Eat These Quick Breakfasts and Have an Awesome Day

Quick, Tasty, Healthy, Keep-You-Full Grab-and Go BreakfastsIf you’re one of those lucky people who has time to cook a full breakfast every morning, that’s wonderful. We’re happy for you.

And if you’re not one of those people, it’s still pretty darn wonderful, because I have some grab-and-go breakfast options that are quick, tasty, and will get your day off to a great start.

First: What makes a good breakfast?

In my book, a good breakfast is filling, energizing, keeps me going for several hours AND tastes great. And also requires almost no work.

The trick to keeping you feeling energized and full is including plenty of protein and a good dose of healthy fats.

Both of those nutrients are incredibly satiating, and eating them early in the day can help you avoid blood sugar crashes that leave you feeling hungry and drained.

Also, they work with your body’s hormones to help keep you lean, which is even better.

That’s why all of the breakfast choices I’m including here contain healthy fats and a good portion of protein.

And with most of them (except maybe the smoothie), you can prepare enough for several days and keep them in the fridge, which is a great time- and money-saver.

Easy, Healthy Grab-and-Go Breakfasts

Mason Jar Parfait

Mason Jar ParfaitThere are literally thousands of recipes for different Mason Jar parfaits online and on Pinterest, but they all follow this same basic format:

Greek yogurt layered with oats layered with chia seeds layered with frozen fruit, and you can repeat for more layers if you want.

Also, for more protein power you can always add some protein powder. I like to use a vanilla hemp blend, but if you have one that you like, that’s cool too!

I recommend using plain Greek yogurt unless it’s too tart for your tastebuds. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your tastes will adjust though if you give it a go! (Hint: if you use protein powder it makes the Greek yogurt more palatable.)

They take very little time to assemble and keep for three days in the fridge. Love that!

You can see the recipe here: Make-Ahead Fruit & Yogurt Breakfast Parfait.

Chia Pudding

Chocolate Chia PuddingI admit it: I was late to the chia seed party, mostly because I remember the grassy chia pets we grew with as kids, and it just seemed weird to eat the seeds.

But the nutrition these little seeds carry is pretty awesome, so I got over myself and tried the recipe.

My first try I wasn’t sold, but when I got the proportions down, I was sold. (And sometimes I enjoy this at night as a creamy snack that’s not ice cream.)

Here’s my own take on chia seed pudding:

  • 2 tbsp. chia seeds
  • 2/3 cup of almond or coconut milk
  • 1 cup of frozen berries
  • 1 scoop vanilla hemp protein powder

Mix it up and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. You can also make this ahead and keep it in the fridge (maybe even in a mason jar!). It keeps for up to a week.

Heres another “fancier” take: Overnight Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

Smoothie

Berry-Good-Green-SmoothieThere are a gazillion different smoothie formulas. If I was making this one ahead of time, I would only make it for the following morning, and I’d shake it up really well before I drank it.

This Berry Good Green Smoothie was my go-to breakfast for months, and I still crave it some mornings. Feel free to play with the ingredients and find the blend that works for you

You can use coconut kefir instead of dairy kefir if you’re trying to stay away from dairy for any reason.

Paleo Muffins

Paleo-Breakfast-Muffins-Recipe-1These breakfast muffins are like little omelettes or soufflés.

They are really simple to make, and they keep great in the refrigerator.

Eat a couple of these and some fruit, and you’re good to go!

They also make a great lunch with a side salad.

Breakfast Burrito

One of the awesome things about burritos is that they are so freezable — just whip up a batch, put them in a zippered food storage bag, squeeze out the air, seal it up, and freeze till the night before you want to eat them.

And they are super easy — just put in your choice of fillings: scrambled eggs, salsa, maybe some turkey sausage, some salsa, sautéed peppers and onions, whatever!

However, if you are following a gluten- or grain-free lifestyle, make-ahead burritos can get complicated.

Most of the palatable gluten-free options don’t keep well. For instance, rice paper wrappers are delicious but they dry out and don’t freeze so well (although honestly I love them!).

And egg crepes are a fantastic choice to use as wrappers, but they are fragile. And most crepe recipes call for a sweet filling, which classes with the savory flavors in the burrito.

If you scroll way down this page here, you’ll find an option for gluten-free crepes that contains gluten-free oats, flax seeds, non-dairy milk and butter (or oil).

Leftovers for Breakfast

And here’s my guiltiest admission, one that gets groans from certain people whenever I mention it.

When I’m training hard or especially active, I sometimes eat a regular meal for breakfast – sometimes what I ate the night before.

Why? Because it fills me up and I’m not hungry till lunchtime, which in the life of a personal trainer is a pretty big deal.

I’ll throw some leftover ground turkey or low-fat ground beef in a bowl, stir in a quarter-cup of oats, add any veggies I have left over, stir it up, and stick it in the microwave for a minute or two, and add any condiments that I feel like having.

I know it sounds weird, but if you think of the old-fashioned steak-and-eggs breakfasts our (great-)great-grandparents used to eat before tackling their very busy days, it only makes sense.

What’s For Breakfast?

Do you have a go-to grab-and-go breakfast? I’d love to know. Leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Wendy Watkins

About Wendy Watkins

Wendy Watkins is a Bangor-based personal trainer, fitness coach, studio owner, and writer/editor. She is the author of The Complete Idiots Guide to Losing 20 Pounds in 2 Months. Visit her website at thrivebangor.com.