Mind tricks to eat healthier breakfasts

January 24, 2020 6:43 PM

Do you like muffins, scones, pancakes, waffles and bagels with a passion? Have you come up with a way to consume something with actual nutrition in it in the morning? Please tell me how.

Pretty much what the question says! I think I have an addiction...

posted by knownfossils to Health & Fitness (30 answers total)

First, go really high protein for awhile. Like eggs and spinach. (Scrambled is the fastest. Soft or hard boiled can be cooked ahead and also has no added fat.) If you feel deprived, just keep adding stuff you like (... bacon? salsa?) until you can't really complain.

Then if you switch to something like steel cut oats and milk, your body will revel in actually getting carbs and sugars again. You can add nuts and fruits to get additional calories and/or nutrients.

The main other consideration is your time. Can you take time to cook? If not, another plan might be better. I'll be staying tuned....
posted by slidell at 6:55 PM on January 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

This baked oatmeal has been a frequent flyer in our household the last few weeks - takes about 10 minutes of prep and an hour of baking ahead of time, and gives us 2-3 days of a healthy breakfast. Mr. Kouti is lactose-intolerant so we've just been using water instead of dairy milk (also because I keep forgetting to add coconut milk to the grocery list) but water has worked just fine. The maple syrup is sweet enough to hit my "ooh, pancakes/waffles" button, while the steel cut oats and fruit give us a good amount of fiber and protein. You can sub in your fruit of choice; we've done apples, blueberries, and frozen cherries so far.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 6:55 PM on January 24, 2020 [4 favorites]

I typically do whole grain toast with peanut butter and a thin layer of jam. The jam activates my sense that it is a sweet treat, the peanut butter provides protein, and the whole wheat bread provides carb-y goodness but also fiber. It’s also super fast.
posted by donut_princess at 6:59 PM on January 24, 2020

Reduce the sugar by half

Sub a quarter of the flour for whole wheat

Add flax seeds or wheat bran for fiber

Eat with plain yogurt and fresh fruits instead of butter, jam, or syrup

For pancakes or waffles, mix buckwheat flour with enough water to make a batter and ferment overnight in a cloth covered jar on the counter. Add baking soda, salt, and a bit of sugar in the morning and cook as usual

I dont do well without protein first thing, so I usually have eggs in the morning instead of bread type stuff. But when I do, I use the above guidelines to not overdo simple sugars.
posted by ananci at 7:00 PM on January 24, 2020

Note: Jam can be subbed with bananas for added potassium.
posted by donut_princess at 7:00 PM on January 24, 2020

Oh! Right! I forgot to add that Mr. Kouti also stirs in a spoonful of peanut butter into his oatmeal when rewarming it for extra protein and nuttiness. (Tonight is apparently a distractedness night for me; I started grating a root veg into the hot pan before I realized I was grating turmeric instead of the intended ginger.)
posted by Pandora Kouti at 7:11 PM on January 24, 2020

Weight Watchers. I'd rather spend my points on food later on in the day, so during the week I've been eating lighter breakfasts (eggs are zero points, plain yogurt is zero points, fruit is zero points). On the weekends it's still heavy breakfast land. :)
posted by joycehealy at 7:12 PM on January 24, 2020

I've made these a handful of times and they might work for you. (You can make ahead and reheat them.) There are similar (or at least similarly-named) recipes that contain bananas but I hate bananas in baked goods.

Protein pancakes:
1c cottage cheese (low sodium cottage cheese would be good if available)
1c rolled oats
1c eggs
Pinch of cinnamon
sugar (to taste)
vanilla extract

blend all ingredients (I used a stick/immersion blender) and fry in oil like you would with any pancake.
posted by needs more cowbell at 7:13 PM on January 24, 2020 [4 favorites]

When you mentioned scones I immediately thought of these Muesli Scones which are based on almond flour. Add dried fruit and nuts for extra nutrition and according to your taste. Has the convenient form factor and "nice treat with your morning coffee" feeling but higher in fiber and protein than regular scones.
posted by 4rtemis at 7:19 PM on January 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

I make my own riff on egg muffins (I do mine in a foiled buttered sheet pan, then cut into strips to accommodate the next step) which I then wrap in half a low-carb tortilla, which you can toast for more crispiness.

Also right now I am eating a chaffle, which I make in bulk for the week. You can use it like a bagel or english muffin or toast. If you don't like almond flour there are also coconut flour recipes out there. For actual crispiness, you really do need to sprinkle some mozzarella on the waffle iron before you add your batter. If you have a toaster that accommodates bagels, they can be reheated there to re-crisp them, or I use an air fryer for the same.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:55 PM on January 24, 2020 [2 favorites]

Actually, bagels/scones/etc for breakfast aren't bad. If your diet is varied for lunch and dinner, then...you're actually probably okay.

