Weekday Breakfast Round up

As I went through my week this week I realized how different my breakfast’s can be week to week, totally based off of how organized I am and what I’m in the mood for. What rarely happens though- is for me not to eat breakfast because I am one of those people who wakes up hungry and, I LOVE breakfast food. Seriously- I will eat breakfast for lunch or dinner and am an avid brunch supporter. Adam and I have even talked about what it would be like to have a brunch food wedding… so as you can see, big fans over here.

However, I realize for many people who rush out the door in the morning’s or don’t know where to begin with a plan for week day breakfasts, that maybe it would be helpful to have a few simple, go to options that could make their mornings easier and yummier? According to my recent instagram poll- a few of you agreed!

So, here’s a round up a few of my favorite weekday breaky’s and some tips on making it simple for yourself. 

Included in this round up:

  1. Week Day Huevos
  2. Go to Green Smoothie
  3. Whole 30 Deviled Eggs
  4. Fruit & Yogurt Parfait w/ Homemade Granola

 

Week Day Huevos Rancheros

A few initial thoughts. You can easily make this carb/gluten free by not including tortilla’s. Honestly, it’s about 50/50 on whether we have them in the house and if I want to eat them. This is just as tasty with just the veggies, black beans and egg. For all my dairy free friends- simply leave the cheese off! There’s plenty of flavors in the black beans that will carry the dish.

Black beans are one of the best vessels for flavors! When they’re cooked in some veggie or chicken broth and doctored up with sautéed onion, green peppers, garlic and some spices- they really hold onto the flavors and pair great with a fried egg. I like to add cumin and chili powder especially to mine because it makes them taste a little bolder. Plus of course, salt and pepper. Sometimes I’ll also add diced tomatoes to mix it up a little bit and cook the tomatoes and beans together- the canned roasted diced tomatoes are especially good for this.

  1. Drain and rinse a can of unsalted black beans with water.
  2. Sautee 1/2 yellow onion and a clove or 2 of garlic in olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes.
  3. Add the rinsed black beans to the pot and add 1/2 cup of chicken or veggie stock.
  4. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder and let simmer.
  5. Toss in chopped green onions once the beans have cooked for 5 minutes or so- and let all simmer over low/medium heat for about 10 minutes.
  6. Add more seasoning to taste.
  7. Serve on a tortilla or by itself, topped with fried egg and toppings of your choice!

Tip: The longer you let the beans simmer in all the spice/veggie goodness the better they’ll taste- but to beat the clock in the morning- make these ahead of time the night before and just stick them in the fridge. When you wake up pop them in the microwave OR heat them over medium high heat on the stove for just a few moments while you wait for your egg to fry up.

Top with: fresh herbs if you have some ( I always like cilantro), some salsa, avocado and a dab of plain greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute. I like to sprinkle a little bit of cheddar cheese on my egg right when I take it out of the pan so it melts a little and because it’s me…. add some diced jalapeños.

If you want a tortilla- I recommend either warming them up in the microwave, wrapped in a damp paper towel as this will help it taste fresh and keep the tortilla soft- OR heat it in some olive oil in the pan you used for your egg to make it crispy like a tostada.

 

Go To Green Smoothie

Next up is my most common breakfast meal- a green smoothie.  Last summer Adam and I tried this detox green smoothie plan, just for a week, and we immediately noticed how much better and more energized we felt in the mornings.  Having something tasty and chalk full of veggies that was also cold and refreshing- suited our sometimes hectic mornings really well. I’m a big fan of drinking my breakfast smoothie on the way to work or at my desk, so I can draw out the breakfast process.  Also, I always try to trick myself into waiting longer for lunch by drinking reallyyyy slowwwly.

This one has become the favorite or just the most popular because I’m on autopilot in the morning. Total honesty here- I never measure when I make this so this is totally my best guess. 

Combine 1 banana ( if frozen will make it creamier), 1/4 or 1/2  cup frozen pineapple, 1/4 cup frozen mango, 2 cups spinach or spinach and kale combo, 1/2 of an avacado and 1-2 tbls of chia seeds or flax chia seed blend. Pour over 1 cup of coconut water and 1/2 cup of organic juice ( we love this one!) or unsweetened almond milk ( or greek yogurt) and toss in a handful of ice cubes. Blend until smooth! This generally makes enough for 2 smoothies!

FYI: the coconut water makes it more of a green juice consistency rather than creamy. Combining coconut water and greek yogurt or almond milk definitely makes it more a thicker smoothie feel. 

 Tip:  To make this even easier, combine all the fruit and greens ahead of time in plastic bags and stick in the freezer.  This way you just dump the baggy of produce into the blender and add your liquids of choice and chia seeds or protein powder and you’re in business.

Often I’ll eat this with a hard boiled egg and be a happy camper. It’s delicious and keeps me full for a little while.

