Healthy Fast Food - Breakfast Sandwich

You are probably thinking, that is an oxymoron, "healthy fast food."  I am not talking about the traditional fast food.  I am talking about creating our own fast food at home that is healthy and hearty.  One of my favorite things is going to fast food for breakfast.  I like hearty stuff (I am not much for cereal, bars, etc) so stopping is a great way to get something that will hold me.  Of course it costs money and calories.

Here is a great swap for those heavy breakfast sandwiches.

Ingredients:
1 high fiber, low calorie English muffin
1 egg
1 slice fat free cheese
1-2 oz fat free deli ham

Directions:
Put the English muffin in the toaster.
Put the egg in a ramekin (small bowl) and scramble and cook in microwave for 1 minute.
When the muffin and egg are done, put the egg on the muffin (it should fit just right), add the cheese and ham, and VIOLA! you are done.  :)

This takes all of about 3-5 minutes (faster than driving through at McD's for sure), is only about $1.00 vs $2.00+, and is a lot healthier than my typical breakfast biscuit (roughly 250 calories).

Yummy Healthy Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 mashed banana
• 3/4 cup low fat vanilla yogurt (I used fat free plain Greek yogurt & added some vanilla extract)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup frozen blueberries

Directions

• Combine banana, yogurt, brown sugar, egg, and oil in a large bowl. (I used my Kitchenaid mixer)
• Add oats and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.
• Combine dry ingredients.
• Add blueberries and dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined.
• Put in paper lined muffin tin and bake in a preheated 375 oven, until tops are firm to touch. (I baked them for 15 minutes).

These were so good.  My nearly 7 year old said they were his favorite muffins ever.  :) 

Serving Size: 1 Muffin, Total Servings: 12
Calories per Muffin: 184
Fat per Muffin: 6
Carbs per Muffin: 30
Fiber per Muffin: 2
Protein per Muffin: 5
WW PP per Muffing: 5

Oven Baked Bacon

At CHRISTmas I found a great way to make bacon. You cook it in the oven. I had no idea you could do this.

You line a baking sheet with foil and put the bacon on it.
You put the baking sheet in the oven and turn it to 400 degrees.
(DO NOT PREHEAT THE OVEN!!!!!!!!)
Set the timer for 15-20 minutes.
Bacon comes out perfect, crispy, and the best part is that after the pan cools, you can just wrap up the foil and toss out the mess.

Frozen Waffles and Pancakes

We love waffles and pancakes in our house, especially my 1st born son. He requests them nearly daily. While I enjoy making them, I don't always want to pull it all out and make a mess. So what I do is make a ton one day and freeze them. I let the extras cool and then I lay them flat on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can put them in a freezer bag. Then you just put them in the toaster and they are hot and fresh that morning. It is like having those Eggo waffles all ready to go without all of the additives. I personally think they are better the 2nd time because they get crunchy around the edges.

Any tips for cutting down on time for breakfast?

Whole Wheat Oat Blueberry Muffins

Whole Wheat Oat Blueberry Muffins Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/4 cups oats 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 cup unsweetened applesauce 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 Tbsp oil 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 pint blueberries (fresh or frozen) Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, milk, brown sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes. WW Points - 4

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (with real apples)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (with real apples) Ingredients: 1/4 cup oats 1/2 cup water 1/2 apple, peeled and diced Cinnamon Splenda Directions: Put oats, water, and diced apples in bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and 45 seconds. Add cinnamon and Splenda. WW POINTS PLUS - 2

Mandarin Orange Pineapple Smoothie

Mandarin Orange Pineapple Smoothie Ingredients: 1 pkg WW vanilla smoothie mix 1 cup fat-free or low-fat milk 1/2 cup mandarin oranges 1/2 cup pineapple 1 tsp olive oil (if you need to meet the requirement) Ice cubes Directions: Blend. Enjoy. WW POINTS PLUS - 4-6 (depending on milk and if you do oil)

My Favorite Healthy Omelet

My Favorite Healthy Omelet Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil 1 egg 3 egg whites 1 slice lowfat provolone cheese 1oz lean deli ham Onions Peppers Directions: Chop up onions, peppers, and ham. Cook in small pan with 1/2 the olive oil. Stir eggs and cook in pan with 1/2 the olive oil. Once the eggs are cooked a little, add the cheese. Once the onions, peppers, and ham are cooked add to the omelet. Cook omelet and fold. Cook a little more. WW POINTS PLUS - 6

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I used the create your own muffin recipe and made apple cinnamon muffins this morning.

