My lack of sleep and the brain fog that accompanies pregnancy means that getting up in the morning is doable, but I often find myself peering into the fridge for several minutes looking for breakfast inspiration. None forthcoming, I’ll slump over a bowl of cereal. Good for about 20 minutes, til my blood sugar spikes and crashes. Coffee can help the energy issue but who wants to self-medicate with caffeine every single day?
In an attempt to get the monkey off my back improve my morning eating habits, I figured out something to help me get moving in the morning: a list of breakfast foods that are easy to make and hot (I’m a southern girl and need my hot breakfasts). To wit:
- Egg, veggie, and cheese “muffins” (bake the ingredients in greased muffin cups; good for portion control)
- Cherry-cinnamon baked oatmeal — my fave recipe is here. I use pecans, and they float to the top and get caramelized NOMNOMNOM.
- Dutch Apple Cheese Muffins — a $1000 grand prize recipe winner from Cooks Country magazine! Filled with protein and fiber and incredibly addictive. You can find a recipe here; I use plain granulated sugar for what she’s calling “Pioneer sugar”, and it’s easy to cut about 1/4 of the butter if you want to lighten the recipe a little.
- Steel-cut oatmeal– I make this with half milk and half water to boost the calcium. It takes about 30 minutes and I add nuts and dried fruit to add protein and fiber. I can’t go back to rolled oats after eating this for a year!
- Toasted bagel or english muffin with turkey and cheese or PBJ
A little breakfast meal-planning goes a long way when mornings are hectic or if you’re like me and they just don’t find you at your mental sharpest. So put a list on the fridge to help you figure it all out. It works for me! For more WFMW ideas, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.
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the egg/veggie/cheese muffin sounds great! Is it kinda like an omelette in a muffin tin? LOVE IT.
I’m in the ATL, too!
hey there amanda — yes, what you do is spray your tin and throw in whatever you have: bits of sausage, chopped veggies, a sprinkle of cheese, or even a spoonful of pico de gallo or salsa. Scramble some eggs in a bowl and then put a little egg in each one (10-12 eggs for a regular-sized, 12-cup muffin tin). If you run out of eggs you can add a little milk to stretch your mixture. They bake fast (maybe 15 mins tops?) and I throw the extras in a ziploc for easy reheating.
My husband is happy with a bagel and a schmear, but he’s from NYC. We southern girls need our sit-down breakfast!