the most important meal of the day

i had a goal last week: to eat something quick and healthy for breakfast every day. i looked online for recipes and found TONS of things i wanted to try. many of the ideas i found were egg-based, but since i'm allergic to eggs, i had to work around those ones. i am, however, looking forward to making a bunch of those at some point for chris.

"research shows" that a *healthy* breakfast should be low in calories and high in fiber and protein. it's recommended that you get at least 5g fiber and 5g protein for breakfast-- so that was my goal. surprisingly, the protein was much easier to find than the fiber. i thought fiber was in everything... i was wrong. enjoy these recipes and breakfast ideas-- many of them would be great for mid-afternoon snacks, also!

Tuesday
1 EarthGrains Thin Bun
2 thick slices of tomatoes
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

top each half of the bun with a slice of tomato, top with 1/8 cup cheese and a sprinkling of oregano, then broil in the toaster oven until the cheese melts.

Verdict: delicious. i would have this for a mid-afternoon snack, especially in the summer when the tomatoes are fresh and abundant. i felt energized all morning. feel free to switch the thin buns for english muffins-- just watch the fiber and calories.

Nutrition:
168 calories
4.7 g fiber
9 g protein

Wednesday
1/2 cup homemade granola
1/2 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
1/2 banana (sliced)
in a small bowl, layer most of the granola and banana. top with the yogurt. sprinkle with the remaining granola and banana

Verdict: delicious. i would have added more bananas, and i'd like to try it with maybe a mix of bananas and frozen berries. or just switch the bananas for the frozen berries. so many possibilities.

Nutrition:
405 calories
5.9 g fiber
12.6 g protein

Thursday
1 EarthGrains Thin Bun
1.5 T peanut butter
1/2 banana
spread peanut butter thinly on each half of the bun. slice up the banana and make a layer of it on one half of the bun, then top with the other half.

Verdict: convenient! it was the first breakfast we had on-the-go, which was great because we happened to both be running a little late this day. there wasn't too much peanut butter, which was nice-- it was just there to keep the bananas in place, and to provide some protein and a little flavor.

Nutrition:
294 calories
7g fiber
11.7 g protein

Friday
1 EarthGrains Thin Bun
1/8 cup stir-fry veggies
1 turkey sausage patty
(smidgen of ketchup if you're anything like me)

it's a stir fry sandwich! i cooked the veggies the night before so i just had to microwave them. the sausage patty was cooked up in the microwave in about 45 seconds. i layered the veggies on the bun, then chopped up the sausage patty and topped it. you could probably add some cheese if you want.

Verdict: messy. the original recipe called for it to be in a pita, which would have made it portable. as it was, it was difficult to eat just sitting at the table. it was delicious, though! i cooked the veggies with a little red pepper seasoning in them, and the turkey sausage was healthier than a pork or beef sausage.

Nutrition:
194 calories
4.3 g fiber
11.1 g protein

Saturday
2 Eggo Buttermilk waffles
1/2 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup frozen berries
toast the waffles, then put 1/4 cup yogurt on each. Top with 1/4 cup thawed berries.

Verdict: surprisingly delicious! as a devout syrup-user, i figured yogurt and berries on a waffle couldn't satisfy me. it sure did! and, like the tomato/cheese meal, it kept me satisfied for longer than some of the other dishes.

Nutrition:
340 calories
5.5 g fiber
10 g protein

Sunday
1 peeled and sliced apple
1 cup Raisin Bran cereal
sprinkle of cinnamon
layer half of the apples in a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon, and top with the cereal. microwave for 30 seconds to one minute.

Verdict: pretty good. great flavor, but tasted kind of dry. needed a splash of milk or something in it also. next time i'll try it a little different.

Nutrition:
234 calories
9.3 g fiber
5.7 g protein