Here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 apple

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk dry in a medium bowl.
Whisk wet in a large bowl.
Add dry to wet and whisk (if too dry add a little more milk).
Peel and dice apple.
Add apple to muffin mix and stir.
Spray muffin tin with cooking spray (or use muffin cups).
Using 1/3 measuring cup to evenly spoon muffin mix into 12 muffin cup tin.
Bake for 15-20 minutes (until done throughout).
Enjoy! :)

Tips:
If you want these yummy muffins and are short on time in the morning, you could make them the night before and heat them in the microwave.
If you want these yummy muffins and are short on time in the morning, you can lay out everything you need - muffin tin, two mixing bowls, measuring spoons (tsp, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup), measuring cup, whisk, chopping board, peeler, knife, dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg), and vegetable oil.
Set the table the night before - plates, napkins, and cups.

Create an Oatmeal Packet

Those individual oatmeal packets are great on a busy morning. Oatmeal is so healthy and satisfying. Those packets can be expensive unless they are on sale and you have a coupon. Here is a very inexpensive way to make your own oatmeal packets. I love it because it is easy and the options are endless with oatmeal.

CREATE AN OATMEAL PACKET

Ingredients:
2 cups quick-cooking oats, unpowdered
1 cup quick-cooking oats, powdered
Salt
8 plastic sandwich bags

Directions:
Put 1 cup of the oats into a food processor and powder.
Put ¼ cup unpowdered oats, 2 Tbsp powdered oats, and little bit of salt into each bag.
Store in an airtight container.

To Serve:
Empty packet into a bowl.
Add ¾ cup boiling water.
Stir and let stand for 2 minutes.

Options:
Apple Cinnamon – 1 Tbsp sugar, ¼ tsp cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp chopped dried apple
Sweetened – 1 Tbsp sugar
Cinnamon Spice – 1 Tbsp sugar, ¼ tsp cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg
Raisins and Brown Sugar – 1 Tbsp brown sugar and 1 Tbsp raisins
Fruit and Cream – 1 Tbsp dry milk and 2 Tbsp dried fruit (or fresh after cooking)

Create a Muffin

This is an awesome recipe because you can make a million (well maybe not a million, but a lot) of combinations. I love recipes like that because you can mix and match and come up with a ton of variations.

CREATE A MUFFIN

Ingredients:

Grain – 2 - 2 ½ cups white flour
(May substitute 1 cup with oatmeal, cornmeal, wheat flour, rye flour, or flake cereal)

Milk – 1 cup milk
(May substitute fruit juice for all or part)

Fat – ¼ cup vegetable oil or 4 Tbsp melted butter

Egg – 1 egg

Sweetener – 2 Tbsp – ½ cup sugar or ¾ cup brown sugar or ½ cup honey or molasses (Decrease milk to ¾ cup with honey or molasses)

Baking Powder – 2 tsp
(If using whole grains 3 tsp)

Salt – ½ tsp

Optional (Additional) Ingredients:
(Can use up to 1 ½ cups total – if using more than 1 cup wet, decrease milk to ½ cup)

Dry Additions –
Nuts, raisins

Moist Additions –
Blueberries, chopped apple

Wet Additions –
Pumpkin puree, applesauce, mashed/cooked sweet potato, mashed banana

Spices –
Any that will compliment additions (ie 1 tsp cinnamon with ¼ tsp nutmeg)

Jellies or Jams –
1 tsp in between halves of muffins (fill half, jelly, fill rest)

Topping –
Cinnamon sugar, chopped nuts, oatmeal

Non Sweet Combinations –
½ cup shredded cheese, 3 strips cooked crumbled bacon, 2 Tbsp grated onion,
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Directions:
Fill greased or lined muffin tins 2/3 full.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Pancakes and Waffles

I know a lot of people love instant pancake and waffle mix but I have always found it to be too tough. I decided to search the internet for a good recipe. I tried this one and it is a hit. It makes the fluffiest pancakes. It's really easy and for waffles you just add an extra tablespoon of oil.

Pancakes and Waffles

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp oil (4 Tbsp for waffles)
1 1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Directions:
In a bigger bowl whisk egg, milk, and oil.
In another bowl whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
Mix until combined (don't overmix).

Pancake Cooking Directions:
Heat griddle to 350.
Spray cooking spray.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour onto griddle.
Cook on one side until it bubbles.
Flip and cook until done.

Waffle Cooking Directions:
Heat waffle iron.
Spray cooking spray.
Using 1/3 cup measuring cup, pour onto iron.
Cook until done.

Enjoy! :)

French Toast

My husband loves french toast. He orders it everytime we go to a breakfast place. I found the perfect recipe and it is so yummy and really easy.

Ingredients:
Thick white bread
Eggs
Milk
Vanilla
Cinnamon sugar

The ratio is for every 2 slices of bread use 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, a splash of vanilla, and a dash of cinnamon sugar. If you do that, you will have just enough mixture to soak the french toast.

Directions:
Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon sugar (makes sure it is really well mixed - no egg clumps).
Heat the griddle to 350.
Rub the griddle down with butter (or spray with cooking spray).
Soak each piece of bread and let excess fall off.
Cook on each side until brown.
Serve with powdered sugar and syrup.