I am in a breakfast rut. Every morning I walk into the kitchen and spend ten minutes rummaging through every cupboard and every drawer until I realize I want none of it. I don’t want toast. I don’t want cereal. I don’t want a greasy scrambled egg. It’s getting so bad that I’ve started to resort to non-breakfast foods; leftover pasta, stringed cheese, peanut butter and jelly. I’m always very disappointed.
This isn’t a new struggle. Breakfast and I have always had a tumultuous relationship. In the third grade I started throwing my breakfast in the trash when my parents left the room. By fourth grade I was skipping it all together, a habit that lasted up through high school and all the way through college.
Mostly I blame the timing. Who wants to eat a croissant at 6 or 7 in the morning? I am not awake.
It wasn’t until I reached my mid-twenties that I actually started enjoying food before 11am. All of a sudden something clicked and I loved cereal, craved yogurt, and could not get enough of crunchy granola. I may never get on board with your Lucky Charms, but Cranberry Almond Crack? It’s bliss.
Now I feel like I’m back at square one, making eggs and then throwing them in the trashcan. Pouring a bowl of cereal and then dumping it all back into the box.
Most people think I’m crazy. I think I’m crazy. Is it something biological that’s causing this repulsion? Am I missing the breakfast gene?
I know breakfast is important. Maybe I just need ideas. Not complicated ones, I’m not going to spend a half hour making Eggs Benedict every morning, but maybe you know something I don’t. Maybe you are eating the perfect breakfast and simply haven’t shared.
For the sake of my morning, what do you eat for breakfast? I need to know.
***
Light Multigrain English muffins with peanut butter and a glass of chocolate milk. Fast, easy, and SO good!
That actually sounds amazing.
Nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with canned pumpkin. Add honey, walnuts and lots of spices (pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, whatever). Sounds totally gross but it’s delicious. You can also mix it and throw it in the fridge to eat later if you make a big batch!
That sounds gross and also amazing. I love pumpkin. Must try.
You’re not going to like my suggestions.
Pancakes
Fried Eggs w/ toast
Toast and smoothies
Cooked oatmeal
Baked oatmeal
Egg sandwiches
Waffles (You need my waffle iron!)
French toast (casserole or regular)
That’s what we eat 90% of the times. The kids and I only eat cereal occasionally.
You are a night owl. Maybe you should whip up an overnight casserole before you head to bed. French toast casserole, baked oatmeal, some sort of egg casserole, etc. I love doing that. Or mix up the dry ingredients for pancakes or waffles the night before. That makes the morning feel like a breeze.
Breakfast is about my favorite. I don’t understand you. :)
I would like to eat one of these items if you made it for me.
I guess it boils down to me being too lazy to make something the night before. Also, pancakes gross me out. Too sweet, too early.
I am also in a rut. Right now it’s cereal, I make it a little better by adding fruit (frozen blueberries or fresh peaches). My history of breakfast ruts is about like your history of not eating breakfast. My mom probably still has a 200 count box of flavored oatmeal from Costco because for a while in high school that was all I ate every morning…until one day I got over it and stopped cold turkey. Other breakfast ruts have included: muffins from Costco (SO delicious and SO bad for you), cottage cheese with fruit and granola, yogurt with fruit and granola, bagel thins with lowfat cream cheese, real bagels with REAL cream cheese (pregnant), and also english muffin with peanut butter and chocolate milk!
OH, I forgot one…CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH. That one lasted for several years of my childhood.
I love your sidebar of (pregnant). When I was pregnant I ate Ramen noodles every morning. It’s a wonder Waylon was born with two arms and two legs.
I had beet seed cake and a tall coffee for breakfast this morning. The kids had granola, frosted flakes, and bananas. My husband had granola.
What about a peanut butter apple? Or some watermelon? A green smoothie?
Watermelon would be great, but I feel guilty buying one. That’s probably dumb. Beet seed cake? That sounds pretty gross.
I need to make my own granola.
I’m curious, why do you feel guilty buying a watermelon? And I agree, try making your own granola.
Hm…I married into a family that would never buy a watermelon. Only eat their own…which is a short span of time.
I should buy one. It’s my favorite.
We buy them sometimes, if that makes you feel any better :)
I eat chocolate chip eggo waffles… Every damn day
No shame! I love it.
Do you ever look at this blog? http://simplybreakfast.blogspot.com/ She makes simple things for breakfast, but sometimes it inspires me (like, buy bagels again – they’re good!).
Her toast today looks amazing.
I should buy some really good bread. That would help.
Lately I’ve been buying a frozen wheat baguette and then in the morning just cut off a section and throw it in the oven for ten. I cook one egg that is a little dippy and get out some jam. Then on the baguette halfs I add cream cheese and one side gets the egg on top, the other the jam. All with OJ and sometimes yogurt and fruit. Amazing.
