Good Intentions: Eating Breakfast
 

I have good intentions. Really, I do. I want to eat breakfast. I want to wake up normally hungry and interested in food. The fact of the matter is that I don't eat breakfast most mornings because I just can't stomach the thought of food at that time. It makes me feel queasy just typing this! And I really should eat breakfast; it makes such a difference in the rest of my day.

So, I turn to you, the TFP, for some breakfast suggestions that might entice me to eat in the mornings. I'm sure there are other people out there on the board with similar issues who would benefit from said suggestions.

I have a variety of things I could eat for breakfast, and a well-stocked pantry. These are: high-fiber cereal, yogurt, bananas, eggs, whole grain pancake mix, high-fiber bread, etc. What are some things I could make, using these ingredients and other ingredients, that I would actually want to eat in the mornings? I am also willing to make additions to my pantry, if it means that I eat breakfast. I'm really looking to spice things up and get out of my usual breakfast box.

No suggestion is too mundane or simple, as it still may be something outside of my breakfast box. Obviously I'd prefer a fast, easy breakfast. One of the things that makes me hungry is reading about food, so I figure this thread should help in that regard!

Have you tried this?

Don't eat "breakfast" for breakfast. Eat some of your favourite dishes from lunch or supper menus.

I've enjoyed many veggie burgers and leftover Thai food for breakfast.

Also try congee, a popular Asian rice breakfast. It might just be different enough to tempt your taste buds.

You could take the bread, place it in a contraption with nichrome wires wrapped around a mica plate. Through the use of infrared radiation, energy will be transferred to the bread, which undergoes a Maillard reaction. This reaction causes the bread to dry out and become somewhat browned. Its flavor will change slightly and it will give off a distinct odor which some people find pleasant. I'm not quite sure what the ramifications will be upon the fibrous content, so caution is advised in this instance.

Atop this chemically-reacted bread one can place a variety of toppings from a churned form of cream to crushed and pureed fruits. One might also place upon it a variation of the peanut whereas the peanut has been ground to a pulp, creating a pasty substance. However, due to the highly allergic reaction of some to the peanut, it is not recommended that one utilize such a legume. Please check with your medical specialist regarding any legumic allergies before engaging in peanut consumption.

Save that, one might place another dairy concoction in which cream and cheese are combined into a delectable treat which one may use to place upon such a dried form of bread. Taking a knife, one may then cut the bread diagonally, vertically, or horizontally to magically create two treats instead of one.

Good luck!

They don't eat breakfast in Italy either; just an espresso and maybe a little biscuit.

They seem to be doing OK.

Just sayin'.

Maybe I should take up eating biscotti. I do like them.

JJ, even toast isn't particularly appealing in the morning, unfortunately. I love toast at other times of day, all kinds of toast. It's one of my favorite foods. I think it's just that even with jam and butter, it's still a little too dry for my mouth at that time (I always wake up a bit dehydrated).

And Baraka, the savory suggestions are good. I don't think I could stomach a veggie burger in the AM, but a veggie sausage would do the trick. I always like those, and they're moist. We don't often have leftovers around here; my SO is like a Hoover when it comes to food. Forget trying to hang on to pizza in order to eat it cold; it won't last the night.

I am also not a breakfast person, but, like you said, it has a big impact on the rest of my day.

If I do eat something, it's light. Toast with strawberry jam and OJ. Some kind of fruit (usually berries... sometimes grapes) with water or soymilk.

On the days I can't stomach something solid, I make it a point to drink something. A protein drink or a fruit smoothie, something with lots of vitamins.

Snowy,
I have found that the soybased protein powders with spirulina,
mixed with either water or milk, work for my IBS ridden system.

By mixing them on the thick side,
I feel full enough without that heavy feeling of eating more solid food
first thing in the morning,
and it keeps me steadily fueled all morning.

I'm like you, I could very easily go without breakfast. When I do wake up hungry I have to be careful what I eat or I will have horrid heartburn for the rest of the day, and by being careful I mean not eating oatmeal, cream-o-wheat, and sometimes plain old cereal.

Sometimes what I do, because I know after about an hour or so of being awake I will be starving, I start my morning off with a small glass of juice. I take with me to class a banana, an apple, and some form of granola bar or even a half a bagel. That way my metabolism gets a little kick start with the juice and then I have small snacks to eat during the three hours of my first class.

When the weather is warmer, we often have fresh smoothies for breakfast. We change it up a lot but we find that mango, pineapple, or peach work best as a base. From there, we add whatever else we desire. We tend to keep stocked up on frozen fruits so they're nice and cold when it's warm out.

