Kind of a long one--sorry. I tend to get long-winded about things I love--like breakfast.
A simple habit I got into this year which has been surprisingly revolutionary was Theme Nights. You know, lots of people do it--Crockpot Night, Taco Night, whatever. I was never organized enough to do it but finally I did. And it has almost single-handedly turned me from a dinner-hater into a dinner-tolerator. (maybe even a dinner-lover.)
Monday - Ethnic Night (Mexican, Indian, etc.)Tuesday - Pasta NightWednesday - Pizza or Sandwich or Leftovers NightThursday - Breakfast NightFriday - Soup or Salad NightSaturday - No-Cook Night (call it Raw Night if you want to sound really edgy...this used to mean that we went out for dinner but that kinda got pricey so now it just means fend for yourselves and don't cook. Unless you're nuking a frozen dinner from TJ's)Sunday - Easy Night (often translates to Crockpot, or Matt cooking, or both)
Generally I go grocery shopping on Friday mornings so I make up a list on Thursday nights. On one side of the paper I write down menus for Friday-Thursday of the following week. On the other side I separate grocery items by the area I will find them in the store (produce, dairy, etc.) and list everything I will need for those meals, Matt's lunches, and snacks for the kids, and nothing more. Then I try to keep myself from picking up stuff that's not on the list.
Another reason this was helpful was that I made Thursday officially into Breakfast Night. It was getting to the point that I really had no idea how many times I week I served my kids breakfast for dinner...but it was too often. Sometimes we'd go a few weeks without BFD but on desperate weeks we'd go 2 or 3 nights in a row. This way, I don't have to feel guilty because I think Breakfast Night once a week is just fine and dandy, especially because I have some favorite healthy recipes so that it doesn't feel like Dessert Night.
Usually we have some kind of eggs cooked with vegetables, served alongside toast, French toast, waffles, or pancakes. And smoothies for dessert. Caveat, I do have a weakness for maple syrup. My kids eat waffles and pancakes without syrup but I always crave some on mine.
I have already posted about Whole-Wheat Waffles and Banana Pancakes, so you can follow those links for the recipes if you would like. They are definite favorites. The pancakes are especially good because they are sweetened by bananas, no added sugar. Sometimes I top pancakes or waffles with yogurt, sometimes with fruit. Often I mix frozen berries in with the batter. The other night I noticed I had some cream that was about to expire so I topped my waffles with whipped cream. (Theo was skeptical; Ida couldn't get enough.) So maybe not the healthiest meal but it was a nice (and sweet) change and who wants to waste a half cup of cream?
Other breakfast-for-dinner staples for us are French toast, omelets, and smoothies. My standby French toast is:
1 egg, beaten1 slice breaddash milk, dash cinnamonLet the bread soak up the egg; cook in a pan. Top with preserves or fruit spread or real maple syrup.
My standby omelet is:
4-5 eggs (this is to serve me and both kids)Grated cheesePestoLarge handful of spinachpine nuts and/or sundried tomatoes (optional)Mix it all in a bowl, then pour into a nonstick skillet. Flip when able.
It's nice to vary it with other sauces and vegetables: I like scrambling eggs with pico de gallo and jack cheese with black beans and avocado on corn tortillas. But spinach and pesto are by far my favorites. My cousin Karen makes Pizza Eggs for her kids--leftover pizza chopped up and mixed with eggs. Yum. Which reminds me--cold pizza from the night before is just about my favorite breakfast. Am I alone in this?
My standby smoothie recipe is:
A few large dollops of plain yogurt1 or 2 bananas1 or 2 large handfuls of spinach1/2 - 1 cup of frozen blueberries1/2 - 1 cup of frozen blackberries1/2 - 1 cup of frozen strawberries1 - 2 tablespoons each of flaxseed, wheat germ, wheat bran, oatmeal, etc.Blend, adding milk if thinning is needed.
Sometimes I make smoothies even more desserty by topping them with my favorite TJ's granola. Ida's not a fan (not surprising since she still only has 6 teeth) but Theo loves it.
Yum. I want breakfast for dinner right now.
I guess breakfast for dinner does seem pretty desserty. But if you use whole grains and limit sugar, at least it's healthier than boxed mac'n'cheese which, make no mistake, is what we had for dinner tonight.
Which reminds me. I watched an episode of Alias yesterday in which Arvin Sloane used the phrase "Make no mistake." and I made a mental note to use that phrase a lot more often.
Anyway what are your favorite healthy breakfast recipes? I'll add them to my (very limited) arsenal.
