Rise and shine, folks, it’s time for breakfast.
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Cooking, generally speaking, takes planning, and breakfast requires even more planning than other meals. While you may make a run to the store before dinner, it’s only in a true emergency (e.g., you’re out of coffee) that you will take the time to shop for groceries before breakfast.
One obvious solution is to stock up on any of the scores of breakfast-to-go products — bars and shakes and microwave breakfast “sandwiches” — that have proliferated in recent years. But these are generally high in price, if not in calories, salt, fat and/or refined sugar. How much smarter to plan a little ahead and have a homemade breakfast — whether it be a high-fiber muffin or a high-protein smoothie — ready to speed you on your way.
When it comes to breakfast, you may want to think inside the lox. Salmon does indeed make great morning fuel, especially if paired with a whole-wheat bagel, tomatoes and onion, and just a whisper of cream cheese. Michael van Straten, author of the new “Omega 3 Cookbook” (Kyle Books, 2007), says that canned sardines are “dripping with good nutrition” as long as you buy the kind packed in olive or canola oil (for reasons too complicated to explain here). He suggests sardines on whole-grain bread as a super-healthy start to the day. The new Betty Crocker cookbook “Whole Grains” suggests topping whole-wheat waffles with a drizzle of peanut butter and honey. The editors of “The EatingWell Diet” offer up a Breakfast Taco of corn tortillas microwaved with salsa and reduced-fat cheese, and filled with scrambled-liquid-egg substitute. According to this book, it’s best to combine a bit of protein with your carbs. Protein takes longer to digest, giving you a more gradual rise and fall of blood sugar, which helps you feel fuller longer. Thus, a bit of peanut butter on whole-wheat toast is better than the toast alone.
The recipes here come from these three cookbooks. They’ll help you plan for a tasty, high-energy start to the day. Because when the going gets tough, the tough eat breakfast.
STRAWBERRY-SUNDAE CRUNCH
For the sundae:
1 cup cottage cheese, regular or reduced-fat
1/2 cup orange juice, preferably fresh-squeezed
2 tablespoons flaxseeds
3/4 cup organic muesli
2 teaspoons orange zest
For the salad:
8 ounces strawberries, hulled
2 tablespoons orange juice, preferably fresh-squeezed
2 teaspoons brown, superfine brown, raw or turbinado sugar
2 large handfuls mixed salad leaves or baby spinach
Make the sundae: Mix together the cottage cheese, orange juice, flaxseeds and muesli, and divide between two bowls. Sprinkle each serving with orange zest.
Make the salad: In a blender, process together half the strawberries, the orange juice and sugar. Arrange the salad leaves on two plates, and slice the remaining strawberries, placing them on top of each plate of greens. Drizzle with the blended dressing.
Yield: 2 servings
Recipe from “The Omega 3 Cookbook” by Michael van Straten (Kyle Books, 2007)
BERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIE
1 cup vanilla, strawberry or raspberry low-fat yogurt
3/4 cups Cheerios cereal
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed or flaxseed meal
1/2 cup fresh strawberry halves, fresh raspberries or frozen whole strawberries
1/2 cup milk
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 banana
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, stopping at least once to scrape down the sides. Pour into glasses and serve.
Yield: 2 servings
Recipe from “Betty Crocker Whole Grains: Easy Everyday Recipes” (Wiley, 2007)
WILD-RICE FRITTATA
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups cooked wild rice (see Cook’s note)
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Swiss or low-fat Swiss cheese
Cook’s note: If you don’t have leftover rice, cook 1/2 cup raw wild rice in 1-1/2 cups boiling water for 45 to 50 minutes, or until rice is tender. Drain and use.
In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, melt the butter (or heat the oil) over medium-high heat. Cook the bell peppers and onion 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, wild rice and 1/2 cup of the cheese; pour over the vegetables. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook 15 to 20 minutes or until the eggs are set. Remove from heat.
Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover, let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
Yield: 6 servings
Recipe slightly adapted from “Betty Crocker Whole Grains: Easy Everyday Recipes,” (Wiley, 2007)
SAVORY BREAKFAST MUFFINS
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1-1/3 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
3/4 cup diced Canadian bacon
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Coat 12 standard 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray or line them with paper muffin cups.
Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt in a large bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and butter. Fold in the scallions, bacon, cheese and bell pepper. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix until just moistened. Scoop the batter into the prepared cups; they will be very full.
Bake until the tops are golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn out onto wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
Yield: 12 muffins
Recipe from “The EatingWell Diet” by Dr. Jean Harvey-Berino, with Joyce Hendley and the editors of EatingWell magazine (The Countryman Press, 2007)
Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.
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