HOW I'VE SIMPLIFIED OUR BREAKFASTS

After I had Jude (my 4th child) two months ago, I realized very quickly that our breakfast routine needed some tweaking.  Before Jude was born I would get up about 30 minutes to an hour before the kids got up, get ready for the day and start breakfast.  Our mornings usually flowed pretty smoothly and by the time the kids were awake, breakfast was either just going in the oven or it was almost done cooking.  Since Jude has been born though, I don't get up until the kids wake up which is between 7-7:30am.  I tried setting my alarm for 6am once a few weeks ago but turned it off at 4:30am after I had been up with Jude for almost two hours.  Ain't nobody got time for that!!!  No but really, I would love to get up way before the kids, workout, read my Bible & have coffee all before they woke up but I have to be realistic with the season of life I'm in right now.  And right now I have a two month old baby who co-sleeps with me and nurses all night.  It's just not realistic for me to be trying to get up at 6am and doing all of those things.  Actually...it's pretty impossible right now.  By the time Jude is one, things will be different.  So, all that said...I knew I needed to change up our morning routine.  I needed to have breakfast already cooked and ready every morning so that I wasn't trying to cook breakfast with a newborn screaming to be fed, and three other kids either wanting snuggles from mama or whining they are starving.  

I thought about a solution to this for a little while and then decided that the easiest thing to do would be to start making our breakfasts the night before the morning we needed it.  I also decided that eating a similar meal each day of the week every week would help me to stay organized better.  Once I get Liam & Alanna to bed at 7:30, I go make our breakfast for the next morning.  Ruy usually either helps me make it, colors, or plays a board game with Nathan while I make breakfast.  It only takes me about 15 minutes to make each meal since I don't have any little ones around making it take much longer.  Once I finish cooking, I quick wash the dishes and then spend time with Ruy before he goes to bed.  

So here is what I have been doing...

Monday:  Muffins.

*I may switch up which type of muffin I make that week, but we always have muffins on Mondays. 

I make the kids muffins on Saturday or Sunday, double the recipe & freeze them.  Their favorite muffins are banana muffins and chocolate zucchini muffins.  

I cook my muffins on Saturday or Sunday as well (unless I use the MIM than I make it the morning of) I either make the Chocolate Banana Muffins from the THM cook book page 283, or a Muffin In A Mug.  I like the cinnamon MIM or chocolate MIM the best.  I top it with a frosting of greek yogurt, cream cheese & sweetener. 

Tuesday:  Eggs

I just started making the Muffleets from the THM cookbook.  They are so easy to make and really good.  I just make them with ham and cheese since my kids don't like peppers and onions.  I will make these on Monday night.  

*If I decide not to make mufflets, I will make a breakfast casserole Monday night.  If I don't want either of those, I will just scramble some eggs Tuesday morning because that is super easy and fast.  I am thinking about scrambling the eggs Monday night though and just reheating in the morning.  I haven't ever tried that though so I wasn't sure if they would still taste good.  Please let me know if you have done that. 

Wednesday:  Pancakes

I love the Giant Blueberry Pancake recipe from the THM cook book page 261.  It's so easy to make, so yummy, and so much easier than waiting around flipping pancakes all morning.  I do like the original THM pancakes as well though page 259.  

My kids love these Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes.  I usually throw in a few chocolate chips in their pancakes.  If I make these for them, I double the recipe and freeze the leftovers.  Lately they've just been eating the same pancakes as I am because I've found it easier to cook one meal.  

Thursday:  Oatmeal

I love love love overnight oatmeal.  You can find some of my favorite recipes for overnight oatmeal here.   These are so simple to make up the night before and are so good.  I also love a few baked oatmeal recipes.  My kids' favorite is Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal (recipe to come soon)  I make it up the night before, let it cool and put it in the frig.  In the morning I just dish it up, microwave it for a minute, pour some milk on it and the kids are so happy.  

Friday:  Eggs

Friday I make eggs again.  Same recipes that I would make on Tuesday.  But typically Ruy begs for omelets, which can't really be made ahead of time but it's not too hard to make and is a pretty quick breakfast.  Plus the boys both love ham & cheese omelets so I try to make it for them pretty often. 

Saturday & Sunday:  Something different 

Saturday and Sunday are usually my days to try something new for breakfast or just something different from our normal weekly routine meals.  I like to make egg casserole, apple crumble (THM cook book page 338, cobbler, yogurt & fruit, cinnamon rolls (very occasional cheat), Banana Cake THM cook book page 298 (o.my.goodness. this cake is amazing.  Put some PB on it for a CO & wow!...my kids love it too).  I make these meals the night before as well.  Saturday mornings I grocery shop and Sunday mornings we have church so both those mornings are super busy as well.  

This new schedule for our breakfasts has been life changing! Yes, mornings are still busy.  But making our breakfasts the night before has made things so much easier and I feel way less stressed out now.  I hope you found something helpful in this post.  Please feel free to leave a comment on my blog or on my facebook page if you have any questions or comments! 


And because I never do a post without a picture...here are a few of my loves.