How to Keep Breakfast Interesting

Photo by Celeste Lidell

Breakfast is a big deal for us. We get up early and are active from the first minute, so we need solid fuel to keep the engine running. But having the same ol' cereal for breakfast can get boring pretty quickly, not to mention unhealthy. That's why I included breakfast in our meal planning schedule, and it's a different breakfast each day of the week.

When you plan what, doesn't really matter. But to keep it simple and save time, you can stick to the same plan for each week. That way you can also alternate between high protein and high fiber breakfast meals.

Our schedule is as follows:

Monday: pancakes
Tuesday: oatmeal
Wednesday: toast & eggs
Thursday: crepes
Friday: cold cereal/muesli
Saturday: French toast
Sunday: yogurt & fruit

When you make crepes & pancakes often, it become a routine and goes much faster than the first time around. I usually put at least half whole wheat flour for each of those.  By the way, making crepes is simpler than making pancakes.

Keep your breakfasts diverse by adding small little extra's to your regular meals. Pancakes become an extra nice treat if you add a fruit, or chocolate chips. I'll have more tips on how to spice up your oatmeal in a future post!

If you're short on time and need some quick options for breakfast: check out my post on 5-minute breakfast options.

Do you eat breakfast? Or skip on it altogether? What's your favorite breakfast food?

My 5 Best Time & Money Saver Tips for Future Parents

Breastfeeding in public: always ready and always free!

Alright, so after 6 months with a baby, I feel that I've learned quite a bit about what helps to save time and worry. These are tips I either heard, or wish I had heard, before having our little girl.

1. Breastfeed!
   If you can, of course. I know a lot of women who've tried and where it didn't work out. But if you're still on the fence and there's no physical or practical impediment you can't work around, go for it! It will save you lots of time and money! And it's pretty much hassle free.
2. Diaper bag ready to go.
   It's been really handy having a diaper bag ready at all times. There's wipes, a few diapers, some burp cloths, a change of clothes and some plastic bags to take dirty clothes home. I just toss in a few of her favorite toys before we leave the house and I'm good to go. No need to worry about forgetting anything.
3. Use a baby carrier.
   It's extremely handy to have your baby with you at all times so you don't have to worry about not hearing him/her cry or whether or not they're still breathing. Baby loves it too, by the way.
4. Shop online.
   Supplies like diapers and wipes I buy online and have delivered to the door instead of going out for them. I buy disposable diapers for going out and use cloth ones at home. I use www.diapers.com.
5. Buy used gear/clothes/etc.
   So much cheaper and you're sure to get stuff that stands the test of time and the test of baby-gums! I actually asked people for used stuff as birth gifts as well and got some incredibly useful and unique items. 

I'll blog about some of these issues again, I'm sure, but for now that's what I want to leave you with. If there's anyone out there who might be interested in this advice, feel free to steer them this way.

If you have advice to offer on the subject, as I'm sure all Mom's out there do, share share share!