It is not terribly difficult to score boxes of cereal inexpensively by combining sales and coupons, but let's face it, cereal is not nearly as satisfying as a hot breakfast.
The most common reason I hear that folks turn to the convenience of cold cereal is that mornings tend to be hectic and hot breakfasts can be time consuming to make.
Check out how just a small amount of advance preparation, your freezer, fridge, and toaster/toaster oven can combine to give you delicious hot breakfasts in no time at all.
Muffins, Pancakes, Quick Breads and Waffles:
There is no need to purchase over priced pastry products. If you whip up a batch, separate them into portion sizeds and stash in your freezer, then you have the ultimate in convenience, taste, and low cost. Most pastries will be tasty in the freezer for up to a month or two. When you are ready to eat, briefly reheat in your microwave or toaster/toaster oven and enjoy!
photo credit: jslander
Oatmeal:
Don't be fooled into the notion that you must buy serving sized packets of instant oatmeal in order to enjoy oatmeal on the go. Just use the regular old fashioned oats (which are on average 7 cents a serving) and pre-soak them to reduce the cooking time. Follow the following method:
- The night before:
- Combine in a glass container the following for 2 servings: 1 cup old fashione
d oats, 1 cup filtered water, and 2 tsp of lemon juice. - Cover with plastic wrap and allow to soak overnight. I usually just leave it covered on my counter, but you could put it in your fridge if you like.
- The next morning:
- Add soaked oats to a medium sized saucepan.
- Add 1 additional cup water and 1 pinch salt.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- While cooking, add raisins and cinnamon if desired.
- Once you reach desired consistency, remove from heat and sweeten to taste.
This method reduces cooking time by nearly half, and makes it very easy to digest.
photo credit: nate steinerBacon:If cooked in individual serving sizes, bacon is incredibly time intensive, not to mention, rather messy. Did you know, too, that bacon can be cooked in bulk quickly and without significant m
ess? Try this method:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
- Lay bacon slices evenly on a broiler pan or baking sheet
- Allow to bake for 8-10 minutes
- Drain on paper towels
- Freeze cooked bacon pieces, layered in a gallon freezer bag with paper towels
- When ready to eat, reheat briefly and enjoy!
photo credit: shawnzam
Eggs:While most of the time it takes to get freshly cooked eggs is from the cook time, you can shave off some time in the morning by doing some advance prep work.
- Hardboiled eggs-While not techinically a HOT breakfast, hardboiling a half dozen eggs ahead of time allows you to grab a hardboiled egg, reheated waffle, and delicious bacon strips and have breakfast on the table in under 5 minutes.
- Fried eggs-You don't need to do any advance prep, fried eggs quick very quickly, just crack, fry and go!
- Scrambled eggs/Omellettes-A simple trick for having scrambled eggs or omelletes is to mix up the egg portion the night before and store the mix in the fridge. Then all you need to do in the morning is add pre-chopped toppings/additions and cook!
- Quiche-Quiche can be made ahead of time and frozen. Delicious hot or cold, quiche is actually a very nutritionally balanced breakfast treat. Pair it with a fruit cup and you'll feel like you are at a fancy brunch!
Now, tell me, don't these yummy alternatives have cereal beat all hollow?
photo credit: Annie MoleWhat are your favorite time savers for delicious and nutritions breakfasts?Check out other folks
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I am SO excited about this week's Publix run. I had a great week of coupons, and the sales certainly didn't hurt, either!
