Here's a question...

Okay, people, this is something (totally unmomentous) that I've been thinking about for a while: what do you like to eat for breakfast?

I am a breakfast person - I always have been. I wake up STARVING, and am useless until I've had something to eat. I'm usually too tired/busy in the morning to cook up a full breakfast (especially since the full egg-and-bacon deal, while not evil in itself, is probably not something to eat every single day). So I usually eat cereal. 

The thing is, unless I eat a HUGE amount of cereal, I'm hungry again three hours later. I don't really object to eating tremendous amounts of cereal, but it seems to rack up more calories than I want to expend, for what I'm getting. 

So, my question is: do any of you have great ideas for a breakfast that's easy to prepare, satisfying in that it keeps you going till lunch, without being a million calories? (I'm not looking for "lite" diet food, just to keep the whole meal around 500-600 calories.) Or am I better off eating a little breakfast and having a snack between breakfast and lunch?

Comments

[Another Damned Medievalist]

I find that if I have fat-free cottage cheese and fruit, as well as toast, then I'm set. Or real oatmeal made with steel-cut oats.

[Vellum]

I have one egg (fried in a little olive oil) on toast, and if I'm really pressed for time, I'll actually boil a bunch of eggs the night/couple of days before, keep them in the fridge, and slice one up in the morning. I've actually started having these weird.. "sandwich thins" I think they're called, which are higher in fibre and lower in calories than regular bread, but still just as filling. Keeps me going much longer than cereal. It's the protein and fibre that stop me from getting hungry, I think.

[Notorious Ph.D.]

I like a sweet something with my morning coffee, but when I wake up, what I'm really craving is protein, salt, and fiber. So I end up having a pre-breakfast breakfast, like a couple of ryvita crisps with hummus or cream cheese. Then I can have my coffee and sweet cereal to nibble on.

Another thing that might help -- make sure your dinner the night before is fairly filling (though not heavy) -- ideally something featuring whole grains, protein, and veggies. You'll still be hungry when you wake up (as you should be: you've been without food for 8-10 hours!), but not ready to chew your own arm off.

[dance]

Real oatmeal! Throw in a bunch of frozen blueberries for the last minute of cooking (enough to have a berry in every bite), a wee bit of honey/sugar and milk. I normally do 2 servings just for me, especially when I know I'm looking at a long day without much time for lunch (just checked and 1 cup oatmeal is 300 calories before the milk/sugar, and high-fiber)

Bonus: virtuous feeling of eating healthy. Every oatmeal breakfast is a small victory.

Extra bonus for those who are really bad at keeping a stocked kitchen (me): can be easily made without anything perishable.

[meg]

Rule No. 1 for my breakfast is there must be two courses.
Rule No. 2 is there must be a sweet and a savory.
And the state of the kitchen takes it from there.

This morning was cheese toast and yogurt mixed with jam. Yesterday was a poached egg with salsa (j'adore my Poach Pod). The day before that, tofu with ponzu and nori, and fresh melon. Sometimes I have a microwaved sweet potato (savory: with blue cheese; sweet: with orange marmalade), or oatmeal, or dinner leftovers, or muffins (sweet or savory), or clafouti, or....

[dance]

PS. Triple bonus for me only: I can buy locally milled oatmeal! and locally frozen berries! Super-virtuous.

(seriously, I did not use so many exclamation marks before facebook came along)

[Sisyphus]

I have *exactly* the same experience in the morning, and much like you there's no way in hell I'm going to actually cook something first thing in the morning.

A while back I switched to the Kashi Golean cereal because some health website said most cereals don't have enough fiber and protein to make a worthwhile meal (I can force myself to eat oatmeal, but not very often). Most cereals have 4% of your daily protein or less and this Kashi one has 9. Throw some fresh berries on it when you have them and it helps with the midmorning munchies without being any extra work.

Plus I just go ahead and have a midmorning snack, or, as the hobbits call it, second breakfast. A baby bell cheese thingy, or a slice or two of turkey lunch meat on some crackers, totally does it for me (and sounds healthy) but my schedule this semester is totally not allowing me any morning time this time around. Sigh.

[lucy]

I had the same problem until I started mixing high-fibre cereal with my normal cereal. Oddly, the extra fibre All Bran tastes much better than the regular kind, but Trader Joe's high fibre cereals are even better, especially the Os.

[life_of_a_fool]

excellent question! I also am like you. I eat cereal, usually, and am starving again a few hours later. I eat, shower/get dressed, go to work, and am starving by time i get there. I often eat a second breakfast, and I really can't stomach much more than cereal first thing. This is great for ideas!

[Angela]

Cereal will not keep you full because it's just carbs - and the milk is not enough protein.

