Breakfast Protein: Set It Up

Life…life is crazy. I mean, I knew this week would be nuts, but this week was NUTS. Two soccer games, one Weight Watchers meeting, two doctor’s appointments, one back to school night and one English paper (not mine). Did I forget to mention a full-time job, cooking, cleaning and fitting in exercise? How silly of me! This week was honestly so full that I barely remember it.

Which brings me to the ideas behind week two of the breakfast protein series. PREP.

Seriously, if you have a busy lifestyle, and really, who doesn’t, prepping meals ahead can be such a lifesaver. And I knew going in to this week, that I needed to be ready. Luckily, there are quite a few protein breakfast options that can be thrown together days in advance, and quickly at that, for grab and go mornings. These are some of my favorites.

Overnight Oats

It’s not secret that we Scoot chicks love our oats. Heck, when five of us got together in April, we had an oatmeal buffet! But if you ask me, hot oatmeal is much better prepared fresh. So, for make ahead meals, overnight oats are my go to. But Bec, oats aren’t super protein-y! No, not high, but they do have some protein. And when you’re making overnight refrigerator oats, you can layer in some other great protein sources, like Greek yogurt and Chia seeds. There are a million recipes for overnight oats, but my tried and true is the recipe and variations found on The Yummy Life. I didn’t take a picture of the finished product. I love you all to much for that. Overnight oats may be delicious and nutritious, but they aren’t winning any beauty contests.

Overnight Oats, Before. 2014.

Overnight Oats, Before. 2014.

 

Egg Muffins

These babies have been in heavy rotation throughout the summer. Whipping up a batch takes almost no time, and then you can store them in the fridge if you’re going to eat them within a couple days (mine never last longer) or pop them in the freezer for later use. And holy versatile, Batman! My egg base is 4 eggs and 4 egg whites whipped with a bit of water, and after that, it’s a free-for-all. Ham, bacon, sausage, shredded potatoes, onions, mushrooms, peppers, cheese. I’ve made these so many different ways, and they’ve all been delicious. And if you’re a fellow Weight Watchers member, these average about 2 Points Plus per muffin (totally depends on ingredients, definitely calculate based on what you add). If these sound right up your alley, the best advice I can give is to order a silicone muffin pan. Makes clean up super easy. Because you’ve saved all this time prepping, you don’t want to spend it scrubbing a muffin tin. Or maybe you do, I’m not judging!

 

Denver Omelette Egg Muffins.

Denver Omelette Egg Muffins.

 

Quinoa

Is it a grain? A seed? How do you even pronounce it? (Fun fact, for a year, I was pronouncing it Kwin-o-a. I’m so cool). At this point, I’m sure this superfood isn’t new to most of you, but it might be new to your breakfast table. Quinoa is the edible seed of a grain plant, and it’s a really good source of protein. I often use it as a replacement for rice, but in the mornings, it also makes a yummy breakfast cereal. When I make a big batch for a meal, I just tuck some aside in the fridge. Voila, breakfast. Just heat it up in the microwave, add some nuts and dried fruit (or really, put whatever tickles your fancy in there), a little sweetener (maple syrup is my drug of choice) and pour some milk over top. It’s similar to Cream of Wheat, which for me, is a good thing. FYI, if you cook your quinoa in chicken stock, I wouldn’t recommend it as breakfast cereal. Becuase I like you and don’t want you to gag.

Cream of Kwinoa?

Cream of Kwinoa?

And that’s how I do breakfast protein, make ahead style. On that note, zoooooommmmm….

Are there any make ahead breakfasts that you love? Tell us about them in the comments! 

Breakfast Protein: Chill Out

So, we’ve known each other for a while now, right guys? And that means you know how I feel about carbs. And if you don’t, think about how much you love the thing that you love so hard that you want to write bad poetry about it.

To all the carbs I’ve chowed before…

That came home from the grocery store…

I’m glad you were delicious… and some of you nutritious…

To alllll the carbs I’ve loooooovvvveeedddd before. 

Yeah, it’s like that. And don’t get me wrong, me and carbs aren’t even breaking up. Our love is a true and lasting thing.

BUT, we can get down at breakfast time.

I’ve been trying (and struggling…and failing) to stick to my Weight Watchers program lately, and even though I’ve lost less than three pounds since May (see aforementioned struggling and failing), I’ve definitely been paying more attention to how certain food affect me.

Carbs in the morning = ridiculous cravings for junk = shitty food spiral all day long.

At least, if it’s an all carb buffet, as it sometimes is. If I start the day with protein, combined with some good carbs, things go much better.

I have to assume this is not just a Bec thing? Do 6 AM carbs send you down a long and winding road to Oreos?

However, once upon a time, I did South Beach, and after 21 days of phase one, I was pretty sure I was going to hurl if I so much as breathed egg. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some eggs, just not every day. So, I began the hunt for a variety of breakfast-y proteins, and over the next four Fridays, I’ll be waxing (badly) poetic about them.

