If you are a regular on the site, you already know that some of my favorite frugal breakfast items are homemade muffins and oatmeal. Pricewise almost nothing can beat either one of them, but if you are looking for a little more variety for that all-important first meal of the day, try some of these ideas instead. They are a much more economical option that hitting the drive-through of your favorite fast-food place but still give you some of that same taste (just better of course because it’s homemade.
1. Have a piece of casserole. It takes time to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast. No one wants to ruin their clothes with the mess it can create. On Sunday night, get breakfast done early. Put together a casserole using your favorite ingredients. Fewer eggs are needed in a casserole than when frying or scrambling them for breakfast each morning. Depending on the size of your family, the casserole may last two to three mornings.
2. Yogurt. Yogurt is a healthy and economical breakfast choice. When you are eating on the run, grab a container of yogurt and some dried or fresh fruit. Cutting up fruit on top of the yogurt adds carbohydrates to fuel you for the morning in addition to the calcium and protein in the yogurt itself.
3. Breakfast shake. This is even quicker and can be ingested while driving without taking your eyes off the road or both hands off the wheel. Put together some frozen fruit favorites, ice cubes, frozen yogurt, and unsweetened juice in a blender. Pour into Styrofoam cups to keep it cold. Everyone can grab a cup on the way out the door. The nutritional effect is about the same as yogurt, but without the spoon.
4. Pigs in a blanket. This is the homemade version. Whip up a batch of pancakes and freeze them in short stacks of three. A package or two of frozen link sausage is needed to create this quick and economical meal idea. Thaw out a stack of pancakes. Heat up three sausages in the microwave. Wrap a pancake around each sausage. Voila! You�ve got an instant pig in a blanket. Eat it as you watch the last of your favorite morning show or as you walk to the bus stop. It can be eaten in the car without too much fuss or mess. For a sweeter taste and less mess, add a little maple syrup or honey to the batter when making the pancakes.
5. Breakfast sandwiches. In the evening, while you are getting things ready for the next day, grill up a few breakfast sandwiches. Choose whatever you like: turkey slices, ham slices, cheese, tomato, bacon, etc. When the sandwich cools, cut it into bite size pieces and put it in a container. In the morning, just grab a container; pop it into the microwave for fifteen or twenty seconds and breakfast is served.
These breakfast ideas are time saving and money-saving too. They make use of items you buy normally and also whatever you have around the house to create delicious fare for a morning rush. No more excuses for skipping breakfast or swinging into the fast food restaurant every morning.
My mother used to make Malt O Meal or Cream of Wheat according to the recipe on the box. She’d put it in a tupperware cup pour about a 1/2 c or so of milk on the top then stirred with a spoon. We’d each get one as we walked out the door on a winter morning to catch the bus. The bonus is the cup was never too hot so it didn’t burn the hands, but it definately made a great “warmer” for the hands while waiting out in the freezing weather! Another version we had before the Choc O Meal came out was putting in a heaping teaspoon of Nestle Quick before stiring in the milk. It made a great filling “breakfast drink”, certainly less expensive than the soupy cold instant breakfast, and has more nutrients. As an adult, I still take this with me for that winter commute. It’s better for you than a large cup of coffee too.
Toast two slices of whole wheat bread. Lay slices on a big plate separately open-face sandwich style. Spread some healthier version peanut butter on each slice. Top each slice with a spoonful of natural sugar free applesauce & spread it around a little.
Or instead of applesauce try sliced bananas on top.
Fast, cheap, healthy, filling, yummy, and kid-friendly!
When I was in college, I used to buy the Pepperidge Farm bread (very-thinly-sliced sandwich bread — you could do this with homemade bread if you can slice it thinly enough) and put two slices with a slice of American cheese between them in the toaster, for a quick grilled-cheese sandwich on my way out the door to class. Yum!
I make homemade bread, slice it up and make french toast out of it. Then, I cut each piece into strips and freeze. When you need a quick breakfast, pop some in the microwave and you have french toast sticks! Just like the ones you get in the Burger King drive thru(but healthier)!
On a day I am not busy I make up double batches of muffins, chocolate chip oatmeal scones, mini loaves of banana bread, or some other quick bread. I always use soy flour, wheat germ, nuts, or something else to up the protein value. I individually wrap them in plastic wrap when cool. Put them in a ziplock bag (or cover in tinfoil if mini loaves) and freeze. In the morning I pop them in the microwave for 25-30 seconds. They are moist and warm as if I just popped them out of the oven. The mini loaves take a bit longer, but they have the advantage of feeding a couple people. This is also an easy way to have breads for a meal or a coffee break ready to go.
Having to watch my carbohydrates I buy the low-carb tortillas (the ones with 12 grams of fiber in them) and fill them with scrambled eggs to which I’ve added a little cheese and sometimes turkey pepperoni, roll them burrito style, wrap and freeze. They’re great for an on-the-run breakfast. I heat them in the microwave and rewrap to take in the car.