I make protein pancakes:

- 1 package of instant oatmeal (any type)
- 1 scoop of protein powder
- 2 or 3 egg whites
- a little water if necessary

Mix it all and make it like you would regular pancakes.

[Seeking Solace]

I never understood people who don't do breakfast. I would be on the floor, passed out, if I didn't. :)

I like a multi-grain waffle with fruit, Boca sausage and juice. If I am in a rush, I'll have a bagel with peanut butter and a yogurt.

And always coffee!!!!

[Krazy Kitty]

Yogurt + cut fruits or berries + cereals (yes, all mixed together) gets me going for the entire morning.

[meansomething]

Balance bars and Clif bars are breakfast backups for me. With a glass of water, a cup of coffee and a piece of fruit, they last a long time.

Other standbys: apple smeared with peanut butter; yogurt with berries (if I top yogurt with frozen berries the night before, all is thawed and can be mixed together in the morning).

I often end up eating at school or en route, since I take thyroid hormone and you're supposed to let it absorb for an hour before eating.

[Cheeseandresponsibility.blogspot.com]

I had a long comment, but I have apparently lost it. Shouldn't read blogs before coffee.

Oatmeal is very filling. I make it in the rice maker, so I can have real oatmeal that is super easy to make. I throw in some dried fruits and a handful of other grains (groats and quinoa right now) with some cinnamon. I mix it all up from bulk ingredients, so in the morning all I have to do is scoop and add water.

[Mary Anne Mohanraj]

I am an egg and toast gal. When dieting, one egg + one slice of multigrain toast (buttered, because what is life without butter?). When hungry, + one slice bacon, and even possibly one more egg.

One thing I learned from my gestational diabetes low-carb days was to avoid juice in general (it is now a special treat for me), and even limit fruit at breakfast. I just crash again if I start the day with mostly fruit stuff.

[Kori]

http://www.iowagirleats.com
http://www.ohsheglows.com
http://www.eatliverun.com

All these websites are my breakfast inspirations!

[Carin]

I have the same experience w/cereal, too. A higher-fiber cereal does help a bit, but I find oatmeal really does the trick if the weather is cool enough for it. (Memo to self: get oatmeal!) I make it w/demerara sugar and a pinch of nutmeg, which makes the whole thing taste a little like rice pudding w/o adding a whole lot of calories. Alternatively, Fage or other Greek-style but nonfat yoghurt with granola, w/ or w/o fruit, is a lot more filling than cereal w/milk.

In reality, if I get up early and don't have to go anywhere early, I have cereal while still undergoing basic caffeination and then have second breakfast before I leave the house. Not a calorically-efficent way to proceed.

[Laura]

I, too, am a major breakfast person and after 1 day of school when I thought I would pass out, I knew I'd have to get my act together. I got bagels and cream cheese, which is slightly better than cereal, but now I'm proceeding on to plan B--sausage. I got soy patty sausages (both because my son is a vegetarian and because they're healthier). My plan is to to microwave a beaten egg and the sausage, slap both onto a bagel, toast or biscuit (depending on what's handy and easy) and go.

I, too, have gone the oatmeal route on occasion, but it still kind of bores me--sorry oatmeal lovers!

My preferred breakfast is two eggs over easy, bacon, toast, and potatoes, but no way am I cooking that in the morning before school.

[Laura]

P.S. Being a breakfast person is a good thing--it's healthier and studies show that people who diet and still eat breakfast lose more weight.

[Janice]

My breakfast is usually a bowl of corn flakes w/fruit which means that my stomach is howling for more food within an hour. I try to drown the growls with tea but it doesn't always work. (So I'm afraid that my breakfast routine is no help.)

I have to agree with avoiding orange juice. Delicious but it gives me even more of a sugar crash than the cereal!

[Carin]

Followup to my earlier comment: For a while when I was trying one of those high-protein, low-carb diets, I had poached eggs, 1 slice multigrain toast, and tomato juice for breakfast every day for breakfast. I must say it worked, but it was never what I woke up craving. The most filling solution I've found is a sausage and egg bagel sandwich from one of the bagel chains (I virtuously hold the cheese), but I'm supposed to be cutting out sodium so am trying not to get myself re-hooked on sausage.

[What Now?]

I do steel-cut oatmeal and make up a pot of four servings at a time (= 1 cup of the dry oatmeal & 4 cups of water); then I divvy it up into four little tupperwares so that all I have to do in the morning is add a splash of milk and heat it up in the microwave; sometimes I add a little fruit. (I usually eat it in the car because, like MS, I take thyroid medication and can't eat for the first hour after I take my pill.)