For all the times eggs stood by me…

For all the energy yogurt gave me…

For all the joy bacon brought to my life…

For all the wrongs that cheese made right…

This week, since I live on the face of the sun (Massachusetts), and it’s been so hot that I’ve actually taken to Walk Away the Pounds in my air conditioned bedroom, I thought I’d share some of my favorite cold protein breakfast staples.

Greek Yogurt – This is probably my favorite in the cold category (I won’t write another bad poem, I swear). There’s a ton of flavor variety out there (Chobani and Noosa both have PUMPKIN out right now), some have whole grains already mixed in (Chobani Banana Maple with Steel-Cut Oats is incredible). Today, I tried the Simply Balanced Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting Duo (if you haven’t seen these yet, get thee to Target. Unless you shop at my Target, in which case, step away).

Flavored varieties can tend to be pretty high in sugar, but the artificially sweetened ones don’t do it for me. If you’d rather start with plain and add your own sweeteners, that’s cool too.

If I’ve got extra time, I will mix up a bowl with fresh fruit and some low fat granola.

Perfait!

Perfait!

And if not, I can throw it into my lunch bag and eat it when I get to work.

Breakfast on the go

Breakfast on the go. And on the desk.

Hard Boiled Eggs – These are another incredibly portable option, especially if you get lazy like me and get the pre-cooked ones at Trader Joe’s.

These are a few of my favorite things

These are a few of my favorite things

Smoothies – For me, smoothies are like actual cooking. I throw in some stuff and hope it tastes good. Usually yes. Sometimes no. I’m not a huge fan of protein powder, but I do keep Weight Watchers Smoothie Mixes on hand for a fast smoothie. If I’m not using protein powder, I’ll use yogurt or silken tofu to thicken the smoothie, frozen fruit, chia seeds and milk, either regular or almond.

Peanut Butter Banana Berry Smoothie before...

Peanut Butter Banana Berry Smoothie before…

...and after.

…and after.

 

My absolute favorite it a Peach Pie Smoothie (frozen peaches, vanilla greek yogurt, a little honey, chia seeds, cinnamon and almond milk. It’s heaven.

Nut Butters – I talked a bit about my love of nut butter in my review of Buff Butter last week. My collection is starting to border on the ridiculous (please feel free to send me recommendations anyway). Almond, Peanut, Cashew. Jif Whips (omg, Maple Brown Sugar), Skippy Natural Singles, Trader Joe’s Crunchy Salted Peanut Butter with Flax and Chia seeds. It’s all good. Give me an apple, a knife and some nut butter, and I am a happy girl.

Hopefully be next week, it will have cooled down enough to actually cook something! In the meantime, please feel free to hit me up with suggestions in the comments.

Do you love AM Protein? Tell us your faves! 

All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal

This past weekend, while visiting Meri in NJ and spectating while several of my Scoot chicks and other friends ran the Atlantic City April Fools Half Marathon, there was a lot of eating out while I was in NJ. Which was fabulous (Oh Pop Shop, you own a piece of my heart now)!

But for breakfast, we tended to get down in Meri’s kitchen. There were waffles. There was coffee. And there was oatmeal.

We decided to do an oatmeal buffet on Saturday morning, which in this case meant a really good base (or two) and a whole bunch of toppings.

I think Meri and I have both shared our love of Whipped Banana Oatmeal from Kath Eats before on here. It’s worth talking about again. This recipe reignited my love of oatmeal. It’s hearty and filling and sweet and just darn good.

Mer adding the magic ingredient

Mer adding the magic ingredient

So, for our Oatmealstravaganza, this stuff was just a given. It’s the perfect base for whatever toppings you love.

Perfection!

Perfection!

For my contribution, I decided to go with Zucchini Bread Oatmeal from Oh She Glows. This is a vegan recipe, and while we didn’t make it vegan last weekend (we used regular organic milk instead of non-dairy milk), I have and it’s fantastic.

Breakfast Veggies!

Breakfast Veggies!

The Zucchini Bread oatmeal is a little more strongly flavored (lots of cinnamon and nutmeg), so it doesn’t lend itself as well to some toppings, but we found some that worked quite well.

The All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal Buffet

The All-You-Can-Eat Oatmeal Buffet

Once the oatmeal was done, we grabbed everything but this kitchen sink to throw on top: Caramel Bits, peanut butter chips (my new favorite), almond butter, nutella, fresh fruit.

Oatmeal, chick style

Oatmeal, chick style

As you can see, we all went for different bases and toppings. And we all went back from seconds. It was a truly a delicious start to our Saturday!

Do you oatmeal? Tell us about your favorite bases and toppings!

 

Breaking the Fast

It’s the most important meal of the day. Some people eat it on the go; others eat it for dinner. Heck, some people even eat it at Tiffany’s (bucket list!). Whether you are in the ‘can’t start the day without a good one’ camp, or your on the ‘hit the drive through if you have time’ side, breakfast is something all of us at Scoot-A-Doot have been talking about (mostly on Twitter where we are like ‘Hey, I’m eating…AGAIN!’)

We thought we’d share with you what our breakfasts look like. And hopefully, you’ll all be awesome and share with us what your breakfasts look like. We’ll beg for recipes. We have zero shame.

