Cold, rainy fall mornings call for more substantial nourishment, and yet the cold and the dark of autumn and winter are not very inspiring in the morning. Just when we should be making hot oatmeal we often find ourselves reaching for something quicker.
To what extent do you go for a good breakfast this time of year, and what do you eat to keep yourself going the rest of the day? Tips and inspiration always appreciated!
(Image credit: ARS USDA)
Red-and-Pink-Stripe...

It depends. There are days when I've overslept and have to skip breakfast. When I do eat, it might be scrambled eggs or yogurt with fruit. If I've thought about it in advance, overnight oatmeal with fruit. Occasionally, I'll eat leftovers or snack-type foods like a crisped-up sprouted grain tortilla (broken into chips) with hummus or almond butter. I've never acquired a taste for coffee.
I usually have a fruit/yogurt/oats smoothie. We happen to be out of all of those things, so this morning, I'm snacking on banana chips and counting the minutes until lunch.
Add a yogurt to my granola bar.
Mostly I have toast because it's quick, easy, and hot. But sometimes I have porridge or cold cereal or homemade muffins.
meal replacement shake. Breakfast just isn't my time of day.
I usually have coffee and kefir for breakfast.
When I have time, I eat a hearty breakfast: eggs scrambled with provolone, peppers, and onions; sliced fruit; a few slices of bacon; and a big glass of orange juice.
However, I never, ever, ever have time, so I usually end up eating toast as I drive to work. Sigh...
I'm easily bored, so I rotate the following throughout the course of the work week:
one egg, cheddar and tomato on toasted multigrain bread
Greek yogurt with walnuts and honey
cottage cheese or a hard boiled egg and a glass of vegetable juice (I prefer Knudsen Very Veggie, but V8 will do in a pinch)
ricotta with apricots, pine nuts and a drizzle of balsamic
baguette with butter and cheese
multigrain Wasa with ricotta and jam
I love oatmeal and I generally only eat it during the cooler months of the year. I usually dress it up with blueberries and almonds, or butter and sea salt, or a few dashes of hot sauce, or a little grated sharp cheese.
On the weekends, anything goes - we go out for brunch more often than we do for any other meal, but if I cook at home, I'll do soft scrambled eggs with fresh herbs, or eggs baked with feta and tomato, or eggs over easy with toast and bacon or chicken-apple sausage on the side.
I have a 21 month old who rises long before the break of day and demands food. (This morning: "I want broccoli." I happened to have a broccoli frittata in the fridge. It's not always that easy.) Breakfast is also the only time that me, my husband, and the spud can all reliably eat together, so breakfast is our family meal. We do it up, although it requires a tank of coffee to achieve this, and I need another cup as soon as I get to work.
Usually rotates between cold cereal with a smoothie and oatmeal with fruit mixed in and a smoothie. Weekends we hit the magical world of veggie frittatas, pancakes, coffee cake with raspberries, or what we call breakfast burritos with basically scrambled eggs, italian sausage and cheese. And a smoothie.
Yogurt, banana and coffee is my standard breakfast. Sometimes it's a drinkable yogurt from Ronnybrook. Occasionally there'll be cereal, and very occasionally on a weekend I will make pancakes.
Goodness, I feel like such a breakfast slacker. I'm usually just not hungry first thing in the morning, so a nice hot cup of coffee does it for me.
But then I tend to do the "small snacks" throughout the day that keep me going, so I often end up having a late breakfast of sorts. Could be anything from cheese & crackers to half a sandwich to a bit of last night's leftovers.
to cmcinnyc: if your small child wants broccoli for breakfast, he's already on the right track. that's amazing! great job teaching him how to eat well already!!
I used to eat oatmeal every morning, either instant or the steel cut, but one day I just couldn't face it anymore. Now I usually have a bar before running out the door, or a Pop Tart at work (my office has a thing about Pop Tarts).
Swiss muesli in the summer, oatmeal in the winter. About once a month: leftover tuna sandwich.
cmcinnyc - There are times when I crave broccoli in the morning ;-)
I'm not a morning person, at all, so I will sometimes have a shot or two of espresso while I am getting ready (if there's time) and take a cappuccino to go.
I tend to get lightheaded around 10:30 or so, I've been trying to bring in a bag of Cherrios - anything to get into my stomach.
However, I do start hatching plans for dinner at around noon. I suppose I'm more of a nighttime eater.....
I'm not a morning person, so I get up 10-15 minutes before I have to catch the bus in the morning. This means I eat when I get here.
If I'm on top of things and bring breakfast it is yougurt and berries. Most days I'm not and it is an English Muffin with peanut butter from the cafeteria, except every other Friday, then it is Eggs Benedict.
poached egg, sprouted wheat toast with butter, coffee 1 square chocolate. (however, when I was 20lbs heavier, it was small hot fudge sundae and french fries every morning... no joke)
the easiest hot breakfast ever is grape nuts, milk, and some dried fruit. a little cinnamon if you like. nuke for a minute or two, and you have something with the texture of steel-cut oats and, i think, better flavor.
