Breakfast Ideas for Busy Mornings
Breakfast Ideas for Busy Mornings
Contributor: Roba Bozakis, RD, LDN
Many of us are sometimes faced with chaotic mornings and leaving us no time for breakfast but feeling sluggish and irritability mid-morning. Food is fuel, eating breakfast will energize you and give you the boost you need to start your day. Eating breakfast helps with brain function, attention span, concentration and memory, reduces irritability and tiredness. It also can help prevent overeating later in the day and helps in achieving a healthy weight. Studies have even shown that children do better on tests by eating breakfast. So, give yourself and your kids a boost of energy with breakfast by trying the following tips on those busy mornings.
Keep it Simple
- Whole grain cereal, low fat milk with fresh berries
- Handful of nuts with yogurt
- Look for varieties of instant oatmeal with least amount of sugar or no sugar added and just add boiling water, can add nuts and cinnamon to bring out sweetness and for a crunch
- Add almond or peanut butter to whole wheat toast with banana
- It’s ok to eat nontraditional foods for breakfast, get creative with leftovers
- If you have left over chicken, make a chicken sandwich with avocado, cucumber and tomato on whole wheat toast or wrap
Preparation is Key-Plan the Night Before
- Make sure fruits/vegetables are washed, cut if needed a head of time
- Have hard boiled eggs peeled and ready to go and take a piece of fruit along
- Prepare muffin, pancake or waffle mix so it’s ready to cook in the morning
- Prepare smoothies the night before or stick to 3 ingredient smoothies the morning of such as 2tbs peanut butter, banana, 8oz of milk or ½ cup of raspberries, 1 cup milk and ½ cup of spinach or kale
- Create trail mixes and place in individualized bags ready to grab
- Create your own parfait using low fat Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, almonds or walnuts, coconut, try shredded wheat for a nice crunch
- Try making overnight oats- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats, 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce, 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt, ½ tsp pure maple syrup, ¼ tsp cinnamon, ½ cup milk, ½ apple chopped
Pack Your Breakfast to Go
- Have a breakfast ready to go in a bag to take along to work, or eat in the bus/car
- Already prepared protein shakes pack a lot of nutrients, grab and go