What I like about them is that they fill you up without giving you that disgusting breakfast feeling, plus, with one smoothie, you have about 3 days worth of fruit servings.

Does the queasy feeling about eating last after you get ready for your day? I ask because I can't stomach the thought of food right when I wake up but once I shower, dress, etc I am ready for a little something.

I tend to like foods I can eat while going to work. Bagels, cold pizza, egg sandwich, string cheese are all foods I eat as I go to work. My stomach is ready for them then.

It's really a matter of getting that first bite down. Once I've had a little bit of food (be it half a Clif bar or whatever) and given it some time, I usually get hungry.

The smoothie suggestion is a great one. Perhaps I can talk my SO into investing in a real blender.

on of the little danon Immunity thingies always worked well for me.
my favorites though, involve rice cakes, natural peanut butter and fruit.
mini-choclate ones, PB and banana or strawberry slices.
lightly salted larger ones with a thin schmear of PB, organic honey and bananas.
or the above without honey and add straberries or peach slices.
the fruit keeps it from being too dry and less sugar than jelly or jam.
and the rice cakes help my crunch-fetish.
or, I grab a packet of high-fiber cinnamon swirl quaker oatmeal and make it in a cup.
it looks daunting if it's in a bowl for some reason.
i eat weird things, but other people seem to like the rice cake thing.
i munch on dry cereal on the way to work, too, like peanut butter Puffins or multigrain cheerios. or a FiberOne bar... chocolate mocha rocks. and they're only 140 calories.
By taking the breakfast out of the kitchen or eating dry cereal slower, I can get past my "yuck, not ready for food yet" moments.

I usually nab an Odwalla (sp?) bar and bring it with me on the way to work. Or, as jj suggested, a smoothie on occasion. But the health bar gives me something to eat with my 2nd cup of coffee, and its healthy. I don't like to eat first thing, but after an hour of being awake I'm ready for something. There's also no prep time, so it's easy.

Snow: Im with you on that first bite, churning tummy and all (Right this very minute, thinking about it!). A little minty something helps with that. Im just not interested in food in the morning, particularly after first waking. I need a little time to stretch and purr and look out the window and have a cup of tea, or I need the time to sit outside and look at the newspaper for a little while, or I need to be rushing around in a purposeful way to get the hell out of dodge.

If its a relaxed morn I tend to graze on whatever is around (leftovers) or eventually I might make an egg with toast, or even coffee. If I do cook it is usually after ive been up for a while.

On rushed days I have a routine of of my fav cold coffee with milk and an oatmeal cookie. The combo works well for me and it would be unusual for me to shake it up. I am usually finished with them by the regular lunch hour. It seems to be just enough and I can eat it discreetly (or not) at my desk in the slow manner i like. It took me years to find this rut, and I appreciate it. I use it as a treat, as incentive to go to work. I suppose if I were in a hurry and needed some quick protein I might consider kefir, but probably not.

This changes though if I have someone over and we cook together. I like that very much, but I still find that i do better to take it easy with a little grazing while cooking. Getting used to the idea, sort of like sticking your big toe in.

Maybe our breakfasts are just later or more relaxed and drawn out than others'? I know what you mean though. I almost feel jealous of those that can be hale and robust early on. Really though, who cares about your breakfast habits as long as youre a happy and spritely elf?!

PS: In PDX there are 2 perfect sized/cooked breakfasts for us easyeaters - Paradox has their #1, and Vita has their PDX breakfast, both with the OHB which seems to settle the stomach somewhat.

I'm eating breakfast right now.

Some days I'm not hungry, and on those days I know I have to just suck it up and eat something anyway. When I do skip breakfast I always end up regretting it.

Sometimes I'll have an Avacado Smoothie, lightly sweetened. Very yummy.

I always wake up dehydrated as well. I have a habit of leaving a glass of water out in the bathroom the night before, so when I wake up and brush my teeth first thing, I see it and drink.

My friend had a great breakfast. She would fill a mug with nuts and grains, then add a small sliced banana or other fruit, and top it with a solid dollop of plain yogurt.

I'm a fan of eggs in the morning. Eggs & hominy with salsa, Spinach & cheddar omlette, Eggs on toast, hardboiled Eggs, scrambled eggs with cheese and bell peppers. So on.

My husband is more of the fresh baked bread with coffee kind of a guy.

I find I'm much more in the mood to eat breakfast when I wake up to the smell of fresh bread, just finishing up in the breadmaker.

Try exercising early in the morning. I go jogging before breakfast because I get horrible side stitches if I have any food in my stomach. This has the side effect of making me very hungry when I get back.

