What's for Breakfast?

I love to read about what other people are eating and get new ideas to incorporate into my diet. I thought I would share what I am eating. Here is the breakfast edition.

I am such a creature of habit!   I am currently rotating between two different breakfasts - smoothie or cereal with fruit. I will also reveal my obsession with blueberries.

A few months ago a co-worker got me thinking about smoothies. Of course, I'd heard of them before, but they never really appealed to me. I wasn't feeling all the "crazy" ingredients people put in them.  I like to keep things pretty simple. My co-worker was always talking about the yummy fruit blends he was having. When mentioned that he bought this blender at Walmart for less than $20 - I decided to give it a try.  This model is Faberware. It came with 5 cups and two blades. It works great.

After trying several different combinations, I have settled on a favorite - banana/blueberry.  I break up a small banana, 1/2 cup spinach leaves and 3/4 cup each of frozen blueberries and almond milk. Aldi recently had blueberries for 99 cents a pint. I bought 5 pints and froze them.  If I'd had more freezer space I would have bought more. I really like using frozen fruit because it gives the smoothie a nice consistency. Okay, I confess - I like the consistency because it is like a shake.

Here it is - a big glass of purple yumminess. I know the spinach idea freaks some people out but you really don't taste it. And with the blueberries' vibrant color you don't even see the spinach. Now I know a 1/2 cup of spinach leaves isn't going to make a huge difference, but I believe every little bit helps get to the greater goal. Spinach is high in vitamin A - good for the eyes and immune system - which both of mine could use all the help they can get :)  I usually eat my smoothie with a hard boiled egg or a piece of string cheese (240-270 calories). At first I was concerned that it wouldn't keep my satisfied until lunch, but I have found that it does.

My second go-to breakfast is cereal. I have a weird little cereal thing. I love me some Fruit Loops or Reese Peanut Butter Crunch (and many more), but I don't like them for breakfast. Bottom line is I like the unsweetened cereals for breakfast. Then I like to add fruit - blueberries for example :)

My real cereal weirdness...I like mixing several cereals together. I think it comes from when I was a kid and my mom would mix the ends of cereal boxes together to clear the clutter. For as long as I can remember as an adult I have bought several kinds of cereal and dump them all in together. I make a big batch of my mixed cereal, store it in freezer bags and toss the boxes.

This is the current blend I am working on - cheerios, rice/corn chex, puffed wheat, rice krispies, corn/bran flakes. I like the different textures and shapes of the cereal. 

I usually eat a cup of my blend. It is a little tricky to calculate the calories for all the different cereals. Instead of trying to do that I just took the higher end of the cereals I used and call it 120 calories per cup.  None of the cereals are more than that per cup. For the time being my issue is portion control, not whether or not I am eating 20 calories plus or minus for breakfast.

I told you...I am obsessed with blueberries (and bananas) lately. This bowl is 1 cup cereal, 3/4 cup 1% milk, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/2 banana (280 calories).

I have been reading recipes for the egg muffins. I think I am ready to take the plunge. I've been a little anti-egg in the morning lately - from a taste standpoint.  However, the egg muffins have caught my interest. It also looks like a good way to get a few more veggies in. See exploding garden.

I whipped up a batch this morning using Skinnytaste's recipe.  I had some leftover grilled asparagus and peppers that I chopped up and added to some broccoli.  I ended up using 2 eggs, 6 egg whites, 2 cups veggies, 1 oz shredded Parmesan and 2 Tbsp reduced fat Mexican blend cheese  to make 9 muffins. I am a little confused on how hers came out to so many more calories. I figured them at 44 calories per muffin and double checked it on a recipe calculator which gave me 47 per muffin. I made a half batch according to her recipe, but it looks like we both got 9 muffins. Maybe her muffin pan makes bigger muffins.

I ate one when they came out of the oven - delicious!! I took two to work for my afternoon snack. They were still good in the afternoon, but I did like them a little better fresh from the oven. Maybe I needed to have something with them at snack...a few grapes or something.

What are some of your favorite breakfast options?  Please, please don't say waffles and bacon or breakfast pizza :( 

Side note:  I wore a top to work today that I wore for some our engagement pictures three years ago. After gaining about 20 pounds of "happy to be married weight" the top got stuck in a box in the closet.  Happy to be wearing it again :)

August 2011

July 2014

Look how skinny that husband is!!  Now that I am back where I started I am looking forward to the next side by side when my loss shows up too :)