Something great my mother passed on to me is cooking breakfast according to a schedule. It may seem like a trivial thing and maybe even strange to a lot of people, but I have done it ever since I got married and it has been so helpful. My schedule is not exactly the same as hers. In fact, my husband tells a funny story from when we were first married and living in New Mexico. We had oatmeal (which we call mush) on Thursday and then left that day to visit my parents. We got up on Friday morning and my mom was serving mush. I said, "I don't want to have mush two days in a row!" My mom replied, "If you don't want to have mush for breakfast, Paula, you should know better than to come on a Friday!" Yep, that's how it was.
Here's my schedule:
Monday, Thursday: oatmeal, toast, fruit
Tuesday, Friday: eggs, toast, fruit (and hot chocolate on Fridays)
Wednesday, Sunday: cold cereal (and a smoothie on Wednesday)
Saturday: pancakes or waffles with orange juice
Here are the reasons I have a schedule:
1. We have variety. I personally really enjoy a lot of variety in my meals and I could not eat the same thing every day for breakfast.
2. My children get used to eating different foods. Several of them don't like oatmeal but they take a small amount when I serve it and maybe they're learning to like it. As for myself, I can only eat plain oatmeal with toast but with fresh peaches on it, it's one of my favorite foods. One of my pickiest eaters loves oatmeal. A few of them don't like eggs but they eat a small amount anyway.
3. It's nutritious! Dietitians always talk about how important it is to eat breakfast. My kids always eat breakfast. That is not a battle I have had to fight yet.
4. I don't have to decide what to make every morning. It's one less decision to make in my life.
5. My husband loves breakfast so this makes him happy.
6. It saves money. Oatmeal is probably one of the cheapest breakfasts there is. Eggs and pancakes are also cheaper than cold cereal.
The main downside is that my cooked breakfasts are not particularly quick and efficient. I've started prepping the kitchen as much as I can the night before and that has helped to streamline things a little bit. I can usually have breakfast ready for the first eaters in 10-15 minutes.
One breakfast tradition I have started is serving homemade granola along with the commercial cold cereals I buy. I got the recipe from a Quaker Oats booklet a long time ago. I make a huge batch, quadrupling the recipe, and it lasts close to two months. I love the smell when it comes out of the oven. I'm slowly reducing the amount of honey I put in it to see how much it really needs--but I haven't figured out the number yet.
Here's the recipe:
6 cups oats
2 cups coconut
1/2-1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup honey (I tried 3/8 cup yesterday and it is still plenty sweet)
Mix first four ingredients, then add oil and mix. Then add honey and mix. Bake in a large greased cookie sheet with sides at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove immediately from pan (or it will stick badly) and put in a storage container. Add raisins as desired. Stores well.
Here's my schedule:
Monday, Thursday: oatmeal, toast, fruit
Tuesday, Friday: eggs, toast, fruit (and hot chocolate on Fridays)
Wednesday, Sunday: cold cereal (and a smoothie on Wednesday)
Saturday: pancakes or waffles with orange juice
Here are the reasons I have a schedule:
1. We have variety. I personally really enjoy a lot of variety in my meals and I could not eat the same thing every day for breakfast.
2. My children get used to eating different foods. Several of them don't like oatmeal but they take a small amount when I serve it and maybe they're learning to like it. As for myself, I can only eat plain oatmeal with toast but with fresh peaches on it, it's one of my favorite foods. One of my pickiest eaters loves oatmeal. A few of them don't like eggs but they eat a small amount anyway.
3. It's nutritious! Dietitians always talk about how important it is to eat breakfast. My kids always eat breakfast. That is not a battle I have had to fight yet.
4. I don't have to decide what to make every morning. It's one less decision to make in my life.
5. My husband loves breakfast so this makes him happy.
6. It saves money. Oatmeal is probably one of the cheapest breakfasts there is. Eggs and pancakes are also cheaper than cold cereal.
The main downside is that my cooked breakfasts are not particularly quick and efficient. I've started prepping the kitchen as much as I can the night before and that has helped to streamline things a little bit. I can usually have breakfast ready for the first eaters in 10-15 minutes.
One breakfast tradition I have started is serving homemade granola along with the commercial cold cereals I buy. I got the recipe from a Quaker Oats booklet a long time ago. I make a huge batch, quadrupling the recipe, and it lasts close to two months. I love the smell when it comes out of the oven. I'm slowly reducing the amount of honey I put in it to see how much it really needs--but I haven't figured out the number yet.
Here's the recipe:
6 cups oats
2 cups coconut
1/2-1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup honey (I tried 3/8 cup yesterday and it is still plenty sweet)
Mix first four ingredients, then add oil and mix. Then add honey and mix. Bake in a large greased cookie sheet with sides at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove immediately from pan (or it will stick badly) and put in a storage container. Add raisins as desired. Stores well.
Comments
Post a Comment