I’ll be right over. That sounds really great. Must acquire good bread.
alright. ima give you my ideas right here right now!
the ezekiel bread people make a cinnamon/raisin english muffin that’s pretty good and is flour-less (i swear, you wouldn’t know it) so it actually has a protein punch. toasted, butter, yum.
quiche? night before for dinner, leftovers for breakfast. or, even easier, frittata (quiche without the crust in case you didn’t know)
my main go to is pineapple (canned), plain yogurt, and granola. so good.
oatmeal. boring, but it’s a standby.
wheaties with banana sliced on top (and milk).
annnd that’s all i got for now.
Thank you for explaining frittata. I forgot.
Must get my hands on some ezekiel bread. I never thought about canned pineapple. Canned fruit grosses me out, but I do love pineapple and mixed in with yogurt could be amazing. Thanks B.
This morning I ate a plain flour tortilla while driving at probably an unsafe speed through Park VIew to get to work, so yes, i am a morning role model. Pretty much the only time I eat a real breakfast is on Saturday mornings when the Little Grill makes it for me. but when I’m feeling fancy I break out the toad-in-a-hole (egg-in-a-basket, egg-in-a-hole, etc.).
You ate a PLAIN FLOUR TORTILLA for breakfast? I can’t stop laughing about this.
“so yes, i am a morning role model.” classic.
I used to have a roommate who would literally come to my bedroom door some mornings with fruit smoothies…she was the TRUE breakfast role model. those were the glory days.
Glory days indeed. She is my breakfast role model.
Well, I’m very boring and non-fancy. I usually go with quick and easy- because I’m not awake either and really just want something to go with my coffee. Cliff white chocolate macadamia nut granola bars, low-fat multigrain waffle (frozen) with butter and jam or with peanut butter and syrup. My favorite is shortbread cookies dipped in coffee…but I kind of like staying under 500 lbs. so I don’t allow myself that one too often. Pretty boring, I know. Not a big cereal or oatmeal fan.
“but I kind of like staying under 500 pounds” … HAHA
I like to go for a quick, easy, and healthy breakfast. I get those Quaker oatmeal packets (the ones with extra protein) and put one in a bowl with frozen blueberries. I top it with boiling water and that’s it! Sometimes I change the fruit, but blueberries are so good for you that I usually stick with them. The oatmeal fills me up and keeps me from getting hungry for a few hours. I love it!
Oatmeal keeps me full until like 2pm. It’s so THICK.
That’s because you eat breakfast at 11am.
Yogurt/fruit/granola parfaits are pretty amazing… or, throw all of that into the blender and make a smoothie. When I don’t have much of an appetite in the morning I find that light, chilly foods taste most refreshing. Plus, the yogurt has protein so it’ll kick-start your day! Good luck!
Come make it for me.
Sincerely,
Lazy of all lazies
I feel the same way about breakfast. It is just too early for all that food. I love dessert for breakfast, but I know that’s bad. Like homemade rice pudding? Perfection. Or pie. Pie is a good breakfast.
On days when I try to be responsible I eat a fried egg with hot sauce, tortilla soup, sliced peaches in a bowl with half n half and a little sugar, French toast, or yogurt. I know. Mostly a failure.
That doesn’t sound like a fail to me. I love eggs and hot sauce for dinner.
Pie is the perfect breakfast.
Most mornings I eat Greek yogurt Mixed with fresh or frozen fruit, honey and cinnamon. I alternate that with steel cut oats made in the slow cooker and smoothies. I know it sounds silly, but I try to make my breakfast look as fancy as possible so I’ll always want to eat it.
I would like a fancy breakfast.
I’m on a cottage cheese and fruit kick. It’s really good with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and especially cut up peaches. Yum!
I need to give cottage cheese another chance.
These days it’s whatever I can find to eat while nursing a baby. But my favorite breakfast food? Chips and salsa! What a great way to start your day! And because Matt’s not as weird as me I made a bunch of bacon egg and cheese sandwiches on English muffins and froze them. He just puts one in the fridge the night before and microwaves it in the morning.
Oh Mandy. That is brilliant (freezing the sandwiches).
PS: I totally ate chips and salsa for breakfast a few days ago.
Our go to is an english muffin with two fried eggs, but oatmeal is a close back up. I’m also digging cinnamon raisin toast with peanut butter, honey and banana. We were big on green smoothies for a while but that’s a lot of effort and I can’t help but feel a bit pretentious making those. I made these Larabars for the first time this week and they’re pretty dang amazing and super easy: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/07/01/recipe-homemade-larabars-4-ways-including-nut-free/
But my breakfast crack is definitely eggo waffles and scones, I can eat a shameful amount of both. That’s can’t-keep-in-the-house type of stuff around here.
Happy eats!
Whoa Meggie. Your talk of english muffins made me fish my stash out of the freezer.
Thanks for the link! I might just make those. Delish.
The consistency of regular oatmeal makes me gag, but baked oatmeal is my jam. I vary the mix-ins like blueberries, dried cranberries and nuts, but it’s always yummy. And it heats up well. I’ve also been known to make an apple pie “because it’s my husband’s favorite” and have it for breakfast. You can’t go wrong with pie.
