When it comes to breakfast, our family meal planning looks a little different. In fact, it is more like meal theming than meal planning.
Figuring out what to make family for breakfast – something that is healthy but also quick – is not a struggle I like dealing with five minutes after I roll out of bed.
That early in the morning my brain is already having a hard time dealing with the reality that sleep time has ended, and to throw the puzzle of what to have for breakfast at it so soon after coming out of a slumber – and on an empty tummy too – seems quite unfair.
All drama aside, figuring out what to have for breakfast every morning can, at times, get a bit overwhelming.
As a busy mom of young, growing kids and a hardworking husband, I need a meal that is both healthy and filling; one that will stick with my husband until his next meal. It needs to be fun and different enough from our previous breakfast that my kids will eat it without too much coaxing on my part, and it needs to be quick because my lot in life is that mornings fly by and there never seems to be enough time to get breakfast on the table and lunches packed before my husband is headed out the door for work.
All in all, I guess I am asking a lot.
Healthy. Filling. Yummy. Variety. And Fast.
Breakfast Matters
I ask a lot out of just one meal. I know there is some modern controversy over the adage that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, but I really believe it is.
Anyone who has experienced a total breakfast flop (i.e. burnt pancakes, no protein, or not enough food) knows what a difference a good breakfast can make.
A solid breakfast sets you up for your day. Being starving hungry at 9 AM when you ate breakfast at 7 makes work and focus more difficult. And if you dive into your lunch at 10 because you’re just that hungry… well, it makes for an incredibly long afternoon.
It might sound like something a chef (or mom or grandma) would say to sway you to eat their dishes, but, truly, a good day starts off with a good breakfast.
Doing the Part of Planning
It’s great to say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it starts us off on the right foot, but saying that doesn’t help the mental brick wall that comes in the early morning hours as we stand in the middle of our kitchen with a blank stare.
Just knowing that the meal is important doesn’t necessarily help us know what to make.
This is where planning becomes so important.
Planning ahead makes doing the work in the moment so much easier and quicker, as is the case with all things in life.
Having a plan of what to make helps us ensure ingredients are both in the fridge and in the cupboard, that mixing bowls are clean and ready to use, and that food has enough time to cook.
A Different Way of Planning
I have incorporated weekly dinner meal planning into my schedule for over five years now, and let me tell you that it makes a huge difference in helping my afternoon go smoothly and dinner to get on the table on time.
While I find it helpful to plan out the different meals our family will have for dinner each day of the week, I am not quite up for individually planning each day’s breakfast menu.
Maybe I will get there someday, but for now, it just seems a little bit too elaborate for a standard weekday breakfast where my family is rushing to eat the food on their plates so they can get outside and begin their day.
I want breakfast to be a success – after all, a good day starts off with a good breakfast – but I don’t necessarily want to put in a lot of time and effort into planning and making breakfast every morning. I put enough time and effort into planning and making family dinner every day. I don’t think I have it in me to put equal amounts of labor into daily morning breakfast.
That said, meal planning is still key to success. But when it comes to breakfast, our family meal planning looks a little different.
In fact, it is more like meal theming than meal planning.
Rather than writing out exactly what I plan to make for breakfast every morning for each day of the week, our family instead will rotate a schedule of themes to help guide me in thinking what to make for breakfast.
Rather than having a weekly breakfast menu that looks like this:
We keep a breakfast theme menu that looks like this:
Or this:
Kendell Home Breakfasts
Pancakes: Are just that – pancakes. But in all their different forms. Some of our favorite pancake recipes include German Pancakes, Dutch Babies, Crepes, Kefir Pancakes, Buttermilk Pancakes, Buckwheat Pancakes, Whole Wheat Pancakes, and Sourdough Pancakes. The different forms and flavors help to make eating pancakes for breakfast fresh and fun for my favorite little eaters.
Porridge: This can be any form of oatmeal, multigrain cereal, creamed wheat, quinoa or rice breakfasts, etc. In my dad’s words, this would be any form of “hot cereal”. On the hottest days of summer, we will sometimes substitute these hot cereals with a thick smoothie that includes oats or grains in it, or maybe a bowl of cold cereal to better fit the season. But during spring, fall, and winter, these hot cereals (or porridge) breakfast are a delicious and healthy start to our day. Paired with a piece of toast or slice of bacon, this breakfast will stick with you the whole morning long.
Eggs & Omelets: Eggs are a breakfast staple at our home, and we eat them in all the ways. Sunnyside-up, over-easy, hardboiled, and scrambled (a favorite for the kids). Of course omelets are also a favorite – and the list of what can go in an omelet goes on. From meat lovers omelet with bacon, sausage, and ham sprinkled with cheese, to veggie loaded omelets with sauteed onions, garlic, bell peppers, and more. My personal favorite would include cooked broccoli, carrot, and snow peas.
Another favorite way to eggs in our house is added in a breakfast burrito for an easy, grab-and-go breakfast, or a delicious sit-down meal that we can smother in home-canned salsa.
Breads & Biscuits – Think biscuits and gravy; scones; French Toast; cinnamon rolls; donuts; sweet breads like banana bread, zucchini bread, or cinnamon bread; or muffins like these delicious blueberry muffins, or these lemon poppyseed muffins. Any and all bread-like foods that go with breakfasts (…which, could really mean just about anything).
Cakes – Do I feed my family cake for breakfast? Umm … absolutely yes! I will argue any time, any day that any homemade cake recipe is healthier than the store-bought garbage (he hem, breakfast snack) that most parents feed their kids.
Some of our favorite cake recipes include Apple Breakfast Cake (this Sourdough Apple Breakfast Cake is a delicious way to use up all that discard). Carrot Cake, Chocolate Zucchini Cake, and this Apricot Bundt Cake are also household breakfast favorites.
Smoothies – We enjoy a lot of smoothies at our house. Smoothies are great way to pack a punch for a hearty breakfast. Especially in those hot summer months, or at times when we just need something light or quick, smoothies become our go-to for breakfast. Check out this post here for great smoothie making ideas.
Of course each meal might include extra sides, depending on how big of a day we have ahead or how much actual time I have left after packing lunches. But these breakfast themes help give me guide for a “main course”, and then I can work around that to prepare a successful morning breakfast for my family.
This type of meal planning has made a huge difference in our home to helping our morning routine go smoothly. That doesn’t mean that our morning suddenly looks like a 1950s picture film. I’m usually still in my cotton pant pajamas when cooking breakfast, and either barefoot or in slippers. And there are no pearls or perfectly pampered curls in my hair to speak of.
We still have our chaotic mornings at times, but hey, at least I know what to make for breakfast. And the hum of little kids eating tells me it was a success. Now here’s to a great day following a great breakfast. ♥
