Easy Peasy Breakfast: 3 Delicious Recipes To Fuel Your Day

by Peter Spina
Easy Peasy Breakfast: 3 Delicious Recipes To Fuel Your Day

Hey Athletes!

Has this ever happened to YOU?!

Your alarm goes off. You hit snooze.

Your alarm goes off again. You turn it off.

You mean to get up, but instead you close your eyes for “just one more second, I swear!”

Then you dream that you get ready for work, feed the kids, get everyone’s jackets and shoes and backpacks on; and Dream You is killin' it, everything is going like clockwork, you're about to step out the door and…

Then Real You gets woken up by a kid/cat/dog/partner tugging on your arm saying “HEY I’M HUNGRY, FEED ME!”

You're a groggy mess and you’re starting your day 20 minutes later than you intended with a hangry child/cat/dog/partner in your face. You scramble to get everyone breakfast - maybe you forget to feed yourself, or you eat the scraps left on your kiddie's plate - and out the door you all go! CARPE DIEM!

This used to be my daily morning routine – in my case, I would get woken up by a screaming cat.

I'd say 3 days out of 5, I would bolt out of the house, buttoning my pants with one hand and locking my front door with the other. As I drove to work, I'd realize I had fed the cats but forgot to feed myself.

I would then hope that I could drink enough water and tea when I got to work to stave off my hunger until lunch time. And I HOPE my body wouldn't deflate like an undernourished balloon when I went to workout later in the day. 

TO SLEEP, OR EAT BREAKFAST? BUT IS THAT THE QUESTION?

When it comes to leading a healthy & happy life, feeding my awesome machine of a body good grub is a must! When I skip breakfast, I feel crappy throughout the day; and I feel especially crappy during my workouts.

If you, like me, feel more human, functional, and resilient after eating something in the morning, then this post is gonna help ya with that!! These healthy breakfast options will keep you fueled for whatever life throws at you, and prime you for an awesome sweat session with your Synergee Equipment. 😉 

And if you have other people depending on you for breakfast, too, then finding easy and convenient foods to serve in the AM is a concern of yours that this post will address!

Here are 3 recipes (*including all the variations, it's actually closer to 20!) you can prepare ahead of time to ensure you get the sleep you need and the whole family has some food to chow down on in the morning. You don't have to wake up at an ungodly hour to get a delicious and nutritious breakfast in ya.

And it only involves a wee bit of prep.

LET’S BEGIN!

3 "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S THIS EASY TO HAVE BREAKFAST" RECIPES

RECIPE #1: Breakfast Egg Muffins

There are a billion and one versions of these egg muffins on the internet (there’s this one, this one, and this one, too; and so many more where that came from).

Whatever you typically throw in an omelet can be added to these delightful, protein-packed muffins to make them perfect for your palate. Feel free to sub in/out whatever you want, as long as you stick with the foundations:
eggs (duh), salt & pepper, and some sort of cooking grease.

This recipe comes from Dinner at the Zoo.

 

Prep Time: 5 min

Cooking Time: 15 min

Total: 20 min

Serves: 3-6

INGREDIENTS

  • cooking spray/oil/butter/shortening
  • 6 eggs
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup cooked chopped spinach (excess water removed)
  • 1/3 cup crumbled cooked bacon
  • 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • diced tomatoes and chopped parsley (optional garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat 6 cups of a muffin tin with cooking spray or grease of your choice.
  • Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Whisk or use a hand blender to blend the eggs until smooth; this will take less than a minute.
  • Add the spinach, bacon and cheese to the egg mixture and stir to combine.
  • Divide the egg mixture evenly among the muffin cups.
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes or until eggs are set.
  • Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Top with diced tomatoes and parsley if desired.

RECIPE #2: Overnight Oats

This is another awesome breakfast option that is totally customizable to suit your taste!

This recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie (delicious name for a blog? Or weird? You decide!) describes 15 different routes you can go with it! FIFTEEN!

You literally just throw everything in a jar, shake it up, and put it in the fridge overnight; then you wake up to a delicious breakfast.

ALSO, each overnight oatmeal will last 5 days in the fridge, so they are great for meal prep! Woohoo!!

Start with the base recipe, then choose a Variation and follow those specific instructions. 

 

Prep Time: 5 min

"Cooking" Time: Overnight

Yield: 1 serving

INGREDIENTS 

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats or quick oats
  • 1/2 cup milk of choice
  • 1/2 cup yogurt or additional milk of choice
  • sweetener of choice, as desired
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • optional 1/2 cup fruit of choice
  • optional 1-2 tbsp nut butter
  • optional 1 tbsp chia seeds, or add-ins of choice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a lidded container or mason jar. Shake well, then refrigerate overnight. The next morning, simply stir and enjoy!

