Breakfast ideas?

[amianym]

One of the biggest things I'm struggling with foodwise at the moment (aside from simply, er, forgetting to eat) is getting a satisfying breakfast into my face in the morning. The things I do currently are either making an omelette or sausages and toast, having granola, making oatmeal, or er, not eating until the afternoon. Oatmeal or granola are easy, but they generally leave me feeling unsatisfied and exhausted (something about the fibrous grains/milk combo, I think, and I don't feel like I get enough protein despite that I make it with milk.) The omelette and toast option is more satisfying, but the prep is slightly harder, and for me the textures and flavors can be kind of hard to process sometimes, which leads to me eating very slowly. Despite that the balance of nutrients is good for me, three eggs and a slice of toast isn't quite enough food for me, and I can't just size it up because I'll tend to get bored with eating before finishing. I once tried making a batch of eggs + potatoes + veggies to eat throughout the week, which was good, but I don't think I can do that reliably, and I don't have enough storage containers to batch my breakfasts *and* lunches/dinners.

I'm hoping you might have some breakfast suggestions that involve plenty of protein, are not a type of porridge or use of granola, and for which the prep is quick and uncomplicated. I have some limitations on cost and of course sensory processing issues, but don't shy away from suggesting things on those grounds.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

If you're okay with dairy:

Greek yoghurt!

Minimal prep: I add a bit of honey (and some readymade ground nuts/flax out of a bag in the fridge, and a half tsp of cinnamon, but that's me gilding the lily). Some people add berries or flaked almonds or a bit of granola-y stuff. So, you can customize it to your taste/texture requirements. Lots of protein, and (at least in my experience) it feels substantial and satisfying.

[amianym]

That would be great, but dairy is a bit too expensive in my area for me to make a breakfast out of just that, more than occasionally. Thanks!

[killing_rose]

The large thing of Chobani cost me about 4 dollars in college, which, I was in college and broke. What I'd do with it to stretch it was a) add it to eggs, add it to granola, shove it on cereal, add fruit (apples, usually, oranges if they were half-decent price), use it in place of cream cheese on my toast, and occasionally (because I do not have children I have to model eating behavior for) stick it on top of cookies. The 16g of protein was well worth it for me, and when I wasn't as in need of protein, Greek Gods (7g of protein) was usually up to a full dollar cheaper.

[ghoti]

Smoothies? A little yogurt, some frozen fruit, protein supplementy things?

I'm into smoothies for breakfast

[anng27.livejournal.com]

I'm spoiled with a high-speed blender. If you've got a standard blender, you might need to make some changes to make this work for you, but here's my typical smoothie:

1 or 2 pieces of in-season fruit (I use an apple corer/slicer to cut things like apples and pears into 6ths while taking out the core at the same time, or I'll quarter then peel an orange)
1 banana
2 tbsp hemp seeds (this is for protein and healthy fats, could be replaced with other nuts or seeds or a packaged protein powder; you can soak nuts overnight so they'll blend more easily)
a glug of flax oil (again for healthy fats - I'm allergic to fish so this is my main source of omega-3 fatty acids)
1 carrot (I would just leave this out in a standard blender unless you're able to grate it first)
a few handfuls of fresh kale (or spinach if you're less brave or collards or other stronger greens if you're more brave - frozen chopped spinach is a good alternative in a standard blender, and you can play with other options like cucumber, cabbage, sprouts, etc depending on availability and your taste buds)
1/2 cup of frozen berries if I only used 1 in-season fruit in the beginning
ice (you'll find out how much works for you; 1 full tray is what I use)
1/2 cup of water to get the blades moving (use a larger amount of water, juice, milk, or milk alternative in a standard blender)
Depending on what fruits I used, I'll also add spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh ginger, etc

If this is too much food for you, you can reduce the number of fruits and amounts of greens going in, or store the rest in a glass jar in the fridge, but it's best to drink it the same day to get the most nutrition out of it.

I keep the prep easy and cost down by buying pre-washed greens, frozen organic berries, and hemp seeds at Costco, so other than the fruit and carrot everything can just be measured and dumped in the blender. (Even in a household of just 2 who try not to eat a lot of processed foods, we've found a Costco membership to be worthwhile for these items.) Hands down the best price I've found on flax oil is at Trader Joe's. It does need a good shake before using or you'll wind up with a thick layer of ground seeds at the bottom of the bottle when you're done. TJs also has smaller packages of pre-washed greens if Costco isn't an option or the bag there is just too big to get through before it goes bad.

The fat from the seeds and flax oil helps better absorb the nutrients from the fruits and veggies than eating them alone, and the fat and protein give you energy for the day and slow down digestion to avoid a sugar spike and crash like you'd get from a plain fruit smoothie.

Re: I'm into smoothies for breakfast

[amianym]

So, uh, I didn't want to overemphasize the cost limitations for fear that people would self-screen suggestions that I actually could make affordable, but I am really seriously not on a flax oil and kale kind of budget. More of a rice and beans kind of budget. Thank you for trying?

