Breakfast help
 

So, in an effort to a) be healthier and b) not spend a fortune (much as I love a Starbucks brekkie, my bank balance doesn't!), I have started making breakfast and eating it on my commute. But I am already starting to get bored so need some ideas! Today I had a 1 egg plus egg white omelette in a multigrain wrap with spicy black bean spread. Last week I had scrambled egg whites with red peppers and scallions in a wrap with either hummus, guacamole, or salsa.

The ideal breakfast should be a) filling, so I don't get the munchies around 9am, b) preppable in advance (night before) with minimal morning time effort (microwave for a minute is about my tolerance!), c) vegetarian (eggs and cheese ok) and d) around the 250 calorie mark. Other than that, I don't really like cereals and don't like mushrooms or celery.

Any ideas?

I don't know how travel computes in to your math here but I'm never really home enough to justify buying "raw material" groceries unless I can cut quantities to a weekend or so worth. I hate spending $200 at an organic grocery store and then chunking/giving away everything on Sunday.

My latest tweak to my breakfast routine is a bit Mediterranean. At home (and virtually everywhere I travel) it is typically pretty easy to find a Middle Eastern grocery. I get some olives and white cheese, which seems to have a decent tolerance to being out of the fridge for a few hours (I'm still alive, so working to this point). I pack baggies of olives and 2 or 3 triangles of the cheese. I eat one at the hotel and one as I'm leaving. I stick the last in my laptop bag and eat it around noon. That holds me until an early dinner and, since I'm not eating as late as I used to, I have an easier time getting to sleep and have less in my belly during my inactive periods.

The best part is I've been able to get this concoction through airport security 99.99% of the time....I only failed once. While the olives have olive oil on them, I guess the round shapes don't draw attention on the xray.

The only travel the breakfast has to withstand is the train as sadly I am not travelling much for work these days. Olives and cheese sounds good - thanks!

Breakfast is must for me and I never skimp out on breakfast. Usually my wife makes some extra muffins and freeze them. When I need them, I take them from the freezer before sometime for breakfast. I put them in baking stone and pop into a 350 degree over about 8 to 10 minutes and they become almost as good as fresh. I enjoy them with a cup of tea or milk.

Some fruit in there? Most of it comes in it's own packaged and easy to prepare. It should have enough sugar to get the motor running and can snacked on again at 9am to help stave off the hungries.

If not fresh, then dried.

You can do some amazing things cooking mini quiches in cup cake liners. They can be frozen and put in a ziplock in the freezer and warmed up for a minute or two in the microwave before you leave, or simply allowed to thaw overnight and eaten on the coldish side.

While not a fan, there are plenty of people having oatmeal on the train, bringing a commuter cup of hot water into instant oatmeal.

Quiche sounds good, will look into cup cake portions.

Oatmeal has never been my thing, but maybe come the cooler months it might be worth revisiting.

Fruit is fine, but I've never found it especially satisfying - bananas are ok but beyond that, not much. I tend to snack of veggies with cottage cheese or hummus mid morning, more savory minded I guess! Perhaps an apple and peanut butter could work for breakfast now I ponder... Hmmmm!

Thanks everyone!

I find that refried beans, eggs, cheese and salsa make a great filling breakfast burrito/wrap. I usually have some bacon or sausage in mine, but they're still good without it.

[edit] Just noticed this is very similar to what you're getting tired of. Oh well...

Chocolate covered raisins? A little fruit, a little fat, a little sweet?

Yoghurt? Plain with your own added items, or pre-flavored.

I've done this. The "cup quiches" are decent and can be filling. Mine came out very bland after freezing, however.

Personally, I just like to have a bowl of cereal in the morning. It's fast and convenient. Choose a cereal that doesn't have too much sugar and more fiber and it will be more filling. I like Post Great Grains and Shredded Wheat and Bran (the latter with some Splenda or a banana).

Beware of instant oatmeal: it's often had its fiber removed and a lot of sugar added. So, it's high in calories but won't keep you full for long.

Oh, a slice of toast with some peanut butter on it is also a good standby. Whole wheat toast, preferably.

it isn't a traditional brekky food - but I save a heap of money and time by buying LOTS of chicken breasts and poaching them with various herbs/spics/sauces. Once cooked I portion out into takeaway style containers and freeze them (also add in veges if desired).

Quick to microwave, and it comes out soft and juicy.

I use Ziplock steamer bags to make my omelette in the morning, usually I thow in some combination of spinach, broccoli, asparagus, whatever chopped vegetables i have on hand etc plus fresh herbs. I use turkey sausage for extra flavor & texture, but you could use cheese (I don't do dairy).

