I have said before, and I am saying it again, NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST! Here is a short spot on CHCH Morning Live, talking about quick breakfast options to make ahead and take on the go. Click the picture below to check it out!

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Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You wake up, make a coffee or two that you drink, maybe dump, re-heat, or repeat half way through, as you run around the house in the morning getting ready. You don’t have time to make anything to eat, so you either go without breakfast (there are beans in coffee, right? LOL) or you stop at a local coffee shop or the work cafeteria and grab another coffee. You decide to get something to go with that coffee, such as a bagel with cream cheese, low-fat muffin, breakfast sand- wich, or a super healthy lemon poppyseed loaf, and begin your day.

You are setting yourself up for a major carb craving followed by a serious energy crash!  Eat within one hour of waking. Eating breakfast literally breaks your over night fast (sleep!). This wakes up your digestive system, and starts your metabolism, to signal to your body that it is morning time and you are ready to start another day of digestion, energy production and metabolism.

Here are some quick breakfast options that can be prepped the night before so they are ready to take with you on the go:

  • Prep a smoothie: Companies like Hamilton Beach, Magic Bullet and Ninja all make blenders with detachable to-go cups. Place your ingredients into the smoothie jar the night before, and leave the blender base out on the counter. Then all you literally have to do is affix the container to your blender, blend, and go.
  • Oatmeal: a great source of complex carbohydrates, fibre and B-vitamins, which is excellent brain fuel. You can leave it on the stove to cook while you are getting ready. Organic quick oats take about as long to cook as it takes for your coffee to drip
  • Oat Pancakes (recipe below): One of my favourite morning meals and kids love it. You can make a batch in advance, so you can just freeze them and pop them in the toaster. These babies take literally 5 minutes or less to whip up. Top them with fresh berries, hemp seeds and nut butter, and you have a balanced breakfast.
  • Boiled Eggs: One of the easiest and quickest on the go breakfasts. A whole egg is 6g of protein and is a great source of B-vitamins. Boil about 6 eggs at dinner time and keep them in the fridge for emergency must-leave-now situations.

Oat Pancakes (5 min or less!):

oat pancakes

  • 50 grams organic oats
  • 1 whole organic egg + 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 banana OR 1/4 cup pineapple or apple or berries
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Take all of the above ingredients and place into a small blender. I love the Hamilton Beach portable blender for this and blend until smooth.  Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil over medium heat in a pan. Pour your mixture in and let it cook until you see the edges browning and the top of your pancake bubbling. Then flip your pancake and continue until cooked through. Top with 1 tbsp of almond, cashew, or nut butter of choice, and drizzle with maple syrup.

Posted in Childrens Nutrition, Gain energy, Nutrition, Recipes