Apr 21, 2014

Breakfast of Champions

I knew when I joined Weight Watchers that I needed to start doing a better job eating breakfast. If I don't have breakfast before I leave for work, I end up snacking on muffins and other pastries all morning. (One of the downsides of working in a grocery store - lots of fresh baked treats available.) However, I also knew that I wasn't getting up an earlier. Quarter to six is early enough thank you very much! So I turned to Pinterest to look for some healthy, make-ahead breakfast ideas.

I decided to try this Overnight, No-Cook, Refrigerator Oatmeal from Monica at The Yummy Life. (I made the vanilla raspberry version.) I liked that the recipe included chia seeds, I've had several customers mention how beneficial they are. I especially liked that they're supposed to make you feel fuller, longer. I thought that would be perfect as I began my Weight Watchers journey.

They were quick and easy to put together. I made three to get me through until my day off. On the first morning I got up super excited and eager to try my breakfast.

And it was gross.

Okay, it wasn't that bad. It was definitely edible. But my experience with oatmeal has been limited to oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and highly sweetended instant oatmeal packets. The oatmeal in my breakfast didn't taste like that. And greek yogurt is TART. At least, I think it is. Combined with the tartness of the raspberries it had my lips puckering as I tried to eat my breakfast.

The second day it wasn't as bad. I don't know if I brushed my teeth right before I ate my breakfast the first day or what, but the second day it wasn't nearly as tart. I still wasn't blown away though.

 After I finished my third jar I decided to try the chocolate banana version. Chocolate-banana is one of my favourite combinations. Again, I got up super excited and eager to try my breakfast. And again, I was disappointed. This week I'm going to try the maple-blueberry version. Hoping that the maple will add the sweetness that I seem to be looking for.

If that doesn't work I'm not totally sure what I'm going to do. Any suggestions for make-ahead or really quick breakfasts?

Oh, and I lost 2.6lbs in my first week on Weight Watchers. I'm pretty happy with that!

xo,
Sara

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your first week of weight loss!

    My breakfasts are usually either raisin bran, instant oatmeal (I eat two packets. I'm a hungry girl!), or some other kind of cold cereal. Any of which I make with almond milk. And if whatever cereal I eat will taste good with banana, I add that as well.

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  2. Plain instant oatmeal, and then stir in a spoonful of raisins or other dried fruit, cinnamon and a spoonful of chopped nuts. Probably tastier than your jars of no-cook oatmeal (but not as tasty as the sweetened instant oatmeal).

    I'm also in love with Quest Natural Protein bars - I get them from iHerb.com but I'm not sure if they deliver to Canada. I highly recommend the Chocolate-Peanut Butter or Peanut Butter Supreme Flavours.

    And yes, Greek yogourt is tart. Another quick breakfast I would recommend is 1/2 cup of Greek yogourt (even better if you can get the individual serving size containers so you don't have the measure) stirred up with 1/2 banana or 1/2 cup berries (fresh or frozen) and 1 tbsp chia seeds or flax seed meal.

    Or, hardboil some eggs ahead of time and have 2 hardboiled eggs sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper, 1 slice of multi-grain toast and a piece of fruit

    All of the above breakfasts contain a good balance of complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats and fiber to kick start your metabolism and hopefully keep you feeling full long enough to get away from the pastries (which contain too many simple carbohydrates, bad fats and not enough fiber or protein).

    Can you tell I still love breakfast just as much as ever?? I keep a loaf of multi-grain bread in the fridge at my office, boxes of bran cereal in the cupboard, a jar of natural peanut butter and bags of raisins and plain almonds in my desk. Great for breakfasts or healthy snacks any time of day!

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