I don’t know about you mommas, but the breakfast and prepping for school rush has been a big learning curve for us. I used to idealize cozy long (early) mornings with the girls getting up to eat steaming bowls of oatmeal with me, or kale and egg scrambles (my personal fav), before heading out. But, reality is something all together different. Usually the girls prefer sleep and lingering over getting dressed/morning activities to sitting and eating at home. If we do gather together it’s on the couch for some praying and journaling time, and then I’m focused on lunch prep….so…
I’ve come up with some compromise breakfast options that I feel really good about sending them out the door with for a strong start to their day. My girls are lucky enough to drive with their dad every day (about 15-20 min) so they have time to eat in the car, and they enjoy chatting with dad, listening to their spotify playlists, or books on tape, and easing into their day that way…
We’ve all heard it—breakfast is in many ways the most important meal of the day–and sometimes the hardest to make time for. I know that giving them this habit and making sure to mix it up, we’re setting them up for a life of enjoying breakfast, and making sure they’ve planned ahead for it.
I love the idea of making some of these in batches as the week kicks off, and having them around to really simplify things–so much easier to heat up overnight oats quickly, or egg/zucchini bites, rather than doing scrambles and hot meals from scratch. What have you found that you love and that works for your kids/husbands/selves for those rushed mornings that still require nutritious starts?
1) Hard Boiled eggs. I discovered (remembered) recently that my daughter Corinne and my husband Joel are crazy about hard-boiled eggs. She won’t really eat them the other ways we prepare them, but in this form she’ll eat 3-4 in one sitting–I love seeing her hold them and happily scarf them down after peeling them. Emma will eat only the egg whites so that’s not ideal, but we make it work. These are great to make a dozen at a time and store for up to a week (if they last that long)…I always try to sneak some fruit in with it…clementines are a year round winner–for ease as well as taste.
2) Apple Cinnamon coconut overnight oats (Recipe below). So I have been slow to jump on the overnight oats bandwagon, wondering how my kids would do with them. With these, you can add a plant protein powder (optional), but they are nutritious and dense and yummy even without. I would suggest putting them in small (mini) mason jars, as the normal serving size is too big for little kiddos to finish off. Can be heated up on these current chilly mornings.
3) Zucchini tots (recipe below)—These are awesome to make ahead, in batches in muffin tins. I had them help me grate the zucchinis from our local farm, and they enjoyed seeing them being made, so it was less of a shock when I offered them the next day for breakfast. You can also, in a pinch, use powdered organic greens–sometimes more practical in winter months in terms of getting the good greens into them.
- Pumpkin spice coconut raisin breakfast cookies–what a delicious mouthful to say 🙂 (recipe below). These are made with plant protein powder instead of the flour, so they are dense, hearty, don’t cause a sugar crash, and are super yummy. I don’t know about you, but I love a good filling cookie, and this one fits the bill for breakfast–you can choose different mix ins like nuts you may have (walnuts, cranberries, etc). The pumpkin spice base is subtle and delicious and allows for various pairings.
Even with these 4 meals that require a bit of extra foresight/shopping for ingredients (gotta love a Sunday night prep session to make the mornings go well)–it’s also great to have super quick and easy grab-and-go options. For us, that’s clementines, apples, sometimes mini bagels and cream cheese (better carb to protein ratio than a normal size bagel), and Vans gluten free blueberry waffles (so easy and a big hit). This way, there’s never a day you’re too busy to throw something together that will fuel their brains & warm their hearts.
And of course, I always send them out the door chomping on their incredivites or chewable Vit C (or drinking the vitalized immunity if they have complained of a tickly throat, etc). More on my passion for supplementing well with littles and our story here.
Cheers to finishing out these final (cooler) weeks of the year with nourishing starts to our day. Our little ones see what we do and model us, so I make a peanut butter/banana/chocolate shake for their dad to take with him daily (he loves how full he stays until lunch time) and I model for them that I’m reaching for the same things–nourishing foods (rather than just caffeine) to start the day right!
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What are your top fav meals to prep for busy mornings, and what other tips do you have for making these precious first minutes/hours of the day run smoothly and peacefully?:) Share away!
-Maddy
RECIPES:
Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats
(from That Clean Life)
Serves: 4
Time: 8 hours (overnight)
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups Oats
- 1.5 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 2 tbsps Chia Seeds
- 1 tbsps Honey (or Maple Syrup)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1 Apple (cored and diced)
- 1 cup Walnuts (chopped)
Directions:
- Combine oats, almond milk, chia seeds, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and water in a large glass container. Stir well to evenly mix. Cover and store in the fridge overnight.
- Remove from fridge. Use single-serving size jars (250 mL or 500 mL in size) and place a few spoonfuls of the oat mixture in the bottom of each. Then add a layer of diced apple followed by a layer of chopped walnuts. Repeat until all ingredients are used up.
- Store in the fridge up to 4 days or until ready to eat. Add an extra splash of almond milk and/or a drizzle of honey (optional).
Suggestions:
Warm It Up – Heat in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds before eating
Vegan – Use maple syrup instead of honey
More Protein – Add 1 small scoop plant protein, hemp seeds or a spoonful of nut butter
Zucchini Tots
Adapted from the blog Mess for Less
Ingredients:
- 1-2 medium zucchini (aiming for 2 cups of shredded zucchini once water has been squeezed out).
- Can use broccoli instead if your kids prefer that flavor palate, or powdered greens.
- 1/2 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or mozzarella depending on what your kids like.
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 6 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400. Grease a regular muffin pan (or we used some fun leftover cupcake fillers that made them excited).
Shred one zucchini and wrap in cheese cloth. Squeeze out excess water from the zucchini.
In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup shredded zucchini, eggs bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper.
Using a spoon, scoop the mixture into a greased mini muffin pan. The mixture will make 12 zucchini tots.
Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees until tops start to crisp.
Fall Flavors Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup raw organic sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup flour (almond flour for GF, or Einkorn for less gluten, white whole wheat is what I would tend to grab)
- 1 cup vanilla plant potein
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (the one time of year we get to go overboard with this spice)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 cups coconut
- 1 cup raisin]
- 2 cups oats
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, and gently fold in vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together well, and then add to kitchen-aid, blend until well mixed. Can add coconut, raisins and optional nuts in for an even denser texture (and more goodness snuck in).
When dividing them up and placing on the cookie sheet, be sure to flatten them a bit, as they are dense and won’t move much into a final “cookie shape”. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Serve warm with tea for after school snacks, or send them packing in the mornings!