Are you one of those people who hate Mondays? It’s rough, I know, but one thing that can alleviate the Monday blues for me is breakfast.
On weekdays, I typically make breakfast the night before, so that it’s easy for me to just grab and go in the morning. Or I prefer something that’s super quick to assemble. Andsometimes I like treating myself to the hot bar at Whole Foods for some weekday bacon and eggs. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting the perfect amount, always under $4.
I bragged about it last week at work, saying I just ate $4 worth of bacon, and one of my co-workers gave me a look that was a mixture of disgust and admiration. Apparently, he thought I said “I just ate $84 worth of bacon.”
Um, no. I do not eat $84 worth of bacon, folks. I was flattered by the assumption though.
Anyway this is going to be a short and sweet post for me today, because I just want to share some of my favorite breakfast recipes in case you need some ideas for your weekdays. Or weekends if you prefer, unless you are out chugging mimosas. In that case, let’s meet up!
Here are some of My Favorite Weekday Breakfasts:
Healthy Chocolate Cherry Smoothie – I call this my Cherry Garcia smoothie because it tastes just like my favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. The creaminess from the smoothie comes from almond milk and a frozen banana, and the chocolate hit is from unsweetened cocoa powder. I added a scoop of finely ground flaxseed for even more nutrition (omega 3s and fiber) and a little bit of texture. But the star of this recipe is frozen dark sweet cherries. You can certainly use fresh cherries but I like the convenience of frozen, and I prefer using frozen fruit anyway because I like thicker smoothies.
Overnight Chia Oatmeal – I love this breakfast because it has the one-two punch of chia and oatmeal, both of which keeps me full for hours. The addition of fruit and healthy fats from the walnuts is an added bonus. And it’s easy to customize the flavors to your liking – use almond milk or soy milk, add a different fruit (blueberries or a chopped banana would be great), or different nuts.
Banana Bread – I make banana bread once a month or so. I prefer classic banana bread, but sometimes I switch it up and add chocolate chips. Sometimes I make it a little healthier by adding zucchini and walnuts. During the fall, I use pumpkin. But let’s not talk autumnal flavors yet, we’re still in the middle of this hot summer!
Double Coconut and Cherry Granola – okay so now we’re venturing into dessert for breakfast territory. Even though granola is pretty wholesome, I made it decadent by adding white chocolate chips. I was also pretty generous with the salt in this batch: I added some salt to the dry oatmeal mixture, then I added more salt to the liquid mix of coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. The end result was a perfect blend of salty-sweet flavors.
Scrambled Eggs and Bacon – this is cheating a teeny bit because I rarely cook bacon and eggs during the weekday (hello, Whole Foods hot bar) unless I’m working from home, but I wanted to include this because 1) the photo above includes my Cheddar Scallion Drop Biscuits and you can definitely make that in advance, and 2) I wanted to share my method for making scrambled eggs: I make my favorite eggs the French way, low and slow, in a saucepan over low-medium heat, using a whisk to stir until small curds form. I use butter and a little bit of cream, and finish with a sprinkle of salt, fresh ground black pepper, and chives. It’s perfect to me.
Coconut Chia Pudding – this is an ideal summer breakfast. Cool, creamy, sweet pudding – silky with coconut milk and almost jelly-like – topped with blueberries bursting with freshness. It’s also pretty darn healthy thanks to the chia seeds, which are a great source of protein and omega-3s, Chia seeds, when soaked in a liquid (in this case, light coconut milk and unsweetened vanilla almond milk) plumps up with a gelatinous coating, magically transforming a slightly weird looking mixture into pudding. It’s delicious, I promise!
Bonus breakfast: greek yogurt and jam (first photo on top). I love Fage 2% Greek yogurt with some Bon Maman jam – strawberry or cherry preserves for me, please. Sometimes I add fresh raspberries or strawberries, sometimes I fold in walnuts, and for a little luxury sometimes add a small dollop of lemon curd. It’s easy, and it lets me use up my collection of mason jars. #lifeofafoodblogger
Have a great week ahead, friends! I’ll be back next week with an icy summer treat.