7 Fast Real Food Breakfast Ideas

My teeny little baby somehow was replaced by a gigantic almost 6-year-old, and that gigantic almost 6-year-old will be starting kindergarten very soon. She did preschool last year in the afternoons, but this year she will be doing morning kindergarten and will have to be at the bus stop at 8:30 a.m. I get up at 5:00 a.m. to exercise and do all my morning things, but for some reason having everyone ready to go by 8:30 is really hard! We’ve been doing some dry runs and I don’t think we’ve quite made it yet, although we have been close a time or two.

As we been practicing for getting ready for the school bus, I’ve been thinking a lot about breakfast and what we can do to speed up the process. Here are some ideas I’ve come up with for quick breakfasts that won’t slow you down.

1. Homemade granola – We don’t eat store bought cereal and one day I’ll write a big ranting blog post about why, but for today I’m just going to say that it’s not hard to whip up a batch of granola on the weekends and have a dump and eat breakfast all ready to go during the week. We like to eat it with either milk or plain yogurt and add fruit, usually frozen blueberries.
2. Toast and fruit – You will want to find a good, clean eating whole grain bread (or make your own), but there isn’t much that is faster than a couple of slices of toast and some fruit. You can add some protein with just a glass of milk, some plain yogurt or if you have time you could even cook an egg (or have a hard boiled one waiting in the fridge), but since my daughter has an egg allergy we find our protein in other sources.
3. Overnight slow cooker oatmeal – Throw this in the slow cooker the night before and by the time  you need to eat all  you need to do is scoop it out and add whatever toppings you feel like that day. Especially as the mornings get colder it’s nice to have a warm breakfast in your belly. 
4. Pan seared oatmeal – Cook the oats the night before and put them in the fridge. By morning they are perfect for a quick searing before serving. At our house we get lazy and don’t make the compote, we just pour a touch of real maple syrup on top and eat fruit on the side. 
5. Frozen muffins or scones  – I like to have my freezer stocked with muffins and scones. Give them a quick zap in the microwave, grab some yogurt or a cheese stick and some fruit on the side and you are ready to go. I make muffins using the recipes here, here and here, and the scones here. 
6. Green smoothies – This is what I have for breakfast nearly every day, and my favorite variations are here. I like to have my bananas all chopped and frozen, and everything else you just dump and blend, so easy! I love that I get a gigantic hit of nutrition first thing in the morning, and I love that it tastes like ice cream, yum!
7. Pancakes and waffles – I like to make these as a weekend breakfast (or dinner!), but make way too many and freeze the leftovers. Then it’s easy to pull out one or two at a time, pop them in the toaster and voila! Breakfast, fast and easy. You can even turn them into a sandwich with a smear of cream cheese or nut butter in the middle if you need a breakfast to eat on the walk to the bus stop. Sadly, we don’t currently have a waffle maker so we only do pancakes, but there is a great waffle recipe here.

You will notice, with the exception of toast, these are all things that you have to make ahead of time. Don’t forget that planning ahead is a huge part of eating real food. I find that if I tackle one or two food projects on the weekend I can keep my freezer fairly well stocked, so it really doesn’t take me too much time. I also like to have a plan in mind the night before so I know if I need to thaw something out or throw some oats in the slow cooker. Even though it does take more time, the end result is so worth it!

What are your go to fast breakfasts for school days?