Soon to be gone are the lazy summer mornings, only to be replaced by frantic fumbles for water bottles, iPad chargers and lunch bags. Here are four stress-free breakfast ideas to get your crew up, at ’em and out the door in no time.
Sous Vide Egg Bites
My children and I discovered Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites one morning when we were on a staycation. The barista misheard a soft-spoken request for an Egg Sandwich as one for Egg Bites and delivered the delectable (but pricey!) bits of deliciousness in a brown paper bag. My daughter side eyed the bites, then took a tentative nibble. BLISS! You can make a super-duper dupe at home for a lot less by using an Instant Pot or oven and silicone molds. The secret to their fluffiness is creating a water bath — this steams them instead of just dry cooking. After they cool, freeze for an easy gourmet morning meal that heats up in a snap.
Always-Ripe Avocado Toast
I am an avocado FAN, but I feel like in order to pinpoint the exact minute when avocados are ripe, I have to cancel all plans and hover over them like a helicopter parent. When I discovered pre-scooped avocado that is perfectly ripe and packaged, I had to wipe away tears of joy. The Wholly Guacamole brand came out with Simply Avocado dips and spreads a few years ago, and I love how the ingredient list is just avocado. And Alessi makes an “Avocado Toast Seasoning” so how much more simple could this get? You can also use guacamole. Add sliced hard-boiled eggs, radish, bacon, a poached egg or whatever else your kids might like.
Overnight Oats: Dessert Series
Oats are the perfect base to transform into a dessert, a breakfast bar, even milk (homemade oat milk is incredible). Overnight oats are a no-cook method of making oatmeal — you simply soak raw old-fashioned oats in a liquid (milk or substitute) overnight. No magic. What is magical, though, is the limitless possibilities that are available for your overnight oat recipes. Grab a basic recipe, like the popular one on wholefully.com, and experiment with different mix-ins. For Carrot Cake, add cinnamon, cream cheese, grated carrots and raisins. For Strawberry Cheesecake, add strawberries, cream cheese and lemon. For Banana Bread, add mashed ripe bananas, cinnamon, maple syrup and chopped walnuts.
Breakfast Trail Mix
Trail mix gets a bad rap because of the addition of candy-coated chocolates. Eliminate those and it is usually a perfectly portable, protein-packed snack. Making a mix for breakfast is a wonderful way to hand your kid something as they head out the door and bask in the knowledge that it is fueling them for the day. Combine cereal such as rice squares, nuts/seeds and chopped dried fruit. Then mix with egg whites, cinnamon sugar, ground flax seeds and salt and bake in a 250-degree oven for 75 minutes, or until golden and dry to the touch, stirring every 30 minutes. After cooled, it can be portioned into sealed reusable bags and left by the back door for a grab-and-go protein-packed meal.
Cheryl Leahy is a savvy millennial mom of two who knows how to show her kids a good time. She is host of the North Shore-focused show “Cheryl On The Shore” launching Aug. 1 and founder of On The Shore Productions. Follow her on Instagram.
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