Mommy’s Guide to Surviving Breakfast without Cereal

My children are in a stage where unless breakfast is effortless (cereal or instant oatmeal), they won’t eat. This has forced me to add breakfast to my weekly meal planning.  When I started, I thought making breakfast was going to be the worst.  I dreaded it, so I tried making a few breakfast foods once a week and freezing them.  It worked, but I didn’t like spending hours preparing a week’s worth of breakfast in one afternoon either.  I don’t have three-four extra hours to flip pancakes and bake muffins.

What I’ve learned over the past few months is breakfast is a great balancing act.   Instead of spending hours at once prepping meals.  I make extra each morning to freeze for the days when I need a break.  I have also started utilizing tools that make breakfast faster — a multi cooker, electric griddle, and waffle iron are my go-to breakfast tools.

About Pancakes

I used to prepare my pancakes from scratch and cook them in a cast iron skillet two at a time.  (With a dab of oil, it gave my pancakes these crispy edges that I really like.)  Preparing them this way was no problem for our family of five, but now that we are a family of eight (with teens) — two at a time is a three hour job for one sitting.   This is how I fell in love with an electric griddle. Instead of standing in my kitchen for hours to prepare 20+ pancakes, I can now make 6 – 8 at a time and be done with the entire meal in minutes!

Pancake Mixes:  I used to make my batter from scratch, but it wasn’t any cheaper for me to do this.  I purchase a bulk package (10 lbs) of Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix and enjoy not worrying if we have milk or eggs available for breakfast.

Waffles! Waffles! Waffles!

My kids love waffles and I think they are an easy starter project for young cooks.  Flipping a pancake can be intimidating (and messy) for kids to master, but waffles — waffles are easy!  An eager 7-10 year old can easily pour a 1/4 cup of batter into each square, close the waffle iron lid, and wait for the waffles.  This is how waffles are saving my morning sanity.  Even if I start the task for them, I love being able to call in reinforcements when I’m feeling less ready than I’d like in the morning.

So many flavors, so many ways, the options, the options!  Another reason I love waffles is there are a ton of recipes on Pinterest that will add variety to your week. Omelet waffles,  hashbrown waffles, cinnamon roll waffles — even cake mix waffles for a special birthday morning!

Circle or a Squares?  I get the most out of a 4-square/classic waffle iron and we waste less too! It is easier to convince a five year-old that his/her own square is, in fact, one complete waffle.  It is not as easy to convince a little one that half of a circle is a complete waffle.

We Love Oats

Those boxes of flavored instant oatmeal can be expensive unless you find a great BOGO deal paired with a coupon (or two), so I’m always looking for an alternative.   After making a monstrous mess one morning during an attempt to make overnight oats in the crock pot, I gave up on making our own oats for an entire year!  Then, last Christmas, I received a T-Fal Multi-Cooker and fell in love with how easy it is to make an entire pot of oats!   To make a basic oatmeal recipe, all I have to do is pour in the ingredients, close the lid, press the oatmeal button and walk away!

Feeding the Freezer

I make extra on purpose. But instead of placing our breakfast leftovers in the fridge (to forever be forgotten), I immediately prep them for freezer storage.  This allows my husband the opportunity to enjoy a great breakfast before we wake up, and helps me on the days when I cannot get going.

How much too much?  I don’t go overboard with my intentional leftovers.  I prep and additional 1/3 to 1/2 of the actual amount of food I expect them to eat.  For example, we average sixteen pancakes in one sitting so I make twenty-five pancakes at a time.

This Week’s Breakfast Menu

• Apple Hand Pies (made ahead)
• Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal
• Blueberry Pancakes
• Waffles
• Sweet Potato Muffins
• (Weekend) Overnight French Toast
• (Weekend) Big Breakfast: Pancakes, Eggs, Breakfast Potatoes

Share your FAST breakfast tips in the comments below!

P.S. I found something this week that I thought you’d love!  Check out this great video from the Pioneer Woman ~ Enjoy, Victoria

Additional disclaimer:  Affiliate links are used in this post as a source of income for our family.  All opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the developing company, and/or its affiliates, in anyway.