Or I will make a frittata on Sunday night and reheat portions thoughout the week using the same basic ingredients. After heating, I sprinkle fresh chopped chives (I cut with scissors) on top as that seems to brighten it up.

I use a combination of 1 egg, egg whites, and then almond milk to add more body, maybe with a tbsp of butter or margarine. My prep & cooking time in the morning is no more than 3 minutes, usually much less.

I eat out of a reusable plastic container, usually while on the way to my workout. Easy to throw away if I don't have somewhere to quickly wash it but usually less messy than eating a wrap.

My other breakfast option usually involves some leftover black beans mixed with chiles and whatever chopped vegetables I have on hand. As with the eggs, I just reheat in a plastic container in the morning. A quick grab & go breakfast without settling on junk.

I'd love to eat chocolate covered raisins for breakfast, but I am not sure they would come under the 'healthy' banner.

Yogurt is another idea to add to the list - thanks!

I've never found a cereal I actually like! I can put up with one bowl once in a while but that is about it. I guess I am not a huge milk fan to begin with, and dry cereal is a bit like eating cardboard. Tried yogurt, but that is a bit like eating yogurt with bits of cardboard in! The only cereal I have ever revisited is the cinnamon 'pillow' cereal, no idea of its name, but it is so sugar laden, again, it is not 'healthy'.

Peanut butter on toast is a good option, thanks.

Afraid I am veggie, so not an option for me. Thanks tho!

A Spanish frittata with potatoes is a good idea, might give that a go - make it ahead and nuke. Like the idea of the black beans with some veggies, maybe tomatoes and cilantro for a mexican kick -might add a dollop of yogurt too in my version. Thanks!

I do use a plastic container - and I eat my wraps with a knife and fork so minimum mess! (and why yes, I do look ridiculous doing so I am sure, but my clothes stay clean!)

I'm not a veggie but I try & limit my meat intake to one meal. Black beans are my big staple - mix with different combinations of vegetables & spices and you have tons of meal options.

Mrs Sweet Willie's traveling breakfast of choice.

Thankfully I work out of the house so I fix a proper breakfast.

I'm on a tofu making kick at the moment and am discovering the joys of okara, which is the by product left over when you turn soy beans into soy milk.

Turns out it's perfect for baking with, and because it's high in protein it's pretty filling also.
You should be able to make a huge batch of muffins with okara and other herbs and vegetables and put these in the freezer. You can just warm them up to defrost them quickly in the mornings.

BTW a Spanish frittata (egg, salt, oil, potatoes - and onion for moistness and flavour when eating it later, no need to nuke as it's excellent at room temperature) is a tortilla de patatas or potato omelet. For Spaniards it's commonly considered to be our national dish (although there's debate whether it's just the omelet that represents the country's cuisine or the omelet in a crusty sandwich) so we're a bit sensitive about it being given an Italian name :)

Another idea: quinoa with honey, almonds, or yogurt. You could make a big batch on weekends and have it throughout the week.

I LIKE quinoa but I'm not sure I could stomach it this way. Quinoa is a great idea for the morning, but how about a breakfast bar? Ideally combined with oats? You can keep them in a tin or the freezer. There seems to be lots of recipes for quinoa breakfast bars on the web.

Another alternative I thought of was using tofu (not the okara) as an ingredient in a soda bread, which is very easy to make and the tofu protein makes it very filling.
http://cookpad.com/recipe/278889
I doubled the recipe for four rolls so the ingredients are:
172gms silken tofu
200gms bread flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons cooking oil
large pinch of salt
Blend/whisk the tofu with the oil until smooth. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the tofu & oil. Combine and knead for 2-3 minutes. Shape into four balls and cut a deep incision into each ball. Preheat the oven to 220C and then bring down to 200C once the bread has been put inside. Cook at 200C for 10 minutes.

Feta and Vegetable Frittatas
 

This is a Weight Watchers recipe. Each one is 2 points .. so calorie wise equivalent to about 80 calories.


Ingredients
4 spray(s) cooking spray
6 large egg(s)
4 large egg white(s)
1/2 cup(s) water
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 cup(s) fresh spinach, baby leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup(s) canned artichoke hearts, without oil, cut in chunks (or frozen, cooked artichoke hearts)
1 cup(s) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup(s) roasted red peppers (packed in water), chopped
1/2 cup(s) uncooked scallion(s), sliced
1/4 cup(s) low fat cream cheese, at room temperature

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 8-hole muffin pans with cooking spray (or use one 12-hole pan and four holes from another muffin pan).


In a medium bowl, beat eggs, egg whites, water, salt and pepper until blended. Stir in spinach, artichoke hearts, feta, roasted peppers, scallions and cream cheese; mix well.