But if you still want to amp up the nutrition, then just try adding something to what you're eating. Like - if it's a bagel, instead of just plain butter, maybe use it as the basis for an egg sandwich. Or have a muffin and also a banana instead of just the muffin. Instead of syrup on pancakes, make a fruit compote (I found this super-simple fruit compote where you just brew up any kind of tea you want, and then cut up a pound of any fruit you want and simmer the fruit in the tea for a few minutes).

Of course, this also assumes that your muffin is a generally nutritious whole-grain thing and not, like, a double-chocolate muffin. If you're having a muffin that could plausibly be mistaken for a cupcake, then that's one obvious change to make. But if you're having, like, a corn muffin, then you're fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:20 PM on January 24, 2020 [4 favorites]

Are you able to exercise before breakfast? I find when I do that I don't want to immediately eat something that will undo it.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 8:23 PM on January 24, 2020

With most baked good recipes you can sub up to half the flour with oatmeal without ill effect
posted by raccoon409 at 8:32 PM on January 24, 2020

My go to workday breakfast is a microwave muffin topped with natural peanut butter. Scratches that baked goods itch while being nutrient dense and a good source of protein, fiber, and "good" fat. Also low net carb if you use sugar-free sweetener.

For easy prep, make a few batches of this dry mix at a time in microwaveable ~1.5 cup containers and keep in fridge:

3 T flax meal *

1 T hemp hearts

1/2 tsp baking powder **

pinch salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp baking spices ***

In the morning, beat:

1 egg

1 T avocado oil or olive oil

1 T liquid sweetener (i.e. Torani syrup, sugar free if you like)

Add to a container of dry mix, stir well, microwave about a minute. Let stand another minute, slice.


* I prefer golden flax meal, it's more mild flavored
** I prefer aluminum-free to avoid risk of metallic taste
*** some combo of cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and/or cocoa powder, depending on what Torani flavor is on hand

posted by superna at 8:34 PM on January 24, 2020

I eased into it this way:
Two eggs on a piece of Challah.
Two eggs on a piece of toast.
Two eggs on half a piece of toast, salt and pepper or salsa.
posted by nickggully at 8:38 PM on January 24, 2020

I make whole wheat, bran, pumpkin, walnut, apricot muffins with an extra egg and often some flax seed. Or corn, bran, blueberry, walnut. Nuts & dried fruit have magnesium and other minerals, eggs & nuts have protein, I tend to need fiber. I don't eat dairy, so usually use cider or oj instead, to activate the leavening. They taste good and are pretty nutritious and they're easy.

Or, breakfast wraps. Scrambled egg, refried beans, maybe some sausage or leftover meat, salsa, spinach, avocado.
posted by theora55 at 8:38 PM on January 24, 2020

Quick cooking oatmeal FTW. Add to bowl: half-cup plain quick oats, one cup boiling hot water, raisins, let sit a couple minutes, enjoy. Add apples or walnuts etc for more nutrition. It's basically as tempting as a muffin but a lot more nutritious.
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:42 PM on January 24, 2020 [2 favorites]

I've found that if you add a scoop of soy protein isolate to oatmeal when you're cooking it, when it cools it becomes dense enough to slice and fry into "pancakes". Add butter and a little syrup and it makes for a quick and very delicious breakfast.
posted by mezzanayne at 9:05 PM on January 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

For oatmeal, simply rolled oats, in a bowl, with sliced fruit or jam. Add boiling water, bring to the table, and eat.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:06 PM on January 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Grapenuts and plain (full fat) yogurt is super quick and filling. Add nuts, sunflower seeds, craisens, etc. If I'm out of Grapenuts, I use (uncooked) oatmeal.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:57 PM on January 24, 2020

Kashi cereal, original flavor, but it will taste bland if you ate a lot of sweets the night before.
posted by Beholder at 10:31 PM on January 24, 2020

Savoury muffins - adapt recipes to use whole grain flour and ground linseed, add lots of veg and go easy on the cheese or bacon. You want mature, sharp cheese so you get more flavour for less fat.

I like this as base recipe and modify based on what I have on hand. I prefer to use natural yogurt instead of the cream. Works just fine, they are ok in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer. I prefer to warm them up in the oven as soggy microwaved baked goods do nothing for me.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:29 AM on January 25, 2020

Adding nuts to muffins, pancakes, etc improves the nutrition profile.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:48 AM on January 25, 2020

The following recipe helped me shift from eating a huge muffin every morning. It visually leaves a bit to be desired, but for me the flavor is so close to a muffin that it doesn't matter.

