Quick and Easy Meals Part Two: Breakfast!

Fact: breakfast is the easiest meal to skip.

If I’m going to be honest with myself, the only time I ever eat a decent breakfast is when I’m meeting a friend for brunch. Otherwise, its a cup of tea and biscuits all the way! Talk about easy meals.

Unfortunately, as parents are fond of quoting, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and can lead to very serious medical complications if skipped. But how in the world do you make time in the morning, especially if you’ve now adjusted your routine to include time for making a quick lunch to take?

Here are some simple ideas to keep you healthy and start the day off right!

1. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is probably the simplest and most basic breakfast food. Plus, its super easy to make if you get the dried Quaker oats packages and just add hot water or milk! To liven up this otherwise dull dish, try adding different kinds of jam, fruit, sugar or even chocolate on top. Who says oatmeal can’t be fun?

2. Granola, Yogurt and Berry Parfaits

Instead of buying the pre-mixed kind from your local Starbucks or Tim Hortons, try making it at home! All you need are the main three ingredients: granola, yogurt and berries. Follow the recipe in the link above for a quick and healthy breakfast to go!

3. Bagels and Toast

These breakfast staples are definitely an easy no-brainer. If you have a little more time on your hands, why not try to make a breakfast panini? Now that you have that panini press, a whole world of breakfast related sandwiches has suddenly opened up to you! Throw in jam, peanut butter, fruit, cheese – the works. Try the link above for a yummy raspberry and brie panini!

4. Shakes and Smoothies

Fruit really should have a number of its own on this list, but not being it’s greatest fan, I’m going to promote smoothies and shakes instead. After all, it is the fun way to eat fruit! Making smoothies are super easy (provided you have a blender), and there’s a plethora of recipes out there to try. The link above provides some healthy options. In the same vein, protein shakes are extremely healthy and filling as well. Just toss in some protein whey and flax seed, and voila!

5. Eggs

And of course, our foray through breakfast foods must lead us here. Eggs are incredibly versatile and can be made into almost anything in under 5 minutes. Try wrapping an omelette in bread for a breakfast on the go, or add some vegetables to your scrambled eggs. If you’re more health conscious, the egg whites are the healthiest part, and can generally be used instead of the whole egg in most recipes.

Not everyone is fond of the typical breakfast foods, so feel free to experiment!

Happy cooking!

How do you make time for breakfast in the morning? Let us know!

Image courtesy of StarsApart via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)