Re: I'm into smoothies for breakfast

[anng27.livejournal.com]

That's why I gave suggestions of where I find these things least expensively and possible replacements for some items. It's just a suggestion and what works for me for breakfast without a lot of lifting and stirring that I can't do. You can take it or leave it.

Another way to do breakfast is to eat the same kinds of foods you'd have at lunch or dinner. Rice and beans are a great base of protein and complex carbs. If you're already making those in bulk each week, there's no reason that you can't have them for breakfast, too.

Re: I'm into smoothies for breakfast

[killing_rose]

Huevos rancheros! Breakfast tostados!

...My ability to cook breakfast is limited, and I don't have the time to do so. My breakfasts are often leftovers, if I eat one at all. (Otherwise, popcorn, crackers, mac and cheese, fruit and cream cheese dip, and yogurt are all things that have been eaten at my desk before lunch in the past two weeks. Thankfully, no one in my department does breakfast well; S bought a giant sub and snacked on it throughout the latter portion of this past week. )

[birke]

I like baked beans in the morning; they have an optimal blend of protein and sugar. If you get them out of a can, they're super-easy. If your cost limitations require you to buy dried beans and soak them overnight, then cook from scratch, then it might be too complicated.

[majoline]

I usually make sandwiches to eat in the morning and if I didn't feel like it the night before, then they are easy to assemble and run out the door with too.

[greenbirds]

Ive got the same problem you do with eating just grainy food and being hungry an hour later. For breakfast, I like peanut butter and jam on toast or waffles. And the aforementioned Greek yogurt, but yes: a little spendy.

I suspect from your spelling and word choices you're from Europe, in which case the above suggestion may sound absolutely horrid. If so I'm sorry and please feel free to ignore. :)

[alumiere]

I'm a big fan of quiche - one pie pan worth will feed me six times. Here's a link to my recipe: http://alumiere.livejournal.com/332314.html - you can also make it in pre-made pie shells if carbs aren't a problem.

[alumiere]

Slices can be indidually wrapped it's good hot (microwave for 30-60 seconds), room temp or straight from the fridge. You can also freeze it and pull a slice out to thaw in the fridge overnight. You'll probably want to use a mixer or blender to aerate the eggs/cream to get the light and fluffy feel, but you can just whisk by hand although it'll be denser.

[lilacsigil]

Crustless quiche is great! You can chop up sausage or bacon and put it in as well for extra protein. Or tuna if that's affordable in your area. I always have spinach in mine, too. And it reheats much more evenly without a crust.

[mdlbear]

My favorite breakfast is leftovers, sometimes scrambled with 2-3 eggs.

[jesse_the_k]

Nut butters + apples balance each other out in terms of wet crunchy/gritty thick. I have a soy butter or peanut butter / apple every day for snacks.

For breakfast I make sure i have 20 − 25g protein. When I'm feeling ambitious, I fry a 128g burger in a nonstick pan. Otherwise, I prepare a roast or stew or broil a bunch of chicken/turkey breast. Keep all those cooked things in the freezer, then thaw as I prep rest of breakfast.

Cooked squash or potatoes or yams + nuts. All these combine to make something that's not same-samey, but doesn't require big chewing.

[shoaling_souls]

If you have a blender, and if you're okay with dairy, I've found banana milkshakes to be really nice (and fairly cheap where I live). I use half a litre of milk, a banana, and then I put some honey or sugar, some cinnamon or nutmeg if I have it (it tastes fine without), and a special treat is a capful of vanilla extract (if you have it to hand). It makes about a litre of liquid, very filling. I see now that you've mentioned dairy is too expensive for it to be the main part of a breakfast. Have you looked into powdered milk? I can't stand the stuff plain, but if you add enough sugar it's masks the flavour well enough. It might be cheaper that way.

I eat oatmeal sometimes, and I've found if I put peanutbutter in it, it makes it more filling. I put sugar in too. I make my oatmeal with water and it tastes fine (since you mentioned grains+milk wasn't going well for you). Peanut butter has a good amount of protein, and it has some fat too, which is good for energy. You can use nutella too

Omelettes can be made more exciting with adding cheese and vegetables like onions and garlic and whatever veggies you have to hand and like.

I also like to make cookies and sometimes that's all I'll eat for a day. They're pretty easy to make, just flour, sugar, an egg, and some baking soda, baking powder, a pinch of salt, a little vanilla. You can put cocoa powder in, or you can take a bar of cheap chocolate and cut it up with a knife to make chocolate chips.

If you like tuna, you can try tuna melts. Spread a little mayo on bread or rice cakes. Then you take a can of a tuna, squeeze the water/oil out of it, then spoon a bit of tuna onto the bread/rice cakes (I can't eat bread, so I use rice cakes). Then add a slice of cheese on top of each one. Sprinkle with some spices that you like, such as dill and curry (or leave them plain). A small can of tuna is enough for about 8 tuna melts, so that can be pretty filling. You bake them in the oven for about 7 minutes (no need to reheat).