If I *don't* eat breakfast, I feel sick - I don't eat right away, but I try to eat within in the first hour of rising. I'm not much of a breakfast food person unless it involves eggs; syrupy sweet foods in the morning are definitely not my cup of tea and I rarely eat them. I prefer leftovers (particularly cold pizza), an egg sandwich, a tuna fish sandwich, or my favorite - an open faced avocado sandwich, which is just a smashed avocado smeared on some wheat or rye toast and sprinkled with pepper (it may sound gross, but it's absolutely delicious). If I have time, I'll make a couple of slices of turkey bacon or slice a tomato and put it on top of the avocado.

Almost exactly what I was going to say - we took the kids to the park straight out of bed this morning and made buttermilk/berry pancakes when we got home - yum!

My wife asked me - "did you follow a recipe", knowing fully that there isn't much need:
some self raising flour (not what Americans call it - the one with the baking powder added!)
a little extra bicarbonate of soda (a teaspoonish measure)
a tablespoon or so of caster sugar
one egg

sift the dry ingredients then mix in the egg

add buttermilk till the mixture isn't lumpy anymore, stirring as you go

add frozen blueberries and raspberries

cook in oiled and heated pan!

I can't tell you measurements, because I never measure for things like that.

I started working out hardcore a few weeks ago, and now my metab it skyrocketing (again).

This morning I had a typical breakfast of eggs and two pieces of whole-grain toast with added veggies (including avocado).

When I returned to the kitchen, I peeked into the fridge and caught sight of the leftover chana masala. I proceeded to grab the remaining half-piece of naan bread to help me scarf down at least a half cup of chana...on top of what I thought was my complete breakfast.... So if anyone wants to lose weight, I recommend lifting weights.

Anyway, I came in here to mention that it might help to take a look at your calorie distribution throughout the day. If you eat most of them in the latter half of your day, this might be causing the problem of not being hungry enough for breakfast.

I think I consume 60 to 70% of my calories by 1:00, unless I have a workout in the evening. By this time, I've had a big breakfast, a lunch, and a fairly big snack, if not a second lunch. Try arranging things so you aren't going home hungry before you've even thought of supper. If you're starving for supper, you might have waited too long to eat.

I try to go no longer than four hours between feeding times.

The girl has cereal most mornings.



I don't much care. I only eat when my body tells me I need food. Which is an odd thing for a chef. Food actually doesn't interest me unless I'm creating it.

I'm not usually hungry first thing in the AM--it usually takes me an hour or two to develop an appetite. This usually translates into eating my breakfast at my desk at work. Are you able to do something like this? (take your breakfast to work or school) For me, I think it's better to wait until your hungry than eat by the clock and force food down your own throat.

If that doesn't work, then I'd reiterate the suggestion to not limit yourself to "breakfast" foods. Personally, I love reheated spaghetti for breakfast, but I understand if that doesn't suit everyone's fancy. Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches are another nontraditional breakfast fave of mine. (or in the alternative, ham and cheese Lean Pockets)

Down here in Florida, one of local chains has a bread called breakfast, mixed nuts and fruit, and alot of other stuff. I heat it up and put butter one it. cures my hunger and tastes good.

I am not much for food when I wake up but I find that yogurt works well. Then a peace of fruit as I run out the door.

Some people don't like to settle for just a drink in the morning, but I'm a fan of Carnation Instant Breakfast. It makes a thick enough chocolatey drink to satisfy me until lunch time, plus viatmins and minerals and other good stuff.

I hate when I don't stir it enough though... I get to the bottom of the mug only to find a pile of unused chocolate mix?! Great, now my whole day is ruined.

I had the most delicious buttermilk pancakes this morning. I warmed up the griddle, lightly kissed the top with sweet butter, and waited until it was at just the right temperature, about 350 degrees F. The trick to the perfect batter is to use organic, brown eggs for your whites and brown sugar instead of regular sugar. If you make the batter the night before, you can have 2 or 3 pancakes ready to eat in a matter of maybe 10 minutes. Compliment with some dark amber syrup and a cup of coffee, dark roast.

I'll be having scrambled eggs (3 minutes) and high pulp orange juice (20 seconds) tomorrow.

Friday is marmalade on toast with Irish breakfast tea (about 12 minutes).

