5 Quick and Easy Breakfast Ideas to Pack In Some Early Protein

For many, getting breakfast in can be one the most challenging meals to fit in during the day. There’s a dozen reasons for this that range from having no appetite early in the morning to simply not thinking of it. While all of them may be true- and said- I've found the number one reason most folks skip the meal is they simply don't know what to make.

They've heard Pop-Tarts are "bad" (they're not), but they also don't have time for a bigger spread like you may find on a Saturday morning.

While there isn’t any magic to the meal itself, there are many valuable reasons TO do so (check out the podcast episode we did here on why having a meal relatively close to a workout can stop the process of breaking down muscle and begin rebuilding sooner than folks who skip breakfast). Here are a handful of ideas that you can use to fix that issue.

1. Overnight oats. I generally combine rolled oats (the kind that you can still microwave, but not ‘quick cooking’), ½ scoop protein powder (vanilla), and 1 cup of almond milk. Shake in a jar, put in the fridge. In the morning, I’ll add cinnamon, and a tablespoon of granola for crunch. This is an (almost) ‘on the daily’ thing…

2. Breakfast sandwich. We’ll buy wheat or sourdough English muffins, thin sliced cheese by Sargento (the kind found here), 1 scrambled egg (for each sandwich), and a pre-cooked turkey sausage patty. Wrap them in saran wrap and grab in the morning.

3. Ditto the above, but I make a wrap. Sliced avocado, scrambled egg (1-2 for 5 wraps), and ham/turkey/roast beef lunch meat. I’ll usually grab a glass of milk and piece of fruit to pair with it too.

4. If I’m REALLY in a pinch, I’ll throw ½ cup of dry oats in a baggie to cook at my destination. A few scoops of non-fat Greek yogurt, FROZEN (important!) blueberries, a hard-boiled egg, and banana. The frozen part is that as they melt from sitting in the fridge it provides a good juice/flavor to the sometimes lackluster Greek yogurt.

5. French Toast Cups: this takes a bit more work, but provides more over the course of the week. What's more is after the prep work is complete, the work is done. Here is the recipe:

   • 2-3 slices of whole wheat bread (you can use whatever you have), cubed.

   • 2-3 eggs.

   • 3-6 egg whites

   • Water** see below

   • 2-3 squirts of liquid stevia (use whatever low-calorie sugar substitute you have on hand...but does need to be liquid).

   • I LOVE cinnamon, so used almost 1-2 teaspoons in this.

   • 2-3 Tablespoons of raisins

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350F

• Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray.

• put cubed bread and raisins in the tin....don't obsess about this. Just make it look even.

• combine eggs, liquid stevia, and cinnamon in a deep bowl. Add a squirt or two of water (1-2 Tablespoons). Mix very well so it's a batter.

• Pour over the top of the muffin tins with bread.

• Bake until the middle is no longer runny.

There you have it! 5 simple ideas that will start you removing with a good dose of protein to get you to lunch.

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