This sometimes works as a microwave mug muffin, but sometimes is rubbery and sad when microwaved. Haven't perfected that part yet.

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal

Cooking Spray
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup milk
1 - 2 eggs
Splash of vanilla (for me, this adds a lot of the "muffin" traits)
1 cup blueberries or other fruit that does well cooked. (Frozen or fresh)
Optional: 1/4 c egg whites
Optional: nuts or seeds

Spray a skillet with cooking spray.
Add milk, Oatmeal, and blueberries.
Cook on Medium heat, Stirring occasionally.
Once blueberries have warmed, add eggs and egg whites if using. Stir frequently.
When eggs nearly done, add a splash of vanilla.
Cook until eggs have reached desired doneness.
Add a little sugar/sweetener if needed. (Taste first, cooked fruit is fairly sweet...)
Sprinkle nuts or seeds on top.
posted by Guess What at 5:46 AM on January 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

I just take a boiled egg to work with me and chomp on it like it was medicine.
posted by 8603 at 6:58 AM on January 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have this problem and bought a nutribullet and now make a smoothie every weekday morning. Took a while to figure out a recipe that tasted okay but I have settled on kale, frozen fruit (love a "tropical mix" - I prefer anything with pineapple, papaya, mango, vs berries which just don't taste as good to me) + frozen or fresh banana, unflavored/unsweetened protein powder, little squeeze of honey or maple syrup, almond milk.

Unsweetened (including no stevia) protein powder is hard-ish to find. I looked everywhere at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, places like that and everything has some kind of artificial sweetener in it, which I hate. Turns out Walmart/Amazon sell a pea/quinoa powder, or Bob's Red Mill brand has a hemp powder (VERY green and doesn't dissolve but stays in suspension pretty well) and a whey powder that I haven't tried yet, both of which my grocery store sometimes stocks.

If I'm really hungry because I went to the gym that morning sometimes I will supplement with a frozen whole grain waffle with PB on it, or a handful of nuts/trail mix, or hard boiled egg. I like the smoothie because I can bring it to work and sip it slowly throughout the morning which keeps me from snacking before lunch.

I eat whatever I want on weekends.
posted by misskaz at 7:12 AM on January 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is more savory, but it does have breakfasty vibe to it if you eat scrammbled eggs. I've started making crustless quiche in muffin tins on Sunday. I found a generic recipe for quiche and add stuff to it. I pick a protein, veg (usually peppers and onions) and cheese. One week I did chicken with veg, Mexican cheese blend and taco seasoning. I've used turkey breakfast sausage. I've also used diced up ham.

I actually eat this for lunch. For breakfast I have a Premire protein shake. The cookies and cream is excellent. The chocolate is good too, but the cookies and cream has a thicker texture. They have a bunch of flavors. If you decide to go with something like this, a Sam's or Costco membership will pay for itself. The case of 12 isn't much more than 2 four packs at the store.
posted by kathrynm at 7:50 AM on January 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

My go to is cheese sticks, which are cheapest if you get the big pack at Costco. I swap out with plain instant oatmeal + Splenda. Morning me is extremely lazy.
posted by emjaybee at 3:24 PM on January 25, 2020

I make breakfast cookies with zero sugar. Oats, chickpea flour, butter, egg, orange juice, banana, and raisins. You can find lots of recipes online, and when I make a batch they make tons, so I freeze most of them and just take a few out every few days. They're definitely not as tasty as a rich pastry, but if I warm them up in the microwave they do the trick.
posted by ldthomps at 8:13 PM on January 26, 2020

I've been batch cooking protein pancakes on Sundays so I can pop them in the toaster oven on weekdays and have a quick breakfast before work. The recipe needs more cowbell posted looks really yummy and I may try it, but honestly, I just use the Kodiak Cakes protein pancake mix (or the Aldi version of it) and it works pretty nicely and has whole grains and antioxidants and the works. I'll usually make them with milk and eggs mixed in to max out the protein, but it's not necessary.

Depending on my mood and/or what kinds of food I'm eating later in the day, sometimes I'll put peanut butter and/or jam on the pancakes, sometimes apple butter, sometimes this calorie-free "maple syrup", but mostly I'll just eat some fruit (a banana, blueberries, raspberries, a pear, etc.) alongside it.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:21 AM on January 27, 2020