A Quick and Healthy Breakfast Is Possible, If You Think Ahead
Sometimes, a quick breakfast is all we have time for when we’re running out the door. Other times, we spend a little more time in the kitchen to make something healthy and delicious. It’s usually either one or the other, and a quick and healthy first meal is a rare occurance. We’d like to offer a compromise to help bring these two concepts together in one quick breakfast that’s both easy to make and good for you.
Get your servings
So, you’ve ordered a fried hash brown, which only took a couple seconds, and since it contains potatoes you think you’re OK, right? Not really. What you’ve done is over-starched yourself first thing while wasting money in the process.
Maybe it comes in a convenient package and is ready in less than two minutes, but the minor resemblance to a healthy vegetable choice doesn’t make it quick and healthy. Getting the proper nutrition in your daily meals is one of the hardest things to accomplish when you’re constantly on the run.
Morning meals are usually the best times to get fruits, dairy products, and grains into your diet, often in a portable meal that’s quick to prepare. Things as simple as a glass of milk with a banana or an orange can be enough to take with you for the moment. You can put together a Tupperware bowl of granola or cereal to take with you to work, maybe even some yogurt. These choices will be a nice break from the morning routine that isn’t long in coming, well before lunch.
Think ahead
Plan your meals ahead of time, and you’ll be one step ahead on any given day. When you’re in the moment, it’s probably too late to prepare something at a moment’s notice. Thinking ahead is what gets you quick and health breakfasts you won’t have to scramble for.
For example, let’s say you’re interested in fruit and nut pancakes the next morning. You could mix all of the ingredients up the night before, then store them in your fridge overnight. In the morning, you can refresh the batter with a little more liquip while the pan is heating up. In 10 minutes, you can be enjoying the fruit of your labor with a hearty pancake breakfast that lasts well into the morning.
This even works with some of the other things you do to get ready in the morning. Set the timer on your coffee pot, use the delay start function on your oven, and you could actually make coffee and a hash brown and ham casserole by the time you’ve showered and dressed.
Use what you have
Many breakfast recipes become chores because of the preparation time necessary to make them right. It can be more work than you have time for, if you don’t plan well. Then, what if you forget to prepare something in advance to save yourself some steps? There’s still hope for a good breakfast.
Use last night’s delicious stir fry, for instance, to save the day. Got some extra uncooked ingredients left over, like bell peppers, carrots, onions, and bamboo shoots? Whip up a couple of eggs and make a great omelet or a delicious scramble in just a few minutes.
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