An even easier version of that is "cheese melted on bread", which is what it sounds like. Just a slice of cheese melted on some bread. Repeat for as many slices of bread as you're hungry for.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are nice. When I could have bread, I liked them a lot. Just a little cheese in between two slices of bread, and you smear some margarine on the outside. You can make them more exciting by slicing a tomato and putting a slice of tomato in each one, or a little bit of garlic.

If you have refrigeration, then leftovers from previous meals can be nice.

I've been discovering simple soups are pretty nice at all times of the day. Just a few veggies you like in some boiling water for about twenty minutes, add some spices you like, and it's pretty good. I add a handful of rice at the beginning to make it more filling.

Do you like pancakes or crépes? They aren't so hard to make, you can use a spatula for the flipping and they taste okay even if the flipping gets wrong. Just remember to use a small flame so they don't burn on the outside and be raw on the inside.

[shoaling_souls]

and if you get bored while eating, is it easier to eat while doing something else? For me it's easier to eat if I distract myself by reading or watching something, so I mostly eat in front of the computer. it helps me to get more nutrition than i would be able to get if i were to sit down and only focus on eating.

[ghost_lingering]

One thing that I did recently is eggs in tomato sauce. I got the idea from this post: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/04/shakshuka/ which is a pretty involved recipe, but easily simplified. For my less involved version I reheated some leftover Italian-style tomato sauce a pan and cracked the eggs in that, cooking using the cooking method described in the linked post. (Basically: crack however many eggs in the simmering sauce, cover, and let cook for ~five minutes, give or take some time depending on if you want a runny yolk or a hard yolk.) I covered in cheese and ate with bread. Since the tomato sauce, shredded cheese, and bread can all be purchased ready-made, preparing can really just be a matter of heating up the sauce, cooking the eggs, and putting it all together in a bowl.

I am also a fan of eating dinner leftovers for breakfast even if they aren't "breakfast foods". These include: squash, mashed potatoes, & cooked spinach or greens of some sort. I often pair these with a hard boiled egg to make it feel more breakfast-y. Actually, hard boiled eggs might be a good thing for you to have on hand, as they are easy to prep in advance and they keep in the fridge for a while and don't need a separate container. Sometimes when I am rushed I'll just have hard boiled eggs and an orange or banana or something.

I also want to echo a few things that others have mentioned: smoothies, yogurt, and apples with nut butter. (And just nuts in general, as they can be a great source of easy protein and, IMO, tend to be filling.) None of these things would work every day for me personally, but they can be really great as a break in the routine or in a pinch or with other foods. (For example, an apple & nut butter with yogurt on the side, or yogurt with hard-boiled eggs, or leftover veggies from dinner and a smoothie with nut butter, etc.) In smoothies I tend to like bananas or avocados (which are expensive but sooooo delicious, why can't they be cheaper) and then I add frozen fruits/veggies, as frozen are cheaper.

I don't cook much in the way of meat but maybe something like beef jerky or something to eat along with something else, to up the protein in the meal? Other quick protein bursts like beans, canned tuna or salmon, or cheese could be eaten on toast or along with leftover dinner things, perhaps?

I know you said no porridge suggestions, but I just wanted to mention that a thing that I do for oatmeal that might be worth exploring is to replace dairy milk with almond milk and/or add nuts/nut butters to it to get more protein. I use steel cut oatmeal, which is more expensive, but, for me, easier, because I can make large batches of it in the crockpot and then save it in breakfast-sized batches and reheat as needed, which maybe wouldn't work for you? But I think the concept of adding nuts/nut butters would be the same for other types of oat meal.

[sashajwolf]

I often have a toasted bagel with peanut butter.

[askye]

What about other things that you like to eat that fill you up? Think outside the breakfast box. I've never been a huge breakfast food person, especially growing up, and my Mom finally stopped fighting me over it and let me eat whatever I wanted.

So I'd have leftovers or a sandwich. I've eaten salads in the mornings before - like chicken salad or a chef salad.

[spinne]

What sort of time limitations are you looking at? Baking eggs with vegetables or starches takes some time, but is low-prep.

Depending on your taste and texture preferences, you might consider things like canned chili (with or without additional meat--you can freeze browned hamburger to cut down on morning preptime), or frittata/omelette/scrambled eggs with tinned meats, frozen vegetables and some spices for interest?

I know someone else in the comments suggested quiches (which again can be frozen in meal-sized packages, though crusted quiches can get a bit weird on reheat).

I specifically note that frozen vegetables tend to be cheaper than fresh and less processed than canned, which to my eye is an advantage.

If you have a crockpot and some wiggle room in your budget, making pulled pork or pot-roast is pretty low-fuss (a 2-3lb boneless pork roast in my area is around $9) and once it's at the pulled stage we can add the meat to soups, omelettes, quesadillas...

Hope this is helpful. :)