VARIATIONS:

High Protein Overnight Oats: Stir 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder into the base recipe. Add extra milk if needed.

Blueberry Overnight Oats: Use fresh or frozen blueberries as the fruit & blueberry yogurt.

Monkey Oats: Sub in a mashed banana for the yogurt. Add 1-2 tbsp peanut butter. Optional: handful of mini chocolate chips.

Banana Bread: Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1-2 tbsp crushed walnuts or pecans with the dry ingredients. Use sliced banana as your fruit of choice.

Cinnamon Apple: Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon or apple pie spice. Use diced apple as your fruit of choice and add 1-2 tbsp raisins. Optional: crushed walnuts.

Mint Chocolate Chip: Add 1/8 - 1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract, depending on how strong you want the flavor to be. Stir in 2-4 tsp mini chocolate chips. Optional: add a little spirulina powder for color and added nutrition.

Pumpkin Pie: Substitute canned pumpkin for the yogurt. Add 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon and a few drops of pure vanilla extract.

Carrot Cake: Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2-3 tbsp shredded carrot. Optional (and highly recommended): add 1 tbsp almond or coconut butter, a handful of raisins, shredded coconut, and/or chopped walnuts.

Piña Colada: Use coconut yogurt and coconut milk. Add a few drops pure vanilla extract and use diced pineapple as your fruit of choice. Or, skip the pineapple for plain coconut oatmeal.

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats: Add 2 tbsp peanut butter to the recipe. Optional: handful of mini chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip Cookie: Use vanilla yogurt or add 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract. Stir in 3-4 tsp chocolate chips and a dash of cinnamon. Optional: crushed walnuts.

Nutella: Use Nutella or a different hazelnut or chocolate hazelnut spread. Add 1.5 tbsp of cocoa powder. Optional: top with toasted hazelnuts.

Creamy Coffee: Add 1 tsp instant coffee to the recipe. For an even creamier result, substitute nondairy creamer for half the milk of choice. You can also add 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract if desired.

Strawberry Shortcake: Use strawberry yogurt and replace the milk of choice with either canned coconut milk or nondairy creamer. Use strawberries as your fruit of choice. Optional: stir in some strawberry jam at the end if desired. The same idea can be applied to raspberries, blackberries, peaches, or cherries.

RECIPE #3: Freezer Smoothie Packs

This one is more of a tip than an actual recipe, and it does involve some work in the morning. You can try to make a smoothie the night before – but if you’ve tried this before you know it usually turns into a gross separated sludge mess that tastes weird. It’s worth taking the extra 2 minutes the morning of to throw things in a blender.

The Dessert Now Dinner Later Blog provides a recipe for a Basic Green Smoothie Pack. Adjust as needed to include fruits, protein powder, or milk alternatives that make your tastebuds do a happy dance.

 

Prep time: 5 min (not including yogurt cubes*)

Makes 1 serving (large, 2-cup smoothie)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup spinach, packed
  • 1/2 banana, cut up into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt, frozen (about 2 frozen cubes)*
  • 1 cup mixed frozen fruit (mangoes, pineapple, strawberries)
  • 1 to 1 & 1/4 cup water OR milk 

*Preparing frozen cubes of Greek yogurt needs to be done ahead of time. It is done by simply freezing the yogurt into an ice cube tray. Spoon yogurt into your ice cube tray, tapping it to remove any air bubbles.

Place all the ingredients except for the water/milk in an airtight Tupperware container. Place it in the freezer. You can prepare multiple smoothies at the start of the week to create packs for the entire work week and/or multiple people.

When you’re ready to eat, just pour 1 cup of milk (cow, almond, coconut, etc.) or water in a blender and add the frozen smoothie pack.

Blend until smooth adding extra liquid if needed. The amount of liquid will vary depending on the quality of your blender and how cold your freezer is.

Tip: Looking for something a little heavier on the protein? Add a scoop of your favorite protein powder and cut back on the Greek yogurt.

Have your sleep and eat your breakfast, too!

You know, like that saying, have your cake and eat it too... now you can prep ahead of time to make sure you catch Z's and a delicious, nutritious meal to fuel your day!

Try out these breakfast recipes and let me know in the comments how it goes. Or if you have a go-to breakfast recipe that helps you get your kids to school on time and has you showing up to work ready to take on the world, I and the rest of the Synergee Community would LOVE to hear it! 

Treat yourself and feed yourself, Athletes!!