Back in the States, I didn't often have to think about breakfast... for if there was nothing else, there was always at least a box of cereal and some milk in the fridge.
It isn't always so simple here:
- to eat toast, I have to have made bread.
- 4x's the recipe of pancakes plus to feed this gang plus making syrup takes a bit of time when I've got to have everyone fed and ready to walk out the door in between 6:55 and 7:20 a.m.
- at either $8 a box for decent cereal or $2 a box for wanna-be cornflakes that get turn soggy as soon as you start to mix the pitcher of powdered milk, cold cereal is an infrequent option unless I've made granola. But they LOVE granola and a whole batch can easily be consumed in one day.
- oatmeal, which is a common standby - isn't always appealing.
- eggs, another standby is a yummy option on some days - we buy flats of eggs, 30 at a time. If we eat those for breakfast, figuring 2 eggs/person - well, that is breakfast for 2 days... And they also want toast or baguette to go with their eggs
- homemade yogurt and fresh fruit is a favorite. We flavor the yogurt with vanilla and a bit of sugar, jelly or fresh fruit... or a koolaid packet and sugar - and eat that for breakfast. This also goes great with fresh apple turnovers.
- very occasionally, I'll make biscuits and gravy - but that is usually a weekend breakfast because of the time involved.
- I've even been known to make homemade poptarts or rice pudding as breakfast treats.
- and there's always leftovers... spaghetti, peanut sauce, pizza, sloppy joes, stroganoff or chili etc., from the night before if you can find a treasure like that!
So, as you can see, we can't complain about our choices; we've got lots of choices! It is just that several of those choices involve some preparation the night before... sometimes that means some significant preparation.
Recently, these danishes (lemon and strawberry in these photos), or some other variation (I want to try a creamy peanut filling drizzled with chocolate, too) of them, has become a favorite Wednesday morning breakfast. The dough is made the night before and left in the fridge. Then, I get up about 4:30 in the morning to roll, cut out and form the danishes, let them rise and then bake, fruit and frost. They are a yummy treat for all and if I'm careful, there's enough leftover that I can take them to school with me and share them with my home school crew as a snack (they go to school with me on Wednesday mornings) as well as my big kids and a few of their friends (who've learned I usually bring a treat on Wednesdays).
mmmm, those look delicious!! Have you tried doing baked oatmeal? It's a good one (takes eggs, milk, oats, a little sugar, spices, and anything else you want to throw in) that you can mix together the night before and put it in to bake when you wake up. And it's got a much nicer texture (at least to my kids) than its regular, more gooey, counterpart. :-)
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, I struggle with breakfast too and I am only one person. :) The options just aren't that exciting. Although, this week I did make vanilla raspberry muffins. Pretty good!
ReplyDeletei was walking early this morning and kept thinking about this post...we do have cereal as an option...but one that has gotten so expensive that I too have been working on adding other things to our breakfast menu that are more within the constraints of the budget..and healthy bread also had to be made as it too is crazy expensive ... it does take thought/planning/creativity/energy and I only have half as many to cook it for...we have gotten to liking baked oatmeal too...and zuke / choc zuke bread and bananas ... isn't if cool how much variety God created and we can enjoy...have a good one
ReplyDeletemom~ster
@jenny - yes, we've tried baked oatmeal and it just hasn't gone over too well. the biggers are the only ones who like that. not sure why - maybe i just need to make it more so that i can tweek the recipe as needed and so that the littlers get used to it. i do have an oatmeal cake recipe that i bet i could cut back on the sugar some and they'd all like that... mixed with milk... would be very similar.
ReplyDelete@beth - want THAT recipe - did you use raspberry jam for the raspberries? i also just saw a pumpkin, cranberry recipe that i may splurge and use up one of my two remaining cups of cranberries and see if we like it.
@mom~ster - some mornings, i'm more thankfu than others as i'm scouring for food. today - me myself - well, i'm gonna eat the rest of the lentil soup and set out stromboli and watermelon for the kids... hee hee!