Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am NOT a morning person. I sleep as late as possible, even on school days, which means I don't have a lot of time to get the kids dressed, fed, and out the door. But I know that eating a balanced breakfast is key to keeping little tummies full and young minds focused.
Here are my favorite make-ahead breakfast ideas, one for each day of the week. Do as much preparing as possible on Sunday afternoon or evening (or at 9:00 PM, like I do) and help your kids get a good start to their day each morning.
I make enough that my boys and I can all have the same breakfast and eat together (hubby leaves for work much too early to join us). I can prepare all these breakfasts in about 90 minutes, including clean-up time! Here is my "How To" including my step-by-step process and each morning's prep:
Egg Muffins
Spray a 6-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In the bottom of each muffin cup, layer a spoonful each of meat (diced chicken or ham, cooked ground beef, or bacon crumbles), veggies (green onions, mushrooms, diced bell pepper, or finely chopped broccoli), and shredded cheese. The cups should be about half full.
Then whisk together 6 eggs (I use 4 whole eggs and about a cup of egg whites) and divide among the muffin cups. Bake at 350℉ for 20 minutes. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week (I don't recommend freezing) and microwave two muffins for one minute when you're ready to serve.
Pumpkin Pancakes
This is simply the Best Pumpkin Pancake Recipe EVER (it came from my grandma... enough said, right?) and pumpkin is full of good-for-you vitamins! You could make Whole-Wheat, Oatmeal, even Gingerbread Pancakes. The point is to make them in advance so all you have to do is microwave them in the morning.
Yogurt Smoothies
In a blender, add ½ cup each plain yogurt and milk, 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, ½ scoop of vanilla protein powder, and 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed (these are per person measurements... double, triple, or quadruple as needed). You can also substitute 1 cup of juice for the milk and yogurt (and I suggest a strawberry and pomegranate juice combo... delish!). Store in the refrigerator.
Bacon and Egg Pita Pockets
Sprinkle some cheddar cheese in the bottom of a whole-wheat pita. Add hot diced egg and a couple slices of cooked turkey bacon (I prepare the eggs and bacon on Sunday night, and then just microwave for 1 minute in the morning). Add a banana for a nutritious and delicious on-the-go breakfast.
Muffins
A muffin and a yogurt cup make a great grab-and-go breakfast, for those mornings that we need to get out the door earlier than usual. My kids' favorites are Zucchini-Applesauce Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Muffins, or Banana-Blueberry Muffins.
My Sunday Night Step-by-Step:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Fill a large saucepan with water and put it on the stove over high heat.
- While waiting for the oven to heat up and the water to boil, prepare the Egg Muffins (I keep diced green bell pepper and pre-shredded cheese in my freezer, so all I have to chop is some Canadian bacon... this is our combo 99% of the time).
- Put the Egg Muffins into the oven and put 6 eggs into the pot of boiling water. Set the timer for 18 minutes.
- Place 4 pieces of uncooked bacon on a plate in between two paper towels and microwave 2½ minutes for turkey bacon or 4 minutes for regular bacon. Repeat process as many times as necessary (enough for Bacon & Egg Pita Pockets as well as on the side of the Pumpkin Pancakes and muffins). You can substitute some or all of it for the breakfast meat of your choice.
- While all that's cooking, mix up the pumpkin pancakes in one bowl and the muffins in another.
- The timer went off! Drain the saucepan with the eggs and fill with cold water to make them easier to peel. Remove the Egg Muffins from the oven and set them on a cooling rack.
- Scoop the muffins into a muffin tin and place in the hot oven. Set the timer.
- Heat up a pancake griddle over medium-high heat. Begin cooking the pancakes. While the pancakes are cooking on one side, use a knife to loosen the Egg Muffins. Flip the pancakes, then remove the Egg Muffins from the muffin tin and put them in an airtight container (but don't put the lid on just yet... they need to cool a little more). When the pancakes are done, set them on a plate to cool.
- The timer went off again! Remove the muffins from the oven; place the baking sheet on a cooling rack.
- Fill a blender with the fruit, yogurt, and milk for the Yogurt Smoothies. Place the blender in the refrigerator.
- Peel and dice the eggs. Cut two pitas in half and gently separate the edges to make a pocket and sprinkle in some shredded cheese. Place pitas in a large zippered bag and put the diced egg in a microwaveable container (with a lid); store all in the fridge.
- Line an airtight container with a clean paper towel, add the bacon, and put it in the fridge. Put the lid on the egg muffins and put it in the fridge. Put the pancakes and breakfast cookies in airtight containers (no need to refrigerate). And you're done!
My Morning Prep:
- Monday: Add flax and protein powder to the blender. Blend up the yogurt smoothies. This is our complete meal!
- Tuesday: Microwave breakfast meat of your choice (about 30-45 seconds if already cooked). Microwave pancakes for 1 minute. Serve with milk.
- Wednesday: Microwave egg muffins, two at a time, for 1 minute. Serve with fresh fruit and milk.
- Thursday: Serve muffins with a glass of milk, a breakfast meat (optional), and fresh fruit.
- Friday: Microwave pitas for 30 seconds (just to warm and melt the cheese a little). Microwave diced egg and cooked bacon for 60-90 seconds. Add to pitas and serve with fresh fruit and/or a glass of orange juice.
