Sunday, January 13, 2013

Nutritious but QUICK breakfasts

I have been asked to share some recipes and since my upcoming book, Catholic Mom's Cafe is a type of devotional set up as a 5-minute retreat book to do right at your kitchen table, first thing in the morning, I'll begin with a breakfast theme.

What do you do for a nutritious but QUICK breakfast? Breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day because we are "breaking the fast" of not eating all night long. Plus, of course, we need to get our day started off on a solid nutritious foot, so to speak. Right?

Many times, though, the kids are extra rambunctious or our dear other half happens to be in a bigger hurry than usual and then there's some extra stress thrown into our morning. I think it's good to have a basic plan whenever possible. Of course, any mom knows that even with our best planning efforts, God only knows what happens on any given morning! If we at least TRY to plan in advance about what we're going to do, (or try to do!) we'll be calmer and more able to proceed as planned (hopefully!). Well, barring any unforeseen circumstance.

But, we all know that's a given, right?

I like to eat yogurt with fresh berries or other fruit and yummy granola on top for breakfast. Sometimes, I make my own granola and when I am out of it, I eat the Bear Naked kind or Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax or some type of natural granola.

I'll make some granola soon and take some photos so I can post them here for you, along with my recipe. Granola is simple to make and can be stored easily. Then you can simply wash and cut up some fresh fruit, add the yogurt, scoop some fresh HOME MADE granola (yum!) from a pretty jar on your kitchen counter, add on top of your yogurt and fruit--and VOILA!--a nutritious and delicious breakfast.

Sometimes, I am in the mood for eggs for breakfast. I love omelets with healthy ingredients but seldom have time to make this on a week day morning so I save this for Sundays. Speaking of Sundays, if I'm not doing omelets, that's when I typically make healthy pancakes for the family.

Lately, I am on a poached egg kick. I have no idea why, but I have been craving them. It's another very easy breakfast, simply boil water in a small saucepan or pot. Crack the eggs into the boiling water. Set the timer for three minutes, depending upon how soft or well you like your eggs. I prefer mine more on the well side so I know there's no chance of salmonella poisoning, but with the yolk still a bit runny. Three minutes in boiling water works for me. Then, use a slotted spoon and scoop out the eggs into your bowl, and if desired, sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper.

Now, at this point, you may think I am really crazy, but I then add a few slivers of fresh raw garlic on top of my poached eggs (for nutritional benefits) and a few shavings of some nice sharp cheese, like Dubliner or sharp cheddar on top of that for flavor. Of course, you can skip the raw garlic. :) You can eat your eggs with a side of whole grain toast if you'd like. This is a quick and healthy breakfast (for those who don't have problems with eating eggs). I grow organic garlic, by the way, so I have plenty on hand.

I have also enjoyed making the kids "egg in the holes" for breakfast--easy and fun. Some people call this "hen in the nest" and many other names. You've probably made these yourself.

Use a glass to cut out a hole in a piece of bread (hopefully healthy whole grain variety). You can also use a cookie cutter or something else similar. Put a little butter or oil in a skillet, heat it up on medium heat. Toast the bread (one side) and the circle you cut out of the bread on the skillet for a short while and then crack an egg carefully into the hole in the bread. Turn it over as if you are making a fried egg to cook the other side. Cook to the doneness you prefer.

So, stay tuned for my granola recipe. At some point, I'll also share a really nice breakfast recipe that I usually do on Christmas morning but you can do it any time of the year.

In the meantime, I hope you'll share your ideas here. What do you do to try to eat a nutritious meal when you don't have a lot of time? Do you try to plan ahead or just go with the flow? Don't be shy, I'd love to hear from you.:)

God bless you and yours!
Donna-Marie

5 comments:

  1. When I'm out of homemade granola, I'll just grind nuts, seeds, raisins, rolled oats, and coconut together in the food processor, and sprinkle a scoopful of the mixture onto corn flakes. It's about as quick as a breakfast can get, and is very tasty!

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  2. When I'm out of homemade granola, I just grind nuts, seeds, coconut, raisins, and rolled oats in the food processor, scoop the mixture onto corn flakes, and pour milk over all. It's as tasty a breakfast as it is quick!

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  3. A favorite here is quick oats in the microwave ("instant minute") with yogurt added afterward, and sometimes frozen fruit like raspberries added as well.
    I also love a poached egg -- especially with a fresh egg from our 10 hens!
    Thanks for posting your ideas!

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  4. Celeste! Wow, that's a great idea. I'll have to get my food processor out. I put it away to make space on the counter and now I have a reason to use it. :) Thank you for sharing here. God bless you!

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  5. Dear "Toad Pad,"

    Thank you so much for sharing. Oats are very healthy and, I too, love the poached eggs. How nice that you have ten hens! I used to have hens many years ago and am so tempted to get some.

    God bless!
    Donna-Marie

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