 

Whole 30/Paleo approved Deviled Eggs

I’ve talked about this before but, I really like deviled eggs. and hard boiled eggs for that matter, which I eat a lot of too, but this makes it a little more exciting.  I know this may seem time consuming but if you take a little bit of time on a Sunday or slower week night and make a big batch- they stay good all week in the fridge and are so easy to grab and go! I shovel deviled eggs in my mouth while driving to work and yelling at crime podcasts, more than I’d like to admit.

There are a few ways to make them so they don’t have classic mayo in them, which isn’t great for you and grosses some people out. Here are a few options!

Classic ( w/ avacado oil mayo)

  1. Hard boil 5-10 eggs, depending on how many people are eating them and how many days you’re trying to eat for. Fill pot with water and place eggs in pot. Salt the water and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, remove the pot from heat, cover and set the timer for 12 minutes. After sitting for 12 minutes, put eggs into ice cold water ( fill Tupperware with ice and water) and let sit for a few moments. This shock keeps the eggs from cooking and helps them peel easier. 
  2. Slice the hard boiled eggs in half and scoop out the cooked yolks into another bowl.
  3. Add 3-4 tablespoons of  avocado oil mayo , 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, salt, pepper and paprika, and mash together.
  4. Gently fill each empty egg with yolk mixture.
  5. Top with dill, paprika or whatever your heart desires.

 

Mediterranean Deviled Eggs 

  1. Hard boil your eggs and slice in half as directed above!
  2. Combine the yolks with about 1/2 cup of hummus ( any flavor),salt, pepper and fresh herbs like parsley or dill.
  3. Fill the empty egg whites with filling.
  4. Top with paprika, more herbs or drizzle of olive oil for true Mediterranean style eggs.

Guacamole Deviled Eggs (thanks to Skinny Taste for this idea!)

  1. Hard boil eggs and slice in half as directed above!
  2. Scoop out the cooked yolks and put aside.
  3. Combine cooked yolks with 1 medium avocado, 2-3 tsp fresh lime juice, chopped cilantro, 1-2 tsp minced red onion, 2 tsp minced jalapeno, salt, pepper and chili powder. Mix together.
  4.  Fill empty egg whites with filling.
  5. Top with more cilantro, chili powder or hot sauce.

 

Fruit  & Yogurt Parfait ( w/ homemade oat granola)

Last but not least- this super simple combination of greek yogurt and fruit- topped with whatever makes me happy, is always a favorite. When I’m going for sweeter I’ll put a little honey, cinnamon and unsweetened coconut flakes on top. When I need crunch, I’ll top with chopped walnuts or almonds and cocoa nibs. When I want something heartier- I’ll top with a super simple homemade granola.

I always use plain greek yogurt, as I love it and it’s low in sugar. Just an fyi, adding your own fruit is a lower sugar healthier option because it seems like they always add extra stuff into the yogurt in addition to the fruit, when you get flavored kinds. However- not going to lie- if I’m going to splurge I love the vanilla or coconut Siggi’s yogurt or the honey Oikos. YUM.

Anyways- back to the parfait. Really you can add whatever fruit you want to this! I love raspberries and banana’s so mine generally have those two or strawberries sliced up on top of yogurt, sometimes when I’m feeling fancy I’ll do a scoop of yogurt, layer of fruit, scoop of yogurt and a different layer of fruit. Just for fun.

For the topping- I am a huge fan of cocoa nibs, coconut or this super easy homemade granola. The recipe I based it off of is this: https://cookieandkate.com/2015/healthy-granola-recipe/

But, I didn’t have everything I needed and was feeling SUPER lazy so this is my version:

  • 2-3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (you can also use gluten free oats)
  • a few tablespoons of whatever raw nuts you have ( I used chopped walnuts and pecans)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
  • 1/4 cup honey ( you can use less, this just holds it together)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Optional: 1-2 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 and combine all ingredients in a large bowl- mixing together. ( You can crank it up to 400 degrees and bake for only 10/15 minutes or so, if you get impatient like me… but keep an eye on the oats to make sure they don’t burn!)

Cover a baking sheet in parchment paper and pour granola mixture onto it. Bake for 20-25 minutes, moving granola around on the sheet half way through.

As granola cools after baking, it will crisp up a little more. Not going to lie- mine was more like loose toasted oats then true granola because I was impatient and didn’t use tons of honey, BUT it still made a delicious crispy topping.

Tip: Keep the granola in a plastic bag and just use it throughout the week- it works great and stays tasting yummy!

 

There you have it guys! 4 of my go to week day breakfast’s! I hope this was helpful and please let me know if you try any of these or have your own favorites I should try! 🙂 Comment below and I love seeing your pics of recipes <3

 

You may also like

3 Comments

    1. Oh yay! I am so glad. Share some of your vegan hacks for sure!! 🙂 Glad this provided some inspo!

Leave a Reply to Megan Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *