So for Super Bowl Sunday our big excitement was making and eating fun treats. One of those treats was Rice Krispies treats, made with Cocoa Krispies and shaped like footballs. We added stitches with dec-a-cake frosting (the ingredients of which included corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, polyglycerol esters, and soy lecithin) to make them really authentic. Fancy, huh? What does this have to do with clean eating breakfast ideas you might ask. Well, we have leftover Cocoa Krispies of course and as I poured them for my children this morning I thought, “Wow! This is so easy. Why aren’t we eating these every day?” And then I remembered, “Because they’re processed, sugary, and pretty much void of any nutritional value.”

It was a good little reminder of why I think clean eating is so important. And how clean eating can be more work but is so worth it. Now if your house is knee deep in Cap’n Crunch and Cookie Crisps, before you think I’m over here acting all superior, let me set the record straight. My kids eat plenty of processed, sugary foods that are void of any nutritional value. They also don’t eat enough vegetables and if you saw my son’s lunch today you might turn me into the authorities. (Well, it wasn’t that bad, but it was no Bento box with pomegranate seeds and chicken salad.)

But we’ve all got to draw the line somewhere, right? Pick our battles and all of that. I decided years ago to dig my heels in on sugar cereal. So breakfast was my first battleground. They only get sugar cereal on vacation. (One of my children once ate so many Fruit Loops that his or her poop was iridescent. TMI and Ewww and I’m sorry, but I had to share.)

So what do we eat for breakfast? Here are some of our regular options…

Top Choice Clean Eating Breakfast Ideas

• Eggs. Any variation of eggs. Scrambled, fried, sunny-side-up. I like to pair them with vegetables and a healthy carb like steel cut oats or sprouted grain bread. If you’re avoiding carbs, you can have some extra veggies and maybe some bacon. Hardboiled eggs can be made ahead of time. I like them cold, but you could also heat them up. This might sound weird, but they’re kind of delicious chopped up with leftover roasted cauliflower. I’m not the only one who thinks so, I swear.
• Egg Cups. These are another great option to make ahead. You can pop them in the microwave or take them with you and eat them at work. Here are a few recipes with different options. My favorite recipe is with cheddar cheese and chopped broccoli.  
• Egg tortilla. My husband loves eggs and salsa wrapped up in a tortilla with hot sauce. I don’t. But I figured I’d throw it out there. Add a little cheese, too!
• Avocado Toast. I was a skeptic and then I finally caved. And then I became obsessed. Avocado toast is delicious. Just mush up 1/2 an avocado, spread it on sprouted grain toast, and add salt and pepper. Timing the avocados right is the hardest part of avocado toast.
• Greek Yogurt. Lots of ways to eat yogurt too! I like to have it with fruit and a little sunbutter. If you’re not used to eating plain yogurt you should give it another try! The flavored yogurts, even vanilla, often have added ingredients we’re all better off avoiding. Cinnamon will help cut the tartness a bit and you can add stevia drops or honey to sweeten it; coconut extract is delicious in yogurt too. For convenience, you can make up mason jars with the fruit and yogurt ahead of time.
• Yogurt with granola. I LOVE granola. Many store-bought brands have lots of sugar- under different, healthier sounding names sometimes, but lots of sugar. There are some good ones, just make sure you read the label carefully. Or you can try my recipe for a healthy make-at-home option. It’s easy to make and one batch makes a lot! I make it with seeds instead of nuts because of my children’s allergies, but if you can have nuts you can replace some or all of the seeds with slivered almonds. Yogurt with blueberries and granola is one of my favorite foods on earth. Granola is great on its own, too. Or with milk like a bowl of cereal.
• Yogurt concoctions. I love my current yogurt concoction- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, cinnamon, chia seeds, 1 cup blueberries, 1/2 teaspoon sunbutter, small handful of pumpkin seeds. It’s freaking delicious. Lately, I’ve been having it for lunch and I can’t wait to get home and eat it. Make your own concoction using some of these add-ins: walnuts, almonds, unsweetened shredded coconut, oats.
• Yogurt smoothies. I’m a big fan of smoothies. They’re a great way to get lots of healthy stuff in all at once. You can find lots of recipes online but think yogurt, fruit, honey, and a little milk or water to adjust thickness. Throw some extra good stuff in there too- chia seeds, flaxseed, coconut oil, avocado, spinach. (The spinach will make it green but doesn’t taste very strong.) 
• Kefir. I often use kefir in place of greek yogurt. It doesn’t make my heart sing quite like yogurt, but it’s so healthy. Think “gut biome” and all that stuff. So I like to have it at least a few times a week. You can read about it in this post I wrote a while back.
• Oats. I love oats. Steel cut oats are best, but the other kind is good too. Avoid the flavored packets of oatmeal. Too much sugar and other stuff. This is another make-ahead option. Steel cut oats take about 45 minutes to cook, so I’ll make a big batch and portion them out. Then I reheat my serving and stir in a teaspoon of sunbutter. It’s warm and filling and delicious. I’ll have oats with eggs or bacon for protein. And I always try to have veggies with my breakfast!
• Overnight oats. This recipe for overnight oats at The Yummy Life was a favorite of mine for a long time when I first got into clean eating. My favorite option was the blueberry maple one.
• Shakeology. I’m a big fan of smoothies and I made my own little creation for years…and then I tried Shakeology. Now it’s my go-to breakfast or lunch, depending on the day. Sometimes it’s dinner! I love all the healthy ingredients and I love that it’s clean. When I was making my own shakes it was very hard to find a protein powder without scary ingredients. Plus, with Shakeology I don’t have to add my own healthy extras- all the stuff I was adding is already in there. You can learn more about Shakeology here.

I try to have protein, veggies, and carbs at breakfast, with a little bit of healthy fat. Sauteed spinach is my go-to vegetable when I’m having eggs. I just throw a couple handfuls in the pan when the eggs are done and toss them for a few minutes. Leftover roasted veggies are yummy with eggs, too- especially cauliflower, broccoli, and butternut squash. A lot of people like to eat fruit with breakfast and a cup of berries is a nice little side.

I would love to tell you that my kids eat all of the above, but they do not. Here are their choices…

Kids’ Picks

• Cheesy eggs. Just scrambled eggs with some melted cheese. We use American cheese (sliced from the deli counter, not the prepackaged processed cheese) or shredded cheddar. Cheese makes everything better.
• Bacon, egg, and cheese. A big favorite over here, but only on the weekends. I try to push my healthy bread on them for this option but usually end up giving it to them on a not-quite-healthy-not-quite-terrible roll.
• Bacon on toast. Bacon also makes everything better. Sometimes they just eat bacon. I make turkey bacon- primarily because the mess of regular bacon is just too much. And also because I like it. I actually like it better, though there’s nothing like a piece of real bacon every now and again. Anyway, we eat a lot of turkey bacon around here. I buy a brand that is free of nitrates and nitrites.
• Jelly Toast. Healthy toast with Polaner All-Fruit. Boring, but an easy option to throw in the mix.
• Homemade waffles. Still loving the waffle maker we got for Christmas. We’ll make a double batch on Sunday and the leftovers will get us through a few days. Usually, only 3 of my kids eat them during the week. And only one of them uses syrup! The other two just eat them plain with a glass of milk. You can find our recipe here.
• Homemade pancakes. We do the same thing with pancakes- make a lot on Sunday and have them for the week. Waffles and pancakes- even homemade ones- aren’t ideal and I know that. But they are a lot better than Cocoa Krispies and other breakfast options. I know what all the ingredients are and there are no scary chemicals added. I hope as they get older we’ll branch out a bit, but for now, I’m happy to have an easy weekday breakfast option they love.
• Monkey Muffins. A muffin and a glass of milk? Delicious. The monkey muffins are probably a bit healthier than the waffles and pancakes. They have yogurt and bananas in them. They make a great healthy snack option for school, too! You can find the recipe here…it was one of my first blog posts! Muffins can also be a great way to sneak in healthy stuff and if you make them over the weekend you’ll have a quick option for busy mornings.
• Kefir. My Danny loves his “pink kefir,” aka strawberry kefir. Probably has too much sugar, but I think it’s worth it for the benefits. Plus it gives him some protein. He drinks it every day and if you’ve met him you might think he’s on to something. He’s a bundle of pure joy- maybe the pink kefir has something to do with it? Kefir has so many health benefits- I wish all my kids would drink it. Here’s a link to that kefir post again.

Don’t get too caught up in what makes a breakfast either. Cheese and crackers and some fruit for breakfast? Sure. Leftover dinner? Sure. One of my husband’s favorite breakfasts is leftover Savory Turkey & Sweet Potato Hash with two fried eggs on top. I don’t know that I’d want a taco or chicken parm for breakfast, but hey, if it’s healthy and they’ll eat it without an attitude why not?

Start Your Day off Healthy

Even if you don’t eat breakfast first thing in the morning, try to make your first meal of the day a healthy one. When you start your day off eating crappy foods it’s very easy to keep doing that. There’s a feeling of, “Well, I already had donuts…”

I love having vegetables at breakfast. First of all, it’s nice to get a serving of vegetables in early. But also because it helps to start a pattern of good eating. Even if I’m having yogurt for breakfast, I’ll have some raw veggies on the side.

Do you eat breakfast? What’s your favorite?

 

 

 

 

 

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