This keeps me going for three hours or so, and then I have a week snack mid-morning -- usually a bit of Laughing Cow cheese or a Cabot reduced-fat snack size of cheddar) -- and then I have a relatively early lunch.

[Clancy]

Lately I've been doing Benefiber in my coffee, plus some oatmeal with the following add-ons:

flax meal
hemp protein powder
peanut butter (the Smuckers all natural)
honey

It's scrumptious. Boiled eggs with Tony Chachere's seasoning (the low-sodium kind) are pretty good too -- like deviled eggs for lazy people.

[Tenured Radical]

Oatmeal with fruit. Seriously, it will keep you for five hours. The hemp powder is a plus, as Clancy suggests.

[Dr. Moonbeam]

I used to always be a cereal person, but for a while now I've had a bagel (usually everything or onion), toasted, w/ light chive & garlic cream cheese, sliced tomato, and a thin piece of deli ham. Takes about 5 minutes to make (I slice up the tomato while the bagel is toasting; I can even be making my lunch while it's toasting) and not long to eat, either.

Not a hot cereal person, you see, although I like cold cereal.

[jo(e)]

When I'm in a hurry but need to be filled up, I gulp down cereal and then grab a banana on my way out the door. Bananas can be eaten while driving a car -- but are pretty filling.

[comebacknikki]

If I have time, I'll have oatmeal & a piece of fruit (usually an apple - the fiber will help keep me full). If I don't have time to sit down, I'll stop at Starbucks & get an egg white/spinach wrap (280 calories/7 grams of fiber). They're delicious & keep me full until lunch.

[Dame Eleanor Hull]

Smoothie made with yogurt, protein powder, and fruit, for the protein, and some toast for feeling like I've eaten something solid.

[heu mihi]

Yogurt, into which I mix granola with plenty of nuts (I make my own and have a delicious recipe) and fruit if I have it.

For a really filling breakfast, I'd also have a slice of toast topped with jam and sliced cheese. Sounds weird, but it's delicious and the cheese really fills you up.

I think that the problem with cereal (I haven't read the comments, so forgive me if I'm repeating) is that it lacks protein, so there's nothing in there to keep you going in any real way. The same seems to be true--for me--of very bready breakfasts, and even fatty pastries and the like; carbs and sugar just aren't enough (nor do they feel really good, if that's all you're eating).

[Bardiac]

I often have leftover dinner or oatmeal plus a hard boiled egg. (Or I have the egg or peanuts in the office to snack on.)

For me, I need protein to keep from feeling hungry in the midmorning.

[Rev Dr Mom]

High fiber cereal really is pretty good--I like Kashi Good Friends. I add frozen blueberries and a handful of pecans, and some cinnamon, topping it all off with kefir and milk.

I'll second the idea to plan a mid morning snack if breakfast doesn't last.

I love eggs for breakfast but it seems too time consuming when I'm going to work, although I just got some of the pod thingies mentioned above and can make poached eggs pretty quickly.

[shell]

I alternate my breakfasts these days:

Schwan's waffle, slice of bacon, fruit, milk.
1/2 Bagel, slice of bacon, fruit, milk.
Poached Egg, Sausage link (Schwan's), Toast, Juice
Carnation Instant Breakfast for emergency days.

I set it all up ahead of time. Otherwise, it so doesn't happen.

[Rokeya]

Folks who have mentioned that sugars/carbs found in most breakfast cereals are not enough to keep you full for long are correct. Fiber and protein are your most surefire ways of feeling satiated until lunch. My filling breakfast of choice is oatmeal with a mashed up banana, cinnamon, and nutmeg, or on some days I'll forgo that combo and add a little peanut butter to the oatmeal instead. A little agave nectar, raisins, chopped up almonds, and cinnamon is also nice in oatmeal. Re: the soy breakfast sausages and the like, beware of sodium. The "fake meats" are loaded with it (I find that too much sodium bloats my stomach and doesn't leave me at my best).

[styleygeek]

I think it's perfectly reasonable to have a snack between breakfast and lunch. If I eat breakfast, I usually have to eat again around 11 - an apple will do it then, or some crackers and peanut butter, or a piece of cheese. So it's not like it makes a big difference to my total daily intake.

(But I should admit I often don't eat breakfast, or at least don't have it until I'm at the office - 9:30 or 10, and then I do stay full until lunch).

In terms of quick easy and filling breakfasts, my most effective are:
(a) oatmeal with half an apple chopped in, a spoonful of bran, and some dates (you can mix up the oatmeal/bran/dates in a jar and just scoop some out, add water, and microwave for about 2 mins, then add the apple)

(b) an egg or two - you can hardboil a whole lot in advance. Or you can crack one into a bowl with a little milk/yogurt/cheese/spinach whatever, and microwave for about 30 secs, stir, microwave again until set. Instant omelet/scrambled egg thing!

