolism and all that, but I don’t really like it. I’d actually like to change this and really, I want to get better at preparing an appetizing morning breakfast option for us all. The problem is, I have too many criteria and since I can’t find something that meets them all, I just give up and we go back to default.
My Perfect Breakfast Critera:
1. Something low carb. Sugary sweet baked goods really don’t seem like a healthy way to start the day, even though muffins do go great with coffee.
2. Something not uber high fat, like delicious bacon or sausage or cheesy omelets. Again, since the point is to start your day on a healthy note, this seems kind of like shooting yourself in the foot. Or the stomach, so to speak. I’m not opposed to eggs, as in plain ole scrambled, so maybe there’s something there…
3. Something quick. Did I mention I have 3 kids? Every moment counts in the morning. Every moment is worth its weight in gold. I do not have time for stirring pots of bubbling breakfasty foods.
4. Something easy to eat, so that my 2 kids who are sitting at the bar feeding themselves won’t end up wearing most of their breakfast. It also needs to be
5. Something they’ll like, because I just am not ready for an “Oh Yes You WILL Eat Your Food” showdown in the morning. They’re not very picky but, you know, they’re kids.
So far, like I said, the best options seem to be a semi-healthy cold cereal (like Whole Grain Cheerios or Raisin Bran) or a banana with a granola bar or piece of whole wheat toast.
But that’s all so, so boring and blech and frankly I’m just tired of it. I’d like to serve my family something a little more warm and comforting on these cold winter mornings, but I’m at a loss. So I’m polling the crowd. I am desperate for ideas, recipes, make-ahead breakfast ideas, or anything that comes close to meeting my criteria.
Or, alternately, if any of ya’ll want to show up around 7:30 or so with a batch of fresh-baked anything, I’ll drop critera #1 in an instant and pour you a cup of coffee.
Help? Please? Share? I’m dying here…and we’re almost out of Raisin Bran.
Images courtesy of
D Sharon Pruitt.
