By Andrea Vandiver, Contributing Writer

I’ve developed a personal philosophy for breakfast. Whatever we eat must be something quick or it must be something I can make ahead of time. And it must be healthy. Yes, healthy and easy breakfast ideas have become my specialty.

You see, I don’t like to wake up early. I actually don’t like to stay up late either – I just feel like I need more sleep than the average person, namely my husband. Miraculously, he stays up until midnight and wakes up at 6:00 a.m. about every day of the week.

And before you jump to the conclusion that he requires me to wake before he does and serve him with an elaborate breakfast spread, he doesn’t. The truth is that he doesn’t really expect me to make breakfast at all. He’s happy to *gasp* grab something from the gas station. Which is exactly why I have taken on the noble endeavor of providing him with a healthy start to his day.

And I would be great at this if breakfast could be eaten at… 8:3o a.m. If that was the case you might see me floating gracefully about the kitchen with an apron on, singing duets with the birds who would visit us through our kitchen window. I would twirl and bow as I placed mounds of steaming hot food (in delightful serve ware, of course) down on the beautifully set table.

But this is real life. And I am me. And if I don’t plan accordingly, this is my fatal flaw.

I need easy. I need quick. And I can’t think at 6:00 a.m, let alone measure and stir and bake and fry. What I need is a breakfast that requires only slightly more than grab and move to mouth.

So if you’re anything like me, you need breakfast ideas that require minimal effort on the morning they are consumed. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s my go-to list!

16 BREAKFASTS YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TIME FOR

Orange Cranberry Coconut Flour Muffins (make ahead, freeze and set out the night before)
Coconut Banana-Berry Breakfast Power Bowl (one dish, just dump ingredients)
Blueberry Spinach Muffins (make ahead, freeze and set out the night before)
Green Smoothie (dump and blend)
Overnight Oats in a Jar
Scramble (brown a large batch of sausage and freeze in family-sized servings, add to scramble eggs and cheese)
5 Minute Avocado Toast
Blueberry Cheesecake Protein Smoothie (dump and blend)
Yogurt with Maple Shredded Coconut Granola
Pumpkin Spice Coconut Flour Muffins (make ahead, freeze and set out the night before)
Healthy Homemade Granola Bars (make ahead)
Oatmeal Banana Pancakes (make ahead, freeze, set out the night before and throw into the toaster)
Coconut Milk Smoothie (dump and blend)
Banana Muffins (make ahead, freeze and set out the night before)
Honey-Sweetened Almond Poppy Seed Yogurt (make ahead and enjoy for days)
Veggie Quiche (make ahead, freeze and heat servings as needed… and ignore the calorie-talk in that post – we’re all about the healthy fats around here!)

A change in perspective has also saved my sanity when it comes to the morning meal: breakfast can be a boiled egg, almonds and some strawberries. It can be a slice of cheese, pistachios and a banana. Breakfast doesn’t have to be a recipe that has a title. (I’m slowly accepting this in the lunch and even dinner realm too.)

OUR MEAL PLAN: WEEK 7

MONDAY
Breakfast: Scramble (scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese mixed in)
Lunch: Quick and Nourishing Japanese Soup
Dinner: Quinoa Enchiladas (although I recommend making your own enchilada sauce)

TUESDAY
Breakfast: Green Smoothie
Lunch: OUT (lunch with a friend)
Dinner: Easy Crockpot Black Bean Soup

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Yogurt and granola, banana
Lunch: Waldorf Tuna Salad
Dinner: Leftovers

THURSDAY
Breakfast: Boiled eggs, blackberries and almonds
Lunch: Grilled chicken with spinach salad
Dinner: OUT (dinner with friends)

FRIDAY
Breakfast: Orange Cranberry Coconut Flour Muffins
Lunch: Quesadillas with homemade tortillas, blackberries and carrots
Dinner: OUT (family birthday dinner)

(The craziness of the Christmas season is already upon us and we are traveling nearly every weekend this month, hence the Monday thru Friday menu.)

Andrea Vandiver is a work-at-home mom and freelance writer in Oklahoma. She spends her days imitating animals and blowing bubbles. Her favorite things are those that taste, smell, feel, sound and look wonderful. The stuff that romance is made of.

THIS WAS POST #8 IN OUR PLAN IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT CHALLENGE. HERE’S THE SERIES SO FAR:

Plan It Like You Mean It (Join Me for an Eight-Week Meal Planning Challenge!)
Meal Planning & Procrastination (Plan It Like You Mean It, Week 1)
4 Meal Planning Tips for When You Want a Break from Cooking (Plan It Like You Mean It, Week 2)
Meal Planning for the Spontaneous-at-Heart Types (Plan It Like You Mean It, Week 3)
20 Low-Maintenance Weeknight Dinners (Plan It Like You Mean It, Week 4)
12 Freezer-to-Crockpot Meals (Plan It Like You Mean It, Week 5)
4 Reasons Meal Planning Changed My Life (Plan It Like You Mean It, Week 6)
<you are here> 16 Breakfasts You Actually Have Time For (Plan It Like You Mean It, Week 7)

The Plan It Like You Mean It challenge is sponsored by Plan to Eat, because eating at home should be easier!

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2 Comments

Jamie
at
I recently had an ‘aha!’ moment when it comes to breakfast. I now think of breakfast as ‘the first meal of the day’ instead of in terms of the traditional foods that somehow have been designated as being eaten right after we wake up. Namely, highly processed, refined sugar and grains. Most of my breakfasts now look like this: https://theanywheremom.wordpress.com/2016/07/07/well-hello-there-pretty-little-breakfast-bowl/. They keep me full well into the late morning, and I get a head start on all those veggies our body needs each day.