I am normally a bad breakfast eater. I always have a couple of big cups of tea, but if I eat anything at all, it’s usually the scraps and extras that are leftover after I make my kids’ lunches. I realize the importance of a good breakfast — and I insist my kids eat one — so I’m always vowing to improve my morning eating habits for my own health and to set a good example for my boys.
Last Monday, I took the time to make myself something a little nicer than I usually do for breakfast. I liked the way it looked so, as I am prone to do, I took a picture and posted it to my personal Facebook page. The photo got a ton of likes and nice comments and it inspired me to make better choices. I decided to try to make a point of eating breakfast every day for a week (and take pictures!) to keep myself accountable. My goal was to get at least a little protein and a serving of fruit or veggies at each meal. Here’s what I had:
Monday’s breakfast was the one that kicked this whole project off. I toasted a slice of sweet batard bread from a beloved local bakery (Semifreddi’s for those of you in the Bay Area), then spread a thin layer of pesto on it. I also poached an egg and added that to the top of the bread, then threw a few strawberries from the farmer’s market on the side. This was very tasty, but it was a pain in the butt to eat. The bread was super crusty, and I couldn’t cut it with a knife and fork. I cut the egg up and ate the toast with my hands but the egg kept falling off. Blergh.
The next day I was in a rush to eat before taking Augie to school, so I went with something simple: Puffins cereal with milk and a bowl of grapes. This is one of my favorite fast breakfasts because I get that serving of fruit and some whole grain from the cereal.
Wednesday was not a good day. I skipped breakfast first thing in the morning, then by the time I dropped the kids at school and ran a few errands I was ridiculously hungry. I reached for the first fast thing I could find when I came in the house and that happened to be a handful of cookies. They gave me a stomach ache and I deeply regretted eating them.
I did much better on Thursday! I spread some pesto on a slice of whole wheat toast then added some chopped roasted bell peppers from a jar on top of that. The topper was a couple of poached eggs. Nom!
I was back to basics again on Friday — Cheerios and grapes. Fast and easy.
I forgot to take any photos of my breakfast over the weekend because we were on the go. I have no idea what I ate Saturday, but Sunday we went out for brunch and I had a two egg breakfast with an English muffin and ridiculously indulgent potatoes. The place we went to lets you upgrade to something they call “Home-fry Heaven” and they plop grated cheese, pesto and sour cream on top. Soooooo good, but not necessarily good for you. Wyatt loves them though so I shared them with him.
Yesterday was cereal again.
Today I skipped eating in the early morning, and by the time I got home from drop-off and the weekly grocery run it was getting close to 11 a.m. time, so I went with something a little more lunchy. I zapped a bowl of farro and sugar snap peas in the microwave and then threw in some chopped tomatoes and fresh mozzerella and a glop of pesto.
Have you noticed that I’m kind of obsessed with pesto at the moment? Wyatt has been enjoying it a lot too, so I’ve been getting a container every week when I buy our groceries. We are mostly using it as a condiment on sandwiches, toast or tossed with veggies. I’m excited for my basil plant to get big enough for me to make some at home too.
What do you eat for breakfast? Do you eat the same thing every day or do you like variety like I do?
