Clean and Healthy Breakfast Ideas
December 21, 2009 by JenniferM
Filed under Clean Eating Basics
I’m always trying to come up with healthy breakfast ideas, not just for me, but my picky eater. Of course there’s always smoothies, which the picky eater *just* (and I do mean just a couple weeks ago) became interested in because she likes throwing all kinds of ingredients in the blender and mixing them up; however, since my kids are still little, I feel a warm breakfast starts their day off just right and boosts their brain power. I thought I’d share what I’ve come up with so far.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas
- The number one choice is, of course, oatmeal. Now, I personally don’t like oatmeal all that much for breakfast unless it’s in a smoothie, although my kids love it (thank goodness!). Over the years I’ve learned how to “spice” it up a bit to make it taste better (to me, anyway). Adding cinnamon or just a bit of honey, even agave nectar or maple syrup makes it more palatable, in my opinion and always, always, always add berries such as blueberries and/or strawberries. I will sometimes add raspberries or blackberries, just depending on what I have on-hand.
- Once again eggs are good for us – even the yolk! Yeah, I know, so much conflicting information, it’s hard to tell what’s right and what’s wrong. All I know is I love eggs and can eat them any time of the day. Scrambled, poached, boiled, omelet – just not fried.
- Whole wheat pancakes or waffles – need I say more? Yum! Plus, my picky eater loves them, even if they are made with wheat flour. Topped with fresh fruit and a little cinnamon instead of butter and syrup makes for a clean and healthy breakfast.
- French toast made with whole-grain bread, low-fat milk, farm fresh eggs, a little vanilla, and a pinch of cinnamon goes over well with both the kids and myself when I’m up for solid food in the morning.
- Breakfast burrito made with scrambled eggs (or egg whites), fresh veggies, and an ounce of cheese (cheese is optional).
Although not warm, other healthy breakfast ideas include: yogurt with fruit and granola, whole grain toast, and vegetable or fruit smoothies.
Do you have a clean and healthy breakfast idea or favorite? Leave a comment and share it with us!
We have never found a frozen waffle we can all agree on. Anything that I’m ok w/ from a nutritional standpoint they don’t like the taste and vice-versa.
We did finally try batter blaster – the organic pancake/waffle batter in a can, got it at whole foods. Our kids would definitely recommend it and I think they’re pretty good (though not as good as scratch). A shortcut we feel good about giving them though. And nice to give them on rushed school mornings, especially when it’s so cold out.
I too hate the idea of cold cereal on a cold winter morning. But my two are really picky. Seems like it’s always pancakes they want. Try to make them from scratch as much as possible but I’ll admit to having Batter Blaster on hand for those days when there’s no time.
I have a pancake recipe that I got from a fitness competitor. I’m not sure about the pancake mix, but I believe it’s a fairly clean recipe. This recipe says it serves 1, but it does make quite a bit.
Protein Pancakes
1/4 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/4 cup Buckwheat Pancake Mix (I use Hodgson Mill brand)
4 – 5 egg whites
1 ripe banana, broken up
Dash of cinnamon
splash of vanilla
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Alternatively, place ingredients in a container appropriate for the use of an immersion blender. Blend until smooth. Cook as you would regular pancakes.
The pancakes aren’t as ‘fluffy’, but they’re still pretty good. My 3 year old loves them. I top them with natural peanut butter for him.
Also wanted to say that I just found your website. It is my resolution for 2010 to start eating clean again. Is there a membership sign-up for this site?
Hi Kim,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving this yummy sounding recipe! I will try it as soon as I pick up some buckwheat flour.
No, we don’t have a membership sign-up. You can subscribe to us via RSS feed so you’ll be alerted when we make new posts, and although our message board is slow (for now), you can join it for free here: http://cleaneatingclub.com/forum/
I have a great clean eating breakfast recipe for oatmeal pancakes. You take 1/2 cup oatmeal, 5-6 egg whites (sometimes I put 1 yolk with it), and some fruit. I usually put a handful of blueberries, but you could use any fruit. Blend it together( I use my magic bullet).The batter will be a little thinner than regular pancake batter.This amount makes about 3 4-5 in. pancakes.Yummy!!!
Hi All!
Ellie Krueger has a great whole wheat apple pancake recipe. My family loves it(with or without apples) and it keeps 2 days in the fridge. I love oatmeal with flax paired with yogurt with cinnamon, berries, and roasted sunflower seeds(unsalted). For my husband I make a crust-less quiche for him to grab and go on early mornings. 2 boxes frozen spinach( well drained!), 6 eggs or 9 whites, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2-3/4 cup grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees. 20 min for 8×8, 12-15 for muffins.
We also add 2T tabasco and pepper. Great with mushrooms and sauteed onions added.
I love buckwheat crepes stuffed with cottage cheese and a little something sweet like agave, or apple butter.
I also just recently made a batch of Brownie Waffles for breakfast. I swear I had brownies for breakfast!
Another fav or mine is to poach an egg, and serve it on a slice of toasted whole grain bread. Then I take a little cottage cheese, and just enough parmesan to give it some flavor and melt it in the microwave. Then I pour it over the egg and bread. You can even add a little spinach to get in some veggies. It’s yummy! (I’ve got that blog post coming up soon!)
Tiffany
I make a whole bunch of small pancakes with oatmeal, flax and some protein powder. I then freeze them and they are ready for me when I want them. My kids love them with fresh berries on the side!:)
This morning, I had a 3 Egg-white omelet with non-fat American Cheese and low-sodium deli turkey and a Whole Wheat English muffin plain and a banana. I sometimes put tomatoes in the omelet or some veggies but I was out. It was yummy!
I’ve also had multi-grain waffles sprinkled with blueberry sauce (I melt frozen blueberries) and a small protein shake. I’ve tried making pancakes from scratch but for some reason they don’t come out right. LOL!
My personal fav is cottage cheese with berries. Sometimes I will eat it with berries, pineapple and kiwi. Toss with some almonds or Ryvita/Wasa crispbread. Yummy!