So the little one seems to be revolting against steel cut oats for breakfast every day.
I need an option that is medium-to-high carb (at least 20 g to 40 g of carbs per serving) but also with some protein or fat, not prepackaged junk food, healthy (in the general sense of having some nutrients), but also won’t take much or any time to prepare in the morning as the littles get up before the sun. Like waaay before the sun, and I just can’t handle heavy cooking at that time of day.
In the past we’ve done muesli and I’m open to batch cooking and freezing things if all I have to do is defrost at 5am in the morning. We’ve also done yogurt with nuts and berries but that seemed to cause huge BG spikes, well out of proportion to the carb content. At my in-laws’ place we did bagels and they actually seemed fine for BG, but they just don’t seem like an overall healthy food.
So, here’s what I’ve been doing recently. You could change or add some stuff to hit that 20-40g carbs mark:
42g of chia seeds (tons of fiber)
1/2 c of cashew milk (use whole milk and get more carbs)
70g Blueberries (good carbs, very good carbs)
14g Buttered Pecans (see the recipe posted the other day)
14g Grass-fed butter
So, this is clearly not a carb-heavy recipe (it comes out at very few net carbs). But, if you were to add some brown sugar, syrup, bananas, apples, other fruit… or almost anything else you have at hand, you could turn it into a nice moderate-carb breakfast.
Anyways, it’s been my recent oatmeal-replacement breakfast since I’ve attempted to up my calories by eating a big breakfast. It’s also very fast to make. Butter in the cashew milk in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir in the chia seeds for a minute, let sit for a minute, add blueberries and pecans (and whatever else).
Breakfast casseroles–eggs, cheese, veggies, and a starch–are handy. You can make 'em the night before and reheat a specific portion size. I use a recipe analyzer to calculate the carb content for an entire batch of whatever I’m making, then use that info to figure out carbs per portion (by weight).
Frittata is good. What you don’t eat for supper can either be frozen or eaten for breakfast.
I make my own muesli with just nuts and seeds, no dried fruit. I eat it with yogurt and blueberries and whatever your milk of choice is. I follow this rather high carb breakfast up with a 20 minute brisk walk.
I’m a fan of Pure Traditions pancake mix. I’ll make three or four pancakes and freeze three of them for another time. Topped with smashed or whole berries or even a little whipped cream - it’s a delicious breakfast.
Breakfast frittatas are great! I also like whole wheat pita pockets with eggs and veggies. This morning, I had a sliced hard-boiled egg, 2 tbsp of hummus, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and olives for a Mediterranean-flavored pita.
I love Stoneyfield full fat plain yogurt with a small splash of vanilla extract and a bag of equal. 13 grams carb in a whole cup. add some blueberries - yum. or a half a banana, strawberries.
Another vote for frittata, easy to make the day(s) before and you can adjust what you put in to match your carb needs (esp. regarding the crust).
In the same theme, it’s fast to make scrambled eggs and add some rice from the night before for carbs if that’s desired, or with toast/muffin.
Smoothies are way too much carb for me in the morning but can pack a good nutritional punch as others mentioned.