Spoon about 1/4-cup egg mixture into each prepared muffin hole. Bake until just set, about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen edges of frittatas with a rubber spatula, sliding spatula underneath frittatas to loosen bottoms and lift frittatas out of pans; serve. Yields 1 frittata per serving.

I do a toasted english muffin with 1 T of nut butter (usually cashew) and 1 T of jam. This is my go-to breakfast on mornings when I barely have time to think and made while I'm waiting on my coffee to pour.

I've never come across okara before.

I suspect the 'Spanish frittata' is so called by me because it is what my Italian friends call it (in the same way people call something an 'English Muffin' when they are outside of England). My Brit friends call it a Spanish omelette (the more common spelling there, but from the same origin), but I suspect that is equally wrong too, as omelette / omelet is a French word for an egg dish - no different from frittata in Italian!

It sounds nice - will bear it in mind for when I am less fed up of eggs!

I shall add it to the list!

Never had it prepared any other way than like cous cous (savoury flavours) so it seems a bit odd, but maybe worth a shot!

PB on whole wheat toast is pretty satisfying. For some variety, you can substitute Nutella and both go well with sliced bananas on top.

Spanish omelette/omelet is also perfectly acceptable. The only danger is that some Britons still think of Spanish omelet as something you make with a packet of frozen mixed vegetables, that, or the leftovers scooped out from around the kitchen sink plug hole (always tasted that way to me :eek:)

Seriously. Pizza.

Since you are vegetarian, slice of cheese pizza. If you have a Whole Foods that sells them by the slice, that is good. Buy a few slices, take them home and freeze them. Microwave for breakfast.

Or for nutrition--if you can have fish? If so, canned kippered herring is good, especially with sliced tomato and a few saltines.

My usual breakfast is plain microwaved oatmeal with a tablespoon or two of wheat germ, plus a few shredded wheat kernels on top, and then plain lowfat kefir or buttermilk and maybe a few tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt. Almost wish it were time for breakfast, thinking about it. :D But I don't expect to convert many people.

Anyhow, pizza. Or cheese toast if you have the time. And an orange or banana and vitamin tablet. And maybe lettuce.

ETA: If you're really tired of the usual line-up, consider microwaved corn tortilla topped with salsa for a perfectly satisfying breakfast. Messy if taking it outside, of course. And might need a bit of sour cream or cheese if it has to last you till lunch.

So true. With banana, as you mention, or blueberries. Plain peanut butter, no sugar or even salt. Or sometimes, almond butter, plain, on ww toast. FoodforLife Cinnamon Raisin sprouted grain bread, toasted, with plain peanut butter on top.

The American Plan - one slice of cold pizza and a room-temperature Pabst Blue Ribbon (in the can)...

Good question, and the quiche answer is also good.

To the problem of freezing and reheating, yes it can be an issue, the answer is to put some moisture retaining items in the quiche. That means put some veggies in there. I recommend tomato and spinach. I would recommend mushroom as well but OP vetoed that :) Cheese can help to some extent if it is oily, but that is less healthy as well. I prefer using small amounts of strong cheese in my quiche(blue, Gorgonzola, feta). When putting veggies in, for those you will freeze put just a little 'more' than you think is required due to moisture loss.

In addition it you freeze it put a bit of extra pepper and salt, it simply needs if you plan to freeze. Personally I'd not freeze them more than 4-5 days, and really you can make a small pan of 6 of them easily, and they won't have to be frozen that long and easily made, and with cupcake liners, very easy cleanup.

Edit: just came to me that possibly you could even do a 'salsa quiche' with a liquidy salsa, and it would come out good after freezing with some bold flavors as well.

Thanks all!

Aside from wondering why a French word for 'egg dish' is fine, and the same word in Italian is offensive, some great ideas. Thanks!

Crunchy PB on apple slices works too

I am simply dazzled and in awe by those who prepare amazing breakfasts; either, the night before or the day of....
For Me:
Option 1: low fat plain yogurt with fresh berries and a small handful of outstanding granola.
Option 2: If I am out of yogurt or berries, I know I always have fresh eggs from Farmer's Market. Scramble a couple of eggs and serve with good Farmer's Market Tomatoes.
Option3: Out of everything: Always a bagel somewhere in the freezer and always a little butter in the fridge. If I am lucky enough to have one good Farmer's Mkt egg, I will fry that over easy, toast a half bagel and forgo the butter.

I used to eat a banana and a carton of milk (around 8 fl oz) for breakfast.

I have spent some time working at a microbrewery.
The very best breakfast includes a sticky, fresh cinnamon roll and a warm IPA straight out of the fermenter..........

That sounds amazing!