The idea of a few eggs scrambled with some swiss cheese was all that got me out of bed this morning...
PB&J on whole wheat toast.
summer, fruit smoothies and a hard boiled egg.
winter, oatmeal with fruit.
This time of year, cider and donut---I figure you get 300 calories, if you eat dessert for breakfast it saves you the calories later on, right?
Wholegrain toast slathered in peanut butter and topped with lots of raisions, plus a mug of green tea. I definitly go through phases with my breakfast tastes, but I've been eating this every day for the past month and a half and I'm not tired of it yet....I do seem to be going through a jar of peanut butter per week though...
Toast and hummus, or toast and cheese and dijon mustard. And tea. Sometimes grapes, too.
We usually have leftovers for breakfast. This morning it was this borscht soup/stew that had been dinner on Tuesday night. I need a healthy dose of protein in the morning to keep me going during the day. Plus, it's easier to get all the vegetables you should get during the day if you have some with breaky too. Plus, it's really easy to chuck a plate or bowl into the microwave.
most days a banana and either raisin bread or a whole-wheat tortilla with peanut butter.
cappucino and croissant at the bar, newpaper in hand, the Italian way
when I have it together, a hearty miso soup is my favorite winter breakfast. An odd combination with coffee, but it is a good kick to get the day started.
In Summer I had a fruit smoothie time: lemon, banana, apple, pineapple, or any fruit I had in store, hoppa in da blenda, and eat/drink.
Nowadays, my blender being in a bad state, I often limit myself to lemon juice with water, and later some fresh grapefruit juice, and by 11AM I have a banana when at work.
I am not typically hungry until I've been up for a few hours but I do usually fill a mug up with chocolate soy milk so I put something in my stomach, and get a dose of much needed calcium. Once and awhile I'll make some hot chocolate on those really cold, tired mornings when I don't feel like getting out of my blankets.
The irony of my situation is I love breakfast food and I am not really a fan of chocolate but I don't care for regular soy milk or coffee.
Lately, homemade granola with plain yogurt and some homemade applesauce (for the best granola recipe ever, http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2007/6/9/the-lip-ladys-secret-granola.html, I add more oats to make it a little less sweet).
Once it's colder outside, I move to steel cut oatmeal with cheddar cheese. Mmm, just like cheese grits! I try to make enough for a few days, then I can heat it up in the morning.
I am very routine oriented as far as breakfast goes, so I try to pick something that has some protein and some whole grains. I don't drink coffee, but I'll have tea when I get to work.
thesamanthafiles -
Yay! someone else who does chedder cheese with their oatmeal! It's a tradition in my mom's family, but I've never found anyone else who does it....(Everyone else, this is a wonderful way to eat oatmeal - lots of chedder gratted over top, plus a dash of milk, yum!)
it's important to have a full meal to start the day. i have hot oatmeal with honey, multi grain toast with fruit preserves, a banana, and orange juice, scan the new york times, pet my dog, then get ready for work. by having quiet time eating at home i can enjoy being in my apartment before begining a busy day at work.
a glass of v8 fusion and if there's time, toast or a toasted english muffin.
My standard fare is 2 slices of natural wheat bread toast with butter and natural peanut butter and 2 cups of home-roasted espresso americano.
If it is an especially dreary day, I will mix it up with steel-rolled oats, cooked with frozen blueberries from the summer, topped with a drizzle of local honey and kefir. When I run out of blueberries, it will be chopped up dried apricots.
On weekends we will have full-fledged breakfasts with eggs. This might be with toast and sharp cheese, ranch-style (huevos rancheros) or in breakfast burritos.
I am going to try that cheddar on oatmeal. Hey, if a good cheddar is good in a peanut butter sandwich, it should be good in oatmeal...
Mmmm mmm mmm. I like breakfast!
A sausage breakfast taco and maybe orange juice. Even the crappy cafeteria ones really brighten a morning.
crunchy peanut butter on rye toast.. almost every day but i like to mix it up with a bagel or waffles now and then.
when i can have dairy again, i really want to go back to yogurt in the morning.
hey! Did you know you can make excellent porridge in the microwave!!? Seriously! No pot to wash up. I put a few spoons of oats in a bowl, some sultantas and just cover with water. Zap for 1.30, then add milk to cover and zapp again for another minute. Brown sugar, milk and nutmeg - brilliant!
whole wheat bread from a local bakery, cream cheese, 2 poached eggs, celery salt: my version of eggs Benedict. Yum Yum
Black coffee, a small green smoothie, sprouted toast and a bowl of fruit.