Let's talk breakfast...

[MissPreston88]

So I am a single mom of 4 (well, DH is currently away until August) who has to be to work by 8am. My kids are young so I have to get their breakfast, hair done, help with dressing, etc. I need something quick and easy for breakfast because currently I am grabbing poptarts and it is KILLING my diet. What do y'all eat? (note I have 63 lbs to lose so I'm a fluffy girl and a banana isn't going to cut it as a meal)

[A_Lurker]

You can put together the dry ingredients for a protein shake the night before.  I'm not a greek yogurt and oats person, but I see lots of recipes for overnight oats that look good.  I sometimes make a set of cooked eggs for my morning break - veggies, sometimes hashbrowns, some kind of meat and eggs and/or egg whites.  However, that requires reheating.

[WendyB]

I make scrambled eggs the night before. I know some people think its gross. But it tastes no different. 40 sec in Micro  and I can eat. I do put some kind of protein in like candian bacon, Bacon bits, bacon, Ham. Be creative!

[WendyB]

Always add a veggie. Mostly Spinach. But love peppers as well

[AndyDandyPandy]

I fast so I don't eat until 12 or 1pm but when I do eat my first meal of the day I eat 6 whole eggs 250grams of broccoli and w/e left overs I can find in the fridge whether it is extra protein or veggies. And make sure I feel full or very full. 6 eggs takes about 3 minutes to cook meanwhile the broccoli microwaves for 4 minute, over all 5minute for a 6-700 calorie meal.

[A_Lurker]

I picked up some items this  morning and I'm going to make some baked egg cups for next week.  I bought some fresh shredded hash browns and put them into 4" foil baking cups.  I'm going to bake them for 30-45 mins.  Then I'm going to fill them with onion and some kind of chopped meat (need to see what I have in the freezer) and top with lightly scrambled egg/egg white and some cheese and seasonings.  I'll make 6 at once and they'll keep all week.  As @WendyB said, microwave them for a minute or so and they're great.

[WendyB]

@A_LurkerYour egg cups sound good. Will have to make some. Pretty sure I have all the ingredients.

[A_Lurker]

@WendyB- I spent too much time on the computer and treadmill.  I left them in for 45 mins with just the potatoes.  I then cracked in two eggs into each (1 might have done) and put seasonings and cheese into them.  I ended up taking 2 of them for brunch and will make a big salad mid-afternoon.  I haven't quite decided what to make for dinner.  I tend on the weekend to 2 meals and a snack instead of the week days when I do 3 meals and 2 snacks.  So I have to try and make sure that those 2 meals are substantial.

They are nice fresh out of the oven.  The egg white soaks into the potato level but the outside edges are still quite crispy.  It kind of loses that when I'll store and microwave, but it's a nice real food morning meal instead of a protein shake.

[almost_where]

1st Choice

I never really ate eggs on a regular basis ever. It was a once or twice a year thing maybe at some brunch or something. Then i noticed a friend who was staying over would make egg / english muffin / srirachi sacue sandwich every single morning and it it didnt take long for him to make it, so I decided to give it a try. Wow, what an amazing sandwich. I find the egg sandwich, calorie for calorie, has an amazing ability to keep me full for an extended period of time.

So after I determined that this is what I wanted to have for breakfast pretty much every morning then I started to focus on the fast. You mentioned that you eat pop tarts so I am assuming you put the pop tart in for a regualr toast cycle. In that same toast cycle you can pretty much have that egg sandwich ready to roll. Steps.

1) English Muffins - keep a serrated knife inside the package that is a dedicated halving knife. That way you never have to clean it and wont fill up the dishwasher with a milion knives. First thing when you walk in kitchen, halve the english muffin and pop it in the toaster. If you wait for the to go on sale, like buy one get one free or sometimes get two free you can save a ton. Just freeze the extra i na sealed frezzer bag and suck the air out of the bag before you put it in.

2) Egg - I have a small 6" non stick frying pan that hangs on a hook directly above stove. I give a quick spray of olive oil cookign spray into the pan (instead of butter) and then crack the egg. The egg should finish just around the time the toast cycle is done for the englishmuffin. Again, get eggs when they go on sale for like 99 cents a dozen.

