Healthy family breakfasts that are substantial and interesting can be tricky, but here are a few tricks which will make every weekday morning a breeze.
A really great weekend breakfast is one of my favourite meals of the week. There’s time to have a big blow-out, with lots of yummy things the whole family love, like my Menemen (see the video below) or a lovely, lightly-spiced kedgeree.
As a working mum, though, I have found it can be quite difficult to put together breakfasts that are substantial, healthy, and interesting every morning during the week. This means, however, that I’ve perfected a few wonderful tricks over the years which make every weekday morning a breeze.
Gorgeous granola
Once every two weeks or so, I make a big batch of granola. It’ll keep well in airtight jars, which means that as long as you have some milk or yoghurt in the fridge, and any kind of fruit that’s lying about (dried fruit, berries, even that dodgy-looking banana thats been in the fruit bowl for a few days too long) you have an instant healthy breakfast!
See how to make it below.
Prep-ahead porridge
Oats are real winners when it comes to night-before breakfasts. Another thing I like to do is make some porridge the night before, whack it in the fridge and then in the morning, just warm it through with a little extra milk and it’s a perfect start to your day! There are a few tricks to making perfect porridge every time, and once you’ve cracked it, get experimental with your toppings and flavours the next morning for a quick and easy way to keep your kids’ breakfasts exciting!
If you want to really mix things up, my cornmeal porridge recipe from my book is a firm favourite with my children! You can also try Jamie’s beautiful Bircher muesli, which is very similar to a night-before but not cooked – perfect served cold in the warmer months.
Everyday eggs
You might think of eggs as a weekend-breakfast thing, but the basic recipes are all super quick, super easy, leave you with very little cleanup to do, and, let’s face it, are one of the best breakfasts out there.
Eggs are always a good call in any form with my children, but a go-to weekday-morning winner is the classic "dippy eggs and soldiers" – simply boil for five minutes for runny yolks, and serve with lovely brown buttered toast.
If it’s up to me, though? Lightly scrambled eggs, with a little cheese grated on top and some nice ripe cherry tomatoes!
That’s just three basic ideas, but there are many more possibilities – read these tips for healthy breakfasts for more inspiration. To begin with, knowing that it can take a lot less energy than you think to serve a good weekday breakfast is a great place to start – just prep ahead of time, or stick to quick, healthy, reliable ingredients – and for goodness sake, ditch the sugary cereals!