P.S. Kids eat free on Tuesday nights at IHOP. What, it's not like we go there. OK, actually we do go there every few months or so and I LOVE IT! At least, I love the Harvest Grain Pancakes which is what I always get, so I can't vouch for anything else. I ignore most of the add-ons (sausage, gross--eggs, good!) but all that really matters is that my kids are happy and I don't have to clean up.
P.P.S. McDonald's flapjacks. They must mix in some kind of addictive ingredient. I LOVE McDonald's flapjacks.
9 comments:
I have always loved Breakfast for Dinner, but your dad has never been a fan, so it was pretty much limited to when he wasn't there.
And I LOVE breakfast out, because I swear only restaurants can do eggs over easy the way I crave them!!
And I am a maple syrup fan!!
OK - this may not be for everyone, but honestly it is good. Saute a can of tuna (drained) with onion, add six to eight eggs and scramble together. I usually have a bagel with it. This was one of the recipes Greg had that his Mom used to make. I also love breakfast for dinner and this one seems to satisfy everybody.
Love theme nights. Since I started doing it five or six years ago I have never looked back. They have changed over the years, but Mexican Thursday has and always will be. It's like a pre-weekend celebration. And, I haven't ever tried a breakfast night--mostly because I used to hate breakfast food. I mean, really hate it (cereal, yuck. pancakes, no thanks. crepes, okay I like crepes.) But, this pregnancy I crave breakfast food like crazy. It's so weird. I think I'll have to add breakfast night and get rid of asian night. Thanks for the recipes! They sound really yummy.
i have an awesome french toast recipe from cooks illustrated. made it last night. i think the flour does a lot for it personally. I also typically use 1/2 loaf of grocery store "italian" bread per batch.
2 T melted butter
1 egg
1 c milk
1 T sugar (maybe two)
1/4 t salt
3/4 t cinnamon
2 t vanilla
1/2 c flour
1. preheat oven to 200, place sliced bread on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and place in oven for 10-15 minutes.
2. let bread soak up mixture in a shallow bowl/pan (approx 30 seconds per side)
3. cook toast and place back in oven on cooling rack until ready to serve.
My friend calls breakfast for dinner "Brinner" and it has stuck with me. I know, so clever combining the two words together, right?
And have you ever done pb&j on freshly made french toast with syrup? It's kind of amazing! Except you'd have to sub pb, of course. The other thing is I make whole wheat pumpkin pancakes and the kids love them and I love them! And sometimes I mix some flour from oat groats in with the wheat to make it a little bit of a lighter color to fool my husband. We've been doing tons of cereal lately for dinner, it's ridiculous! I need to get on the ball with all this stuff!
Sorry, I just realized I'm not done. All the pancakes I make end up being between 90-100 calories per pancake, it just depends on whole wheat/oat flour = TONS of fiber or white flour is nothing. And the other thing I do is microwave some frozen strawberries until syrupy and add a little bit of sugar and that's the syrup we use sometimes.
1. Make no mistake, I love breakfast night at your house. You make a mean omlet.
2. Second to McD's, I ate at IHOP a lot during my first pregnancy. Surprisingly, I haven't been yet this pregnancy, although I've tried to go..on Saturday morning, which IS a mistake. Eric has a rule that we won't wait more than 15 minutes for ANY restaurant in the DC area, because come on - there are a million restaurants to eat at. So, I've settled for Bob Evan's. It's fine and maybe more hearty in a farm-kind of way. But it isn't IHOP.
oh oh oh!! Two great things I've started doing at breakfast that are quick and easy:
Instead of syrup I take frozen or ideally fresh bluberries and blend them with my hand blender into almost liquid form, then heat them over the stovetop. You could probably add a little yogurt or something to thicken them up a little, but I just eat them plain over pancakes, like syrup. This has got to be healthier than maple syrup, but also better than plain pancakes. (I do the same with crepes.)
AND for eggs for dinner, I've started poaching eggs in tomato soup (TJ's makes a great tomato-red pepper soup that works great and is delicious, especially if you add some canned or fresh crushed tomato to it). I add some herbs and salt and pepper, and maybe some greens, a little parm grated on top. I usually poach the egg hard, and what with the egg and the soup being reduced, it ends up more like a sauce. It takes about 10 minutes and is super delicious over couscous or with bread, especially on cold evenings. And pretty healthy, no oil or anything.
You might like this green smoothie.
fill the blender with spinach as much as will fit and then pour in about a 1/4 cup of chocolate almond milk.
blend until smooth, and add a banana and a large spoonful of peanut butter, and a tablespoon of cocoa powder and maybe a squirt of the liquid stevia.
Yummy!
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