It’s Monday morning and you are just about to jump into your busy day when you realize you haven’t had breakfast. But wait!  You have been following your personal trainer’s advice and you spent time over the weekend planning and prepping your food for the week.  Hooray for you!

We have all read or heard about the studies that show that breakfast can be the most important meal of the day and that it helps to regulate your metabolism. We can acknowledge that every ‘body’ is different and we need to find what works best for us as individuals. However, typically, skipping breakfast means we are hunting for something to eat mid-morning. Without a plan in place, our first meal for the day may not consist of the best choices and may not help fill us up for very long. Even if we have self-control and can avoid making bad choices, our blood sugar level is sure to drop and will at the very least make us grumpy and perhaps distracted and unproductive. Forgetting to ‘break’ the fast that your body had during the night is usually not a good choice.  However, below you will find some suggestions that are definitely good choices for a great start to your day, even on a Monday!

I have included recipes for some of them as well-so, pick a few to add to your plan for the next week. Don’t forget to put those good habits into practice-Include the necessary ingredients on your shopping list, spend time prepping ingredients for the week to come or make the entire dish ahead of time so all you have to do is heat and eat!  Enjoy!

1.) Omelets– add veggies you diced ahead of time or meat from your leftover meals.

2.) Buckwheat Pancakes or Oatmeal Pancakes (recipes below)

3.) Buttermilk Waffles (recipes below-surprisingly, these can be easily reheated, so make them ahead, too!)

4.) Yogurt topped with no-sugar toppings such as nuts, seeds and fresh fruit.

5.) Scrambled eggs with fresh spinach and mushrooms that you prepped ahead of time.

6.) Hard boiled eggs-these travel well-this is my go to breakfast before an early work out.  It’s not too heavy, it’s filling, and it’s prepped ahead of time!

7.) Cottage cheese and fresh fruit.

8.) Egg and Vegetable Frittata (recipe below)- again, reheats easily in the microwave.  Prep by dicing veggies ahead of time and/or dicing and slightly cooking. Then all you have left is to layer the veggies in the pan, pour on the eggs, sprinkle with cheese and Voila!

9.) Vegetable Mini Quiche cups (recipe below)-these are very portable and reheat in the microwave beautifully.

10.) Steel Cut Oatmeal (recipe below)-again, make in the microwave while you get ready for work or make ahead and reheat in the microwave when you are ready to eat it.

This is a short list of my top 10 suggestions of how to properly break your fast in the morning, quickly and efficiently, so you can get on to the important tasks of your day with a well-fueled body and a smile!

As always, make the best choices for a healthy lifestyle! (Your boss and coworkers will love you for it, too!)

Be well-Your Best Fitness Friend

Recipes:

#2-Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes phase 2 (The South Beach Diet-TSBD)

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup whole-grain pastry flour

1 teaspoon granular sugar substitute

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup 1 percent or fat-free buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/8 cup trans-fat-free margarine, melted

3/4 cup blueberries

Heat oven to 200°F. Combine buckwheat flour, pastry flour, sugar substitute, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Combine buttermilk, egg, and margarine in another mixing bowl. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir just until combined well, being careful not to over mix. Stir in blueberries. Heat griddle over medium heat until hot enough to cause drops of water to scatter over the surface, about 3 minutes; lightly coat with cooking spray. Spoon batter onto griddle to form 3-inch rounds and cook until golden on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a heatproof platter and place in the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.

Makes 2 Servings (4 pancakes per serving)

Nutritional Information:260 calories (I usually only eat 2 pancakes, which is ½ a serving so only 130 cal) 13 g total fat 27 g carbohydrate 9 g protein 4 g fiber 500 mg sodium

#2-Oatmeal Pancakes phase 2 (TSBD)

1 ¼ c. rolled oats (not quick)

2 c. fat – free milk (I do use 1%)

1 egg

½ c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. toasted wheat germ

1 T. baking powder

2 t. sugar substitute

2 t. canola oil

½ t. salt

In a medium bowl, combine the oats and milk and allow it to stand for 10 min.  Stir in egg, flour, wheat germ, baking powder, sugar sub., and oil, mixing until evenly blended and only small lumps remain.  Let the batter stand for 30 min. covered in the refrigerator.  Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over med. Heat.  Working in batches, pour the batter by ¼ cup into the pan and cook 3-4 min. or until the top starts to bubble and the bottom is browned.  Turn and cook for 1-2 min. longer or until golden brown.  Remove to a plate and keep warm. Repeat-total of 12 pancakes.  Leftovers can be stored and re-heated.  If you like a little different flavor, add cinnamon, nutmeg or a teaspoon of your favorite extract.

Per pancake:  90 cal., 2 g fat, 0 g sat. fat, ½ g protein, 14 g carb., 1 g dietary fiber, 20 mg cholesterol, 250 mg sodium

#3-Buttermilk Waffles –phase 2 (TSBD)

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. old fashioned rolled oats

1 T. plus 1 t. baking powder

3 T. sugar substitute

3 T. canola oil

1 ¼ c. 1% or fat-free buttermilk

½ c. water

1 large egg

¼ t. salt

Sugar free syrup or jam

Combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and sugar sub. in a medium bowl.  Whisk together oil, buttermilk, water and egg in a separate bowl.  Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Heat waffle iron, coated with spray. Add generous ½ c.batter per waffle and cook until brown and crisp-about 5 min. Serve with syrup or jam

Makes 4 servings or 4 waffles

360 cal., 15 g. fat, 11 g. protein, 56 carb, 6 g. fiber, 490 mg. sodium

#8-Egg and Vegetable Frittata (YourBFF)

1 box frozen spinach

½ each: red, green, yellow bell peppers, chopped

½ onion, chopped

8 eggs

1 c. milk, 1%

Fresh tomatoes, about 10 cherry, halved

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese

Sautee peppers and onion in tsp or so of olive oil. Thaw spinach and drain-squeeze out as much water as possible.  Spray 8×11 baking dish with olive oil Pam. Line bottom of dish with spinach.  Spread peppers/onions over spinach.  Beat eggs with milk, add salt and pepper,  and pour over vegetables. Sprinkle tomatoes over top and bake at 375* for about 25 min, until eggs are set and pulling from sides of dish. Sprinkle with Parm cheese and serve.

#9-Vegetable Mini Quiche cups (TSBD)

10 oz. pkg. Spinach, frozen

1 c. Cheddar Cheese, shredded

3/4 c. Egg substitute, liquid (Egg Beaters)

1/2 Green Peppers (bell peppers) chopped

1/4 c. Onions, raw, chopped

Directions: Microwave the spinach for 2 1/2 minutes on high. Drain the excess liquid. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking cups. Spray the cups with cooking spray. Combine the egg substitute, cheese, peppers, onions, and spinach in a bowl. Mix well. Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Number of Servings: 12

#10-Steel Cut Oatmeal (spiced, with apricots) – phase 2 (TSBD)

¼ c. walnuts, toasted

2 c. water

½ c. steel cut oats

12 dried apricots, cut into ¼ inch pieces

1 ½ t. sugar free pancake syrup

½ t. ground cinnamon

Salt

Combine water, oats, apricots, syrup, cinnamon and pinch of salt in an 8 cup, microwave safe bowl. Size of bowl is important to allow space for oats to bubble up without spilling. Cover with plastic wrap, vent and cook at full power for 5-7 minutes.  Stir, replace plastic wrap and cook for additional 5-7 min., until liquid is mostly absorbed.  Sprinkle with toasted nuts and serve.

Makes 4, ½ c. servings

180 cal, 6 g fat, 5 g protein, 28 g carb, 4 g fiber 80 mg sodium