A woman of my own heart. There is never a wrong time for pie.
Have you had shoofly pie? Heaven. Breakfast heaven! Too bad I don’t make pie.
Love baked oatmeal, but mostly for an evening snack. I don’t know why!
I tend to eat cereal or junk for breakfast, being pregnant, or nothing at all. Today I went to mom’s, she had good old German brown bread, cheeses, salami, butter, jam, peaches, and hard boiled eggs. Love eating breakfast with her! Typical European breakfast is my fave. I’m just too poor and/or lazy to do it myself.
Poor and lazy. I hear you.
I love bread and cheese for breakfast. I need to move to Germany.
Fruit smoothie all the way! Fresh or frozen fruit, greek yogurt, a splash of orange juice, one banana, & a handful of ice. Good.to.go.
Ugh. Fine.
Steel cut oatmeal with a really yummy, natural peanut butter is divine. It’s like eating a peanut butter-oatmeal cookie. (That was profound.) And it keeps me full forEVER.
I have never heard of putting peanut butter in oatmeal.
Life changed.
I make muffins once a week. my favorite is a morning glory muffin, it has apple, carrot, pineapple, coconut, raisins and nuts. They are sooo good!
Planning ahead…wise woman.
Oh yay, breakfast! Gag down something good for you. I’ve tried for years to really enjoy more than a couple bites – blah. That said, I always enjoy whatever is served me by someone else… and I do make good pancakes even if I do say so myself… :)
I would eat your pancakes.
I have recently been starting to drink a glass of water before breakfast becuase I started finding that I wasn’t hungry in the morning. So I’ll drink some water first let that sit for a little and then maybe you’ll find that you have an appetite for something…It seems to help me maybe it’ll help you too!
Well that, my friend, is brilliant.
I would say that Turkey Hill ice cream is the ticket. Perhaps it is not an every morning go-to, but it is NOT disappointing unless you overdo it…which can happen.
Best. Answer. Yet.
I used to eat ice cream for breakfast when I was in high school. Where in the heck was my mother?
I have a love/hate relationship with breakfast. I love the idea of breakfast, especially because I wake up starving most mornings, but I hate the act of actually making it. Also, I have this issue with eating the things that I make. After I go through the process of cooking, I have no desire to eat. Also, I’m allergic to eggs, so there’s an automatic strike against breakfast for me. Right now I force myself to eat oatmeal with brewer’s yeast and milled flax seed for breakfast. I call it Lactation Goo. I mix in different fruits and nuts. It’s okay; I’m doing it for the baby.
This post is making me so hungry. I have lots of ambitions for the items people listed above, but like you, nothing seems right in the morning. So I typically grab a banana or a pop-tart. And occasionally I will make kashi instant oatmeal at work.
But really, as long as you give me coffee, I will be happy, even if hungry.
i am on a peanut butter kick lately, so my suggestions are: peanut butter cheerios (they can be hard to find, but they are mulit grain, so can’t be bad, right?), english muffin with peanut butter + banana. or a ‘green monster’ smoothie: one banana, one cup of almond milk, TONS of spinach, and you can add peanut butter to it too. some people put flax seed in theirs, i say who has time for that?
*multi
baked oatmeal, oat waffles ( I make a big batch and then freeze them for later), and smoothies
i eat the exact same thing every morning so that i don’t have to think. cereal and milk. unless i’m feeling really adventurous or i’m on vacation.
Ezekiel Bread english muffin–flourless and pretty good. Topped with almond butter and sugar free grape jelly. This holds me from 6am til 12:30–very good and good for you-I have it every day during the school year. Also, I can eat it in the car:)
Granola with yogurt. I’ve got a really easy recipe my sisters gave me – really easy, trust me – and it’s actually good for you and *amazingly* doesn’t taste like sawdust.
I make homemade sausage egg mcmuffins. I just bake my eggs in a muffin pan, and then toast some english muffins and throw some ham or breakfast sausage or spinach and tomato on top and run out the door. They’re good, filling, and easy, and the kids totally believe I get up early and buy them McDonalds breakfast in the morning.
I love breakfast so much! I’m totally a morning person (WHY am I still up?!). I’m not attracted to sweet breakfasts very often. My favorite breakfast is cheese toast: good bread, slice of cheese on top, run under the broiler until bubbly and toasty. Great with some citrus or tomatoes on the side if you like that. Best with black coffee.
Another fave: cold pizza or cold mac and cheese. These are leftovers, so they’re brainless.
I don’t like smoothies. I have to be in the right mood for granola (I do make my own – 2 good recipes on my blog). I love eggs and buttered toast with black coffee.
I’d like to hear how your breakfast routine changes! This was such an interesting post.
Here is what I have been eaten all my life, cheese sandwich you can put the sandwich in the oven to get the cheese melted, with a cup of regular tea or green tea!
Hope that helped;-)
My husband loves eggs with a little salsa inside a tortilla. It is kind of breakfast meets lunch…. He also hates breakfast! Ps I just started reading your blog and I love your honesty and sense of humor!
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