3) Cleanup - Immediately after I plate the sandwich, i take a small piece of paper towel and wipe the pan into the garbage, usually everything comes off in like on motion. Then a little scrub with a handled brush and soap and cleanup is done in seconds.

4) Extras - I use srirachi sauce and love it but ketchup also works just watch the sodium content. My default is 1 egg per sandwich. Sometimes I wake up super hungry and I make a double sandwich, or sometimes i buy a carton of egg whites and add a little bit of egg whites to the egg to give it a liittle more ooof. I used to add cheese but found I really liked it simple but you could add a tiny piece once in awhile which adds flavor. I also made some healthy breakfast turkey patties (diameter of an english muffin and super thin) that I keep in the freezer. They cook in the same small non stick pan really fast and offer nice variety. Adding little square of parchment paper between each patty really helps for freezing.

Good luck.

[USAF-Larry]

Your Egg Muffin sandwich is pretty much the same as I like to do a couple times a week, @almost_where. The only differences is that I use Coconut Oil instead of Olive Oil, and I add a thin slice of cheese on top of the egg.

[Simzer]

I                                   If you make a half dozen hard boiled eggs you can keep them peeled and in water in frig for a go to snack/meal. I also keep cranberries/almonds in a tupper wear beneath my car seat for snacking to stay away from fast food. 

[emili]

Oatmeal. One packet is 100 calories. I heat it with water and a little sugar free maple syrup. Then I add almond milk (you can use any milk, that is just my preference) and 100 calories worth of fruit or nuts or both. the whole things takes about 4 minutes with eating. The milk cools it off after 120 seconds in the microwave.

[MissPreston88]

@almost_whereI actually don't toast them, because time lol but that sandwich sounds so good and really only adds a few minutes to my morning!

[Ukase]

This may come off harsh - and, depending on your personality, maybe it should! 

Let me say that raising kids isn't easy. You're busy, sometimes overwhelmed with the demands of developing kids into adults. But! 

You don't have a diet problem. You have a time management problem. 

You can either prep a morning smoothie, or even blend it the night before and put it in the fridge, or you can go to sleep earlier and wake up a little earlier and use it as the noise maker to wake the kids up. If you're smart, you can think up a number of different strategies to have a decent breakfast. 

Packs of tuna or salmon are healthy - packed with protein to hold you over. 

Instant oatmeal - with a spoonful of peanut butter would certainly fill you up. 

Hard boiled eggs are cheap and filling - and can be peeled after you boil them, or as you need them the night before. 

I can't say that "studies have shown" - because I have no idea, but I'm inclined to think that people that plan their meals will do better on their diets than those who don't. 

So, since you don't give us any dietary restrictions, I would use some of my suggestions or think of some of your own. Let's be very honest with ourselves - it won't take more than 7-10 minutes to make and eat your breakfast. In fact - it might be useful to only give ourselves no more than 10 minutes to make and eat our meals. (maybe not) 

I would think that with 4 kids - you might enjoy the quiet of the day before they wake up. I'd go that route and see how it works. 

[timelordlady85]

Breakfast sandwiches would be my suggestion or protien smoothies. mother to 3 here, most days my husband is gone at work as well. 3 kids under 10 here and i ride my bike with them to school each day. i make egg sandwiches or strawberry smoothies with banana. my kids will either eat the same, eat breakfast at school or have waffles/french toast/ whatever i get up early enough to make them.

[DanLeamons]

Every Sunday afternoon, I scramble up a big pan of scrambled eggs.  To reduce calories, I use 7 servings of egg white (like egg beaters or something) and 3 eggs (that gives me 5 servings of 2 'eggs' each).  The 3 real eggs drastically improve the flavor and texture of the egg beaters, and the impact of calories is not much.  I found that tip somewhere called 5 and 1 eggs, 5 egg whites to 1 egg was their reccomendation.  In any case, I season it up well, and section it up into little bowls for each work day.  (I eat during a break at work).  I buy some turkey sausage links and small corn tortillas too.  At work I just heat the sausage up separately, and then put the cold eggs on top of the 2 tortillas on a plate and microwave them together (it keeps the tortillas from drying out).  Then I separate the tortillas and make 2 little breakfast tacos with a sausage link and some eggs.  Sometimes I add some tomato, mushrooms, or spinach for flavor.