Breakfast for Champions: Tips and Tricks

Published also on full tummies

So you want to provide a nutritious breakfast and save money this school year. And you don't have much time in the mornings. Hmmm... That can be a daunting challenge. Did you know that the following can all be frozen ahead of time?

1. Muffins
2. Egg McMuffins (yes, they can!)
3. Breakfast burritos (scrambled eggs, sausage, salsa wrapped in a tortilla)
   
4. Scones
5. Quiche (bake/freeze crustless quiche in muffin cups for individual servings)

What about simply making something the night before? The following can all be made or assembled the night before:

1. Oatmeal (premeasure oats/water)
2. Quiche mixtures (re-stir and pour in pan in the morning)
3. Muffins (dry ingredients and wet kept separate until morning)
4. Pancake mix
5. Hard-boiled eggs

I use all of the above strategies, but what has helped me the most is having a breakfast routine. Lots of people follow a "if it's Monday, it must be spaghetti" type of plan for dinners, each weeknight consisting of roughly the same type of thing each week. I use that same idea for breakfast, and it helps keep variety in our menu while making it easier to get breakfast on the table (and saving me from scrambling every morning with three fussing kiddos). Every week isn't exactly the same, but here's a rough idea:

• Sunday: hard-boiled eggs, muffin/breakfast cookie, fruit (all is made ahead of time; this is our busiest morning)
• Monday: cold cereal with milk, fruit
  
• Tuesday: something egg related
  
• Wednesday: oatmeal
  
• Thursday: muffins, cheese stick or smoothie, fruit (our second busiest morning)
  
• Friday: cottage cheese pancakes or egg sandwiches
  
• Saturday: pancakes or eggs, sausage, and homemade biscuits

If I ever plan to serve quiche for dinner, I automatically make sure there's enough for the next morning's breakfast. I frequently keep frozen egg mcmuffins, breakfast burritos, or something similar for my husband to grab on his way to work. I'll be posting the egg mcmuffin and breakfast burrito recipes soon at full tummies.

What's your best breakfast strategy? Have a favorite recipe? Link to it in a comment.