(c) peanut butter (with optional addition of a mashed banana and honey) on toast (I think it's the protein that's filling here.)

(d) mashed avocado on toast.

(e) some Greek yogurt with a small handful of cereal and a large handful of fruit (berries/melon/apple, whatever).

In all cases, I think the main ingredients in a filling meal are protein, fibre and fat.

[joy]

Cream of wheat made with milk holds me for a long time. Oatmeal definitely keeps you full longer than cold cereal, as many have pointed out. And there's nothing wrong with a pre-lunch snack. I almost always have an apple or a banana or a tupperware of steamed green beans, or a tupperware of dried fruit and nuts in my backpack, just in case.

[Susan]

I have fruit and either cottage cheese or yogurt (if it's an apple or canteloupe, cottage cheese, if it's peaches or strawberries, no-fat greek yogurt). Then mid-morning if I'm hungry, I have a (home-made, healthy) bran muffin. I always bring a muffin to work, so I can resist the sugary ones at the coffee place. I occasionally add toast and honey or jam to the initial breakfast.

But the key is protein. I figure 10-15 grams at breakfast is what works for me.

[foodie]

Seems to me that you are doing the right thing with the cereal. But it's what you do after that that can help you lose weight. Stop buying your lunch! Pack a wrap with turkey or hummus and have a snack at 10-11 am and then another small snack around 1-2 pm.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

These comments are AWESOME! Thanks, everyone - I know I need more protein in the morning to keep myself going, but it's hard sometimes to get out of the usual rut. I need to go to the supermarket and pick up some more/different staples!

I thought the comments about problems with starting off with fruit were interesting - I like fruit for breakfast, but really have to mix it with lots of other stuff not to crash terribly. I may try ditching my morning juice and see what effect that has. I'm definitely going to make sure to have yogurt on hand, and LOVE the idea of starting out with a scrambled egg on buttered toast.

(foodie, where did I say I wanted to lose weight? or that I was buying my lunch?)

[ianqui]

If I weren't trying to keep my breakfast down to around 300 calories, I would totally eat a yogurt, fruit and granola parfait every single day. God, I love those.

[helenesch]

Wow--so many good comments! I love oatmeal for breakfast, but I definitely need a mid-morning snack no matter what I eat for breakfast.

[foodie]

NK you've said that stuff on your blog at other times. Happy breakfast-ing!

[New Kid on the Hallway]

Sure, but that's not what I was asking about in this post.

[Leslie M-B]

I'm a big cereal person too, but the older I get the more I find my energy drains faster if I eat cereal. I did some cursory research and found that eating protein in the morning helps both boost energy and burn more calories during the day. As I'm a vegetarian, I don't do meat, and I'm not a big fan of eggs, so I now eat yogurt, granola (I try all different kinds from the bulk bins at the supermarket), and fresh fruit (or in the winter, defrosted berries), sweetened with a bit of honey.

[ragey]

I vary my breakfast between cereal and oatmeal. No matter which I have, I also have fruit with it. That extra helps tide me over, generally it is an apple or a banana.

OH, I also eat cereal rich in fiber (quite filling) like granola, fiber one, or a Kashi cereal.

[pat]

Fried egg sandwich on toast. I like mine with miraclewhip on one of those round thin buns or an english muffin... you can cook the egg in a bowl in the microwave faster than your toaster will make the toast, and no extra fat or greasy pan to wash up.

[Dame Eleanor Hull]

BTW, juice gives a concentrated sugar punch, but a whole piece of fruit has fiber and isn't so likely to produce the sugar crash.

[Michael]

Cereal is never filling in my experience. I don't think you can beat a bagel to keep you full until lunch! :-)

[fester]

For me - it is two egg-white with one egg omelet with spinach and salsa on top - no cheese or anything. The side is a saute tomato and a few 3 or so depending on size mushrooms. This with a latte - (love the coffee machine in the am) and one piece of toast with honey or jam...(sweet tooth satisfied) - I am finished in 30 minutes with the cooking and eating... and stay full for 4 to 5 hours.

[Jan]

When I was a kid, I often had a tunafish sandwich for breakfast, and still would but not for the mercury. But you can have one once a week, at least, no? For many years as a young adult, I often had all-beef hotdogs. Do you like lox? Frozen taquitos? Hummus? I have never understood why such a limited number of foods are considered "breakfast."

[The Cranky Professor]

I boil a dozen eggs a week, eat two hot, and pop the rest into a plastic box. I even pre-salt them. Pre-peppering makes them unattractive (but not untasty). Then I have an egg or so every morning.

But then I like cold boiled eggs. YMMV.