Vic

I’ll be honest, I’m not the best about getting a solid breakfast in my belly before work each day. Most days I pour myself two large travel mugs of coffee (don’t judge me) and run out the door to make it to work on time. I guzzle one cup in the car and the second cup shortly after arriving at my desk. I then eat a banana, or greek yogurt, depending on what I have in my pantry.

On weekends, when I have more time, I tend to make oatmeal (usually with bananas) or cereal. Sometimes I eat scrambled eggs. And lately, I’ve been turned onto protein banana berry smoothies, so they may soon take over my breakfast and afternoon snack spot as well.

Brooke

You guys, I love all the breakfast foods. Omelets (with spinach and feta), french toast, waffles with fruit and whipped cream, pancakes with butter and maple syrup, and always lots and lots of bacon. I love the entire breakfast experience- sipping coffee and reading the paper (or facebook), while savoring these amazing foods that were (hopefully) prepared by someone else. Sadly, those kinds of meals don’t happen often. (And usually, it’s breakfast at dinnertime.)

My daily breakfast is almost always some form of oatmeal. My go-to is plain cooked oats with a sprinkle of cinnamon, some chopped almonds, a handful of fruit and a splash of milk. Meri introduced me to whipped oatmeal, which is so much better than my boring hot cereal, but takes more time than I have right now. More dishes to wash too!

Since the little dude arrived, I’ve been eating instant oatmeal (gasp). My favorite is Three Sisters Dark Chocolate, because it is sweet, filling and it’s ready in two minutes. I eat my cereal while I’m nursing the babe, and shove some fruit in my mouth while I’m driving the girls to school. Not the most enjoyable breakfast, but it works for now. See why I save the pancakes and bacon for dinner?

Cam

Smoothies!  I heart fruit smoothies for breakfast.  I’m not a morning eater.  If fact, I’ve spent the majority of my life skipping breakfast.  Unless it’s a pastry.  But pastries aren’t “everyday” foods, or so I’ve been told.  Instead I go all natural and get my sweets from a fruit smoothie. I have very limited time in the morning and blending up a smoothie takes less time than toasting a bagel or driving through one of those heart attack factories.  My recipe for deliciousness goes something like this:

Kefir yogurt drink.  Usually vanilla, sometimes strawberry if I’m feeling spunky.
Frozen mixed berries, either fresh that I’ve frozen or bagged.
A frozen banana. I put them in the freezer when they start to go brown.  I’m not a fan of ripe bananas.
One scoop of protein powder.  This can be tricky.  Finding a protein powder that you like can be a chore, but once you find a brand that floats your boat, you should stick with it.
Whole Flax seed, because I like the texture that it contributes.  Plus, it’s good for your bowels.

I usually just eyeball the proportions and toss in a blender.  If the mixture seems too thick, I add some water to loosen things up.  My kids love it and we can drink it in the car.  It’s my favorite breakfast on the go!

Meri

Jess and I were talking about BBQ food the other day and I said something to the effect of wanting it, just not at 8:49 in the morning (when we were emailing).  Because while BBQ is delicious, it just doesn’t lend itself well to being eaten in the morning.  However, breakfast?  You can eat that all day long.

And I would.

Smoothies, pancakes, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, omelets, scones, fruit, and BACON.  Yes, bacon.  I eat it occasionally.  And I love it.

Bring on the breakfast, brunch, brinner!

Jess

My idea of cooking is picking up the phone and dialing. I have zero skills in the kitchen, which is why I love breakfast so much. So many super delicious, ready-made options, and healthy ones at that. Look, Ma, I’m eating fruit!

My typical breakfast these days is a couple Nutri-Grain waffles (a little syrup in each square, thank you very much), a banana, and a tall glass of OJ. Get that all prepared – so easy, even a cooking-challenged lady like myself can do it – and then I shovel it all in my mouth before the baby wakes up from his nap. It’s simple, yummy and keeps my stomach full until second breakfast rolls around.

Bec

I am seriously a breakfast fiend. Most days it’s a healthy day smoothie (my absolute favorite is a Peach Pie Smoothie with chia seeds – frozen organic peaches, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt, chia seeds, sprinkle of cinnamon, sprinkle of nutmeg, blend, YUM. I’m with Cam, I don’t measure, just throw in there what you think will make the amount you want). But I love a big Sunday brunch with eggs and bacon and potatoes and EVERYTHING. I just love breakfast.

Love.

In the winter, I’m big on oatmeal or a bowl of cooked grains (barley, quinoa) with almond milk and fruit. Now that the weather is turning warmer (I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER ABOUT THIS), I’ll be doing overnight refrigerator oats. If you haven’t tried these, I can not recommend them highly enough. Easy, make ahead, versatile, healthy and crazy good.

Also, I have recently redeveloped a love of Poached Eggs on toast. It’s so simple, full of protein and fiber, and tasty (even without the Canadian bacon and hollandaise).

Also, bacon. As often as I can get away with.

So, this is what we eat. If you want recipes for anything we mentioned, just let us know. We’re good sharers. And if you’re a good sharer and want to inundate us with recipes and ideas, we’ll be forever grateful.

Now, who wants to make me a cup o’ Joe?