4 Quick Breakfast Foods That Can Be Eaten As You Walk Out The Door

Harvest is in full force and I admit to have been getting pretty lax around the house about cooking breakfast. Cory is not a huge breakfast eater except our Sunday Morning Homemade Pancakes (with chocolate chips of course), Coulter eats breakfast at school and I often times just use my coffee as breakfast. It has dairy in it so it should count right? I have been trying to get better about this because Corbin needs breakfast and Cory and I should set better examples.

I have been working hard this past month to make sure that Corbin gets breakfast because without Coulter home I slacked on this really bad for the month of August. Below are our top 4 quick breakfast foods that don’t include cold cereal, not that I have anything against cold cereal and I do feel there is a time and place for it but 7 days a week it tends to get old and not always the most filling.

4 Quick Breakfast Foods That Don’t Include Cold Cereal

1. Smart Ones® Oatmeal – Smart Ones® oatmeal is proving to be a wonderful addition to my freezer as the boys love it and I like that it’s a warm breakfast on a cold fall morning (which we are having a lot of them lately)! Smart Ones® oatmeal is found in the frozen aisle in heat & eat cups, which make them easy to heat up before we head out the door to MOPS or other various activities. With Coulter being on the bus before 7 AM it seems that I plan a lot of my daily activities in town earlier than I used to and this affects breakfast for us. Smart Ones® oatmeal are available in the following flavors to help mix it up: Apple & Cinnamon, Maple & Brown Sugar and Peaches & Cream and Smart Ones® oatmeal are made with ingredients I love like steel-cut and rolled oats, real fruit and granola.  Head over to get a printable coupon for $1.00 off any 2 frozen Smart Ones products including Smart Ones oatmeal valid through 10/15/13. 

2. Variety Flavored Muffins – You can always find muffins in my freezer. They are quick to bake up and so easy to customize into your favorite flavors. Muffins can be set out first thing in the morning and then Corbin can eat one in the car or while I am getting dressed to leave. Lately, we have been enjoying Plum Muffins and of course it’s hard to pass up the household favorites of pumpkin muffins and banana muffins. All three of these recipes are easy to add in some mini chocolate chips to so that they kids think they are getting a real treat and as always I sub out half of the oil for applesauce to cut out calories. Freeze muffins individually on a cookie sheet after they are baked and then once they are frozen solid you can stuff a ziploc bag full, they retain their shape and won’t stick to each so no frustrations of prying them apart. I tend to make the mini’s because my boys think they are fun so if you make regular size ones yours will need a bit longer to thaw or pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds. Great cold or hot!

3. Tortilla Rolls With Peanut Butter and Sliced Bananas – The medium size tortillas work perfect for this little treat and if your looking for a little bit of crunch granola or dry frosted flakes give this breakfast a punch. Generally I will make them and slice them up into about 6 pieces so they are a little more bite sized for Corbin but Coulter likes them whole. This is also one of the most requested snack items in our house. I love this because it’s packed with the potassium a banana has and the protein in peanut butter helps keep Corbin full longer. Plus it’s easy to make that serving of peanut butter really stretch. If being used for breakfast a banana is split between the two of us and for snack time the banana is split between the three of us. Love this breakfast because it’s easy to customize to your own needs.

4. Frozen Berry Parfaits – Also when you open my freezer you will find individual containers with frozen berries already portioned out.  Typically for the kiddos I have already portioned out 1 1/2 cups worth of berries and sliced bananas. I tend to do this in single serving containers rather than ziploc bags and it makes it easy to add in a little bit of yogurt and granola for a fast breakfast. I have actually frozen the yogurt in the container as well,  simply drizzle the yogurt over the berries rather than spoon it all in whole so that it doesn’t form one solid brick.  Then I can pop them out of the freezer and into the fridge the  night before if I know we will be eating in the car.  Just add the granola as we walk out the door (because I can’t stand soft granola!). Cold, creamy and crunchy all in one. We have a lot of these on hand from the summer months and from hitting the farmer’s market. Who else ended up with 24 clam shells of raspberries when they were on sale at City Market this past week? I wish I would have bought more as my frozen supply is quickly evaporating for these quick morning breakfasts.

While I am the first one to admit to loving to cook a big home cooked breakfast for the family I know it’s not always possible.  Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day yet often it seems the most rushed or easy to forget about, especially since Coulter doesn’t eat it at home anymore.  Who knows what is going to happen when Corbin is in school because than it will just be me eating breakfast at home.  For now though these 4 quick breakfast breakfast foods make us all happy and help make sure Corbin is feed in the morning!

What quick breakfast foods does your family like on a busy morning?  Favorite flavors of muffins to keep on hand?  Does your child’s school serve them breakfast?