The alarm is howling, your head is fluffy, the kids are arguing and your partner has decided to move into the bathroom just when you need it the most. Weekday mornings are always the hardest. Everything seems to be a mad rush with people shouting, falling, forgetting and moaning. So here are eight brilliant breakfast ideas to boost your mood, give you energy and make sure that your kids have the right nutrients to help them get the most out of their day and their learning.
1. Oats so tasty
Oats are the best breakfast ever. Not the instant oats where you just add water, no. Those oats are so full of sugar that you might as well pour a bowl of it down your throat. What you want are steel cut, gorgeous Scottish porridge oats (the Co-Op sells them for under £3) which will give you energy throughout the day.
Cook the porridge as per usual but bung in frozen fruits like blueberries or raspberries for that super food punch. Add nuts for brain food and seeds (linseeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds) for those all-important fats and nutrients. Use honey to sweeten! Other great additions are apples, spices (cinnamon and ginger), strawberries (not while cooking) and bananas.
2. Home-made granola
This is just so tasty and it has NONE of those icky sugars that manufacturers seem so keen on stuffing into our foods. Buy wheatgerm, oats, desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts – hazelnuts, walnuts, cashew nuts or almonds – and dried fruit. You can use all those nuts together if you wish! Use three cups oats to one cup nuts and half a cup of seeds and wheatgerm, spread the ingredients across a baking tray at 150 degrees and bake for 20 mins. Lovely.
This recipe is brilliant as is this one, yum!
3. Eggs!
Boil them, scramble them or poach them (try to avoid frying them) and eat your tasty eggs with wholemeal toast cut into strips. To entice the kids make eggy faces and add in some cheese. Making a boiled egg breakfast takes exactly 7 minutes including boiling the kettle, making the toast and preparing the eggs (take them out the fridge for at least 30 mins prior or they will crack, you can do this the night before). This has the right proteins, carbs and good fats to keep you all going until your mid-morning snack, and it’s cheap!
4. French toast and eggy bread
While not exactly SUPER healthy, if you use wholemeal bread and olive spread and limit your sugar, you are making a tasty and easy breakfast that everyone will love. One of my favourite recipes is also from Delicious magazine and it is honestly divine. I don’t use the sugar, but the honey with almonds we use as a spread is a perfect natural, sweet treat.
5. A baked treat
This particular recipe is a winner because you can prepare it the day before and whip it out as a quick and nutritious breakfast on those days when everything just seems to be running late. Or, if you have insomnia and fancy it warm and tasty, you can make it in the morning.
6. Egg and salmon toasty
Salmon is a super food and eggs have long been proven to be powerful energy boosters. Grill your salmon or use smoked salmon, whip up your eggs (you can just use the whites if you would like to be super healthy) and layer them on top of wholemeal toast and tomato. To really add that extra oomph, don’t use any butter to make your eggs or butter your toast.
7. Breakfast bars
Don’t buy the shop made ones that are so full of preservatives and sugar that they can probably start their own ecosystem, bake your own. This is a brilliant idea for Sunday afternoons when you can whip up batches of healthy foods for lunchboxes and breakfasts, bung them in the freezer and defrost them the night before. Check out this fab recipe from The Daily Green.
8. Yoghurt surprise
Don’t use fat-free yoghurt that has a high sugar content. Take a look at the back of the pack, you’ll be amazed at how much sugar they pack into this so-called healthy fat-free yoghurt. Aim for fat-free Greek yoghurt like Fage as that tends to be sugar free AND fat free. Throw in berries, honey and nuts to make a truly healthy treat that tastes great and boosts energy and the immune system.
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