I dont wake up hungry either...but then Im up at 430 every day...being diabetic now I have to eat...BUT I wait until between 7 and 8 when I've been up for several hours, since Im at work by that time my workday breakfast consists of 2 pieces of toast with strawberry jam and 1 container of yoplait yogurt (we keep a toaster in our breakroom)....that gets me along just fine until about about 1030, when I have to take one set of meds...at that point I eat a pack of peanut butter crackers and then I eat lunch at 1230

During the work week, Dave eats one of those small hormel chilli cups for breakfast

instead of 'food' food, try juice or smoothie. it may go down a little better than food, and is still healthy way to start the day. it'd be full of fibre, carbs and protein, dependant on what you put in it.

or theres what others have said, breakfast drinks in the mornings.

There aren't really breakfast food in this part of the world. They just eat what they would eat at any other time of the day. I often see people digging into a chicken curry, nasi lemak or a roti prata for breakfast. All foods that are eaten any time of day.

Myself, I like to eat breakfast. Currently, I eat a bowl of cereal at work in the mornings and I go for toast with peanut butter on the weekends... unless I am making Sunday breakfast which is more to the lines of Omelets, Pancakes, Sausage, etc. For many years I didn't eat breakfast. All I would have was a coffee when I landed at work and coast on the caffeine and sugar until lunch. But I realized that I would eat way too many snacks and larger dinners as a result. Now I find that if I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a reasonably sized lunch I don't need a big dinner and don't have a need to snack. As a result, I've lost a lot of weight.

I think also the fact that I don't eat as much at night, makes me hungry in the morning.

I've been doing a really good job of eating breakfast lately--most mornings I eat breakfast. I forgot this morning (whoops), but I've remembered every other morning this week. It's definitely becoming part of my morning routine. Lately I've been switching off between Nature's Path oatmeal and Nature's Path Heirloom Grains cereal. I also dig the leftovers-for-breakfast thing, if there are leftovers. I also made a whole mess of buttermilk pancakes on Saturday, and those were delicious. I hadn't made pancakes in a while, and they turned out perfect.

What's funny is that I'm actually a very proficient breakfast cook with a variety of dishes in my repertoire. Guess I just gotta start making fun breakfasts again.

This morning I had a small (about 4-5 ounce) tilapia filet, panfried in butter. Three minutes on one side, three minutes on the other. Then break a couple of eggs in the same skillet and lightly scramble. I like scrambled eggs pretty wet. A little salt and pepper or chesapeake fish seasoning. Maybe some parmesan or shredded cheddar. When it looks about right, I dump the whole skillet onto a plate. Twelve minutes max cooking time. I'll usually also have some melon or berries or grapes.
Most of the time I have sausage or hamburger instead of fish. Leftover chili (I usually make it w/o beans) is also great on top of the eggs and meat. Hey, you said you wanted to spice it up. Left over (fill in the blank) korma or curry would be good too.
I've also had oatmeal a few times over the winter, with fruit and cream. Oatmeal is a kind of "comfort food" to me, especially in cold weather, even though I usually follow a pretty low carb diet, which cuts out pancakes and most bread. And if I don't have eggs and/or meat, it just doesn't feel like breakfast to me. But I like cooked cold cauliflower, broccoli, and asparagus too.
Try looking at what Baraka_Guru suggested and see if you can cut down on eating late in the day. That might make eating breakfast more attractive.

Lindy
If I'm running late, sometimes I stop at Mickey Dees and get a couple of sausage biscuits (I discard the biscuit) and a yogurt parfait. Total cost --about $3.00

I am pretty sure you can order just sausage, but I am not sure how much it costs.

I should have mentioned in the OP that I don't eat much meat--my SO is vegetarian and so cooking meat or fish in the house is out of the question. Thanks for the other suggestions, though.

I also should tell you all that I have GERD, and as such, I have to keep a steady amount of food in my stomach, which means I have to eat small amounts throughout the day (including later on in the evening). If I don't, I wake up truly nauseous.

This morning I had some scrambled eggs and potatoes for breakfast. Yummy.

I hear you snowy, Xerxys to the rescue.

First, I was about to suggest that you don't eat through the day but in light of your GERD (just googled it), I have to say carry on but there is a way around that.

Now, I was in boarding school and for some reason in school a teenager consumes twice his/her body weight a day. We would wake up and be in class by 6am, read, eat at 7am. Read, eat at 10am, class, lunch at 1pm, class, break at 4pm, supper at 7pm. This established a cycle for me. The cycle, of course was demolished after I left high school. I intend to get it back.

What time do you get up? Run every morning. An hour later you'll be hungry, then eat..., anything. Eat at break periods and at lunch and at supper. In between meals can be small.

Out of topic though, how much coffee do you consume? Do you have it with milk? If it's a lot and without milk, do you think this can cause your GERD? Acidic foods can be balanced out without necessarily eating to keep your contents down.