? 4 Working moms who prepare wholesome meals-Need Ideas!

[Anonymous]

We are a 2 income household. A LOT of my time is dedicated to preparing whole foods with fresh ingredients. THis is obviously time consuming, as it would be so much easier if I just served processed foods. I'm running out of breakfast ideas for my 18mos old and 5yr old breakfasts. I seem to recycle a lot of the same, that takes awhile....I ask about breakfast because I truly feel that it is the most important meal of the day and OF COURSE, this is the most rushed part of the day as well. This morning my kids had steel cut oats, which they love, but taking 20min to cook them is taxing.

Anyone has some fresh breakfast ideas that they find is healthy and whole and incorporated protien? I've served an egg every which way, so I've got that down pat!

[Anonymous]

Are steel cut oats that much nutritionally better than "regular" oatmeal? Because the latter takes two minutes in the microwave. I give that, made with milk, with some fruit on the side (okay, so it's often raisins) to my daughter almost every day for breakfast, because that's what she wants, and while more nutritional variety would be nice, I feel pretty comfortable with the wholesomeness of this very quick meal.

[Anonymous]

We do steel cut oats, but we do a massive batch on the weekends, and then I just scoop out all week. Reconstitutes beautifully in the microwave with milk.
My 6 year old loves the "breakfast buffet" we usually have: peanut butter, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, raisins, dried cranberries, etc, he can make his own bowl every morning. We have been doing this for years, and when he was 18 months i just smooshed a couple of pecans in my hand and added those in. You can also make savory steel cut oats with butter and cheese for protein.
Also, breakfast quesadillas are a fave. Tortilla with cheese, beans, tomatoes, other veggies in the microwave for 20 seconds. Think omelet in a tortilla without the egg for fillings, it's awesome.

[Anonymous]

Steel cut oats do provide more fiber since they are less processed. OP, have you tried making a batch in the crockpot and then reheating throughout the week? You can also do baked oatmeal in the oven. Other ideas: make a large batch of pancakes (buckwheat) and then freeze them and reheat as needed, make a baked egg dish and reheat individual portions in the morning. Yogurt parfaits with granola and fresh fruit (cut fruit up ahead of time and dish out as needed) is also an option.

[Anonymous]

My Mom bought me a mini cupcake maker for my DD. I use it to make bran muffins for my DD with apples, blueberries and any other fruit that I can find. You can frost them with pureed fruit spreads sweetened with a little honey. I even eat them myself. I use the hodgson's mill bran muffin mix and then I go from there.

As the PP just said, you can add the same buffet items to your muffins for more protein.

[Anonymous]

My kids live on pancakes for breakfast. I make them from scratch rather than a box (it's only a couple steps more). You can use 1/2 whole wheat and half white flour. I mix in a ton of apple sauce and sneak any veggies I can in. Sweet potatoes work especially well. I use an immersion blender to get them really smooth with the wet ingredients. You can make a huge batch on the weekends and freeze them. Pop a couple in the microwave for 30 seconds and you're all set. Same with mini muffins -- I get all kind of veggies in those and freeze them.

[Anonymous]

Cricket chirping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cricket chirping.

Huh? Looks like the last post was three minutes before you posted this, but anyway, in terms of breakfast we do a lot of the Nature's Promise quick oats (which is more processed than steel cut but way less processed than instant oatmeal) and add fresh or frozen berries depending on season, or bananas. Otherwise I do homemade bran or flax seed muffins, which I typically make in huge batches with my and freeze.

[Anonymous]

I am working toward my friend's level of healthy meal preparedness, but she has a breakfast rotation posted on her fridge that includes:

Yogurt parfait (with her homemade granola, and berries)
Oatmeal
Zucchini muffins and fruit (she makes the muffins and freezes)
European breakfast (bread, cheese, smoked salmon or other cold cut, dried fruit)
Quick omelet
Pancakes

Hope to see more ideas!

[Anonymous]

12:04 Oops forgot the 7th: Smoothies

[Anonymous]

Check out weelicious.com for lots of great ideas! The cottage cheese pancakes recipe from that site are a current fave at our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Steel cut oats do provide more fiber since they are less processed.

I realize that, but aren't non steel cut oats still a very high fiber food? (And I am not talking about "instant" oatmeal. Again traditional oatmeal--sorry I am not sure what term applies--is still very quick to make.)

[Anonymous]

European breakfast is a great idea and I wonder why more health-conscious people (like OP ] don't do it?

Sometimes breakfast here is a cold chicken breast, no joke. I've never understood why the need for simple carbs persists at breakfast in the US.

[Anonymous]

I make multigrain with flax oatmeal (not steel cut) with soy milk and molasses (it has calcium and iron). DS has a milk allergy. I had some fruit of the day in there too.

Also, if you make omelets with veggies Spanish style (thick omelet almost like a little pie) you can serve a slice and put the rest back in the fridge. They are really good cold the next day too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:European breakfast is a great idea and I wonder why more health-conscious people (like OP ] don't do it?

Sometimes breakfast here is a cold chicken breast, no joke. I've never understood why the need for simple carbs persists at breakfast in the US.

Good point!! I'm going to start trying working in some meat left over from dinner. Great way to start the day with some protein. (DD usually gets her morning